Every week, as David addresses the new groups who enter into the Blue Hills Bank Pavilion, he always asks them the same question. "Raise your hand if you think our harbor is still very dirty". As expected, kids and even counselors will shoot their hands up into the air with a million reasons why our harbor "looks" dirty to them. One of the most common reasons being, "well it's not as clear as the water in Bermuda", or some other tropical island. No surprise there right? They aren't wrong, we don't have see-through water in our harbor. However, that doesn't mean it's necessarily dirty and unsafe to swim in.
One of my best friends has this same opinion about the ocean. She always claims that the water is "too dirty to go swimming in" or that "I might get attacked by the animals in it" or sometimes, "I can't see the bottom". None of these are valid reasons to avoid Boston Harbor. I would know, considering I swim in it almost every day and catch quite a lot of the animals living in it. Today I will prove to you that there is no reason to fear our harbor or what lives inside it.
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| Just look at the water! |
From Monday to Thursday, I worked at George's Island. I spent each day riding out on the Provincetown II and then fishing off the dock at the island. This week happened to be a very popular week for our crab friends. At the start of each new group we baited the rods with squid and showed them how to properly cast their lines down. Every so often we'd pull up the crab trap and empty out all of the green, spider, and rock crabs into the touch tank. At first, the kids tend to pull away in fear of getting pinched, but once we show them how to hold the crab the right way they begin to get comfortable. Hands start plunging into the tank to pick up a crab and show it off to all the flashing cameras.
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| The baby crab was a big hit! |
On the boat ride back I always look out over the rail at the water below me. Waves splash up against the boat then fall away into the rest of the ocean. It's beautiful. When you're out in between all of the islands, the sun starts to shine on certain parts of the water giving a clear illusion and a bright, turquoise shade. It may not be Bermuda but it's pretty close. This past week I had a kid ask me if he could jump off the boat into the water. I asked him "why on earth would you want to jump from this high up?" He simply looked at me and said "why not? Look how welcoming the waves are."
Working at Save the Harbor has showed me that Boston's Harbor is beautiful in its own way. There isn't anything to be scared of. Our harbor is beautiful and full of life. None of that life is looking to hurt or scare us. In fact THEY are scared of US. I personally wouldn't want somebody tossing a giant hook into my living room.
Until next time,
Patrice
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