Introduction: Orientation Week

Hello everyone! 

My name is Tia Belotte and I go to Medford High School. I lived in Medford but currently live in Hyde Park. Some of my hobbies are Color guard, singing and listening to music. I also play the violin in my high school orchestra and part of our chorus. During this summer at Save the Harbor Save the Bay, I hope to regain my connection with the environment I had when I was younger. In school, students don't get many opportunities to experience nature through hands-on activities and only learn what they see in textbooks. Through this program, I get to become real-life explorer and enjoy the natural beauty of the world that surrounds us.

During our orientation last week, I experienced some many amazing moments. We learned about the clean up of the Boston Harbor and how changed from being one of the dirtiest to one of the cleanest harbors in America. The Harbor used to be so dirty that people joked just swimming in the water would have definitely resulted in the need for a tetanus shot. Today, at the 34 islands located in the Harbor, everyone can swim in the clean water of the Harbor. The craziest fact I learned about the Harbor was that Spectacle Island used to be a trash dump and it took 10 years to burn all the trash. During our second day of orientation, we went fishing and also learned about the marine life of the Harbor. The most common commercial fish caught is the Striped Bass but other common fish include Flounder and Cod. During the fishing trip, many people caught Flounder and we learned how water pollution affected them. The most interesting part of the trip were the terrifying sea worms. I was definitely surprised to learn that the worm bait used to fish aren't the same as the worms I find in my backyard. The bait worms had pinchers and hundreds of little legs on each side. But after getting over the initial fear, everyone was able to touch the worms and successfully put them on our hooks.

My favorite part of the orientation was the speaker who came to talk during our last orientation day. He is a Boston marathon runner and has ran races more than 200 miles long and even has ran across the Grand Canyon and back. Through his races, he has learned that people are capable of so much more than they think and changed the way he looks at success and failure. Success shouldn't depend on whether you win or lose but rather about “pursuing the goal”. If you tried, then you have succeeded. His words truly inspired me to be more open-minded about new experiences and to not doubt myself during my summer at Boston Harbor.

Sea you soon,
Tia