Our Better Beaches Program was Better than Ever!

In 2021, Save the Harbor leveraged nearly $300,000 in 2021 DCR funding, 2020 retained funds,  and money raised through the Harpoon Shamrock Splash to award Better Beaches grants to 67 organizations, individuals and creatives. The 2021 Better Beaches grantees put on 188 free programs and events on our region’s public beaches in Nahant, Lynn, Revere, Winthrop, East Boston, South Boston, Dorchester, Quincy, and Hull.

In preparation for the 2021 beach season, Save the Harbor/Save the Bay convened a public meeting of the Metropolitan Beaches Commission about race and equity on the Commonwealth’s public beaches and used our findings to build a more equitable grant process. 

Based on the community’s feedback and Save the Harbor’s values, $40,000 of the 2021 Better Beaches funds were set aside to address barriers in access and equity that community members of color, folks with disabilities, and queer people experience on our region’s public beaches. 

We directly addressed the community’s request for more diverse music and food, additional mobility mats and beach wheelchairs, and free life jackets on our region’s beaches by allocating additional funds to new and existing partners with plans to meet these needs. We also continued the two Anti-Racism program initiatives founded in 2020, Harbor Healing and Beats On The Beach, and engaged more new partners than ever before, with 31 of the 67 grantees being new partnerships.

In 2022, we aim to make the process even more equitable by introducing elements of participatory budgeting. We will be asking for community input at every step of the process, following the mantra "Your Beaches, Your Voice, Your Choice!". We can't wait to ear from you throughout the process and see you on the beach next summer! 

Metro Beaches Commission and Advocates Call for Better Beach Access for People with Disabilities

On Tuesday, November 30, at 10:00 AM, the Metropolitan Beaches Commission and Save the Harbor/Save the Bay convened a Virtual Public Hearing focused on improving access for people with disabilities on the Commonwealth’s public beaches in Lynn, Nahant, Revere, Winthrop, East Boston, South Boston, Dorchester, Quincy and Hull.

“The legislative and the community members of the Commission hope that this hearing will help us better understand the challenges facing people with disabilities on the metropolitan beaches,” said Chris Mancini, Executive Director of Save the Harbor/ Save the Bay as the hearing began. “We are looking forward to working together with DCR - and all of you here today - to develop strategies to improve access to these spectacular urban natural resources for everyone.” 

Among those who testified at the virtual public hearing, which was Co-Chaired by Sen. Brendan Crighton of Lynn and Rep. Adrian Madaro of East Boston, were Stephanie Cooper, Acting Commissioner of the Department of Conservation and Recreation, Andrea Gayle-Bennett of Lynn, Third Junior Vice Commander of the Disabled American Veterans Department of Massachusetts, Kristen McCosh, Commissioner of the Boston Disabilities Commission, and Chris Mancini, Executive Director of Save the Harbor/Save the Bay.

"For those of you who don't know me, I'd like to let you know that I use a power wheelchair due to a disability I acquired as a teenager," said Commissioner McCosh, who leads Boston's overall effort to ensure accessibility and inclusion for persons with disabilities. "But we don't all only strive for meeting bare minimum requirements. We strive for ideal accessibility, which really goes from accessibility to inclusion." According to McCosh, though there are still challenges to overcome, "we do have the political will and great staff and our city agencies and our state partners. The ADA was signed into law over 30 years ago. How can we go to the next step and really make sure that people with disabilities are included in every aspect of life?"

According to Acting DCR Commissioner Cooper, the pandemic "has taught us what we knew in our hearts: The critical importance of getting outdoors for our collective physical, mental and spiritual health." She underscored the Baker-Polito Administration's commitment to equity and inclusion, and pointed out that "DCR's Universal Access provides adaptive programming and equipment at our pools, skating rinks, beaches, of course, lakes and ponds. The idea is that everybody of all abilities can participate and enjoy themselves at our properties."

Investments in ramps, mobility mats and beach and floating wheelchairs
are critical to improving beach access for people with disabilities.

The Commission also heard from experts and advocates serving people with disabilities, including Tom McCarthy, Director of DCR’s Universal Access Program. Coleman Nee, ​​CEO of Triangle Inc., Kathy Lafferty, Executive Director of the South Boston Neighborhood House, Alex DeFronzo, Executive Director of the Piers Park Sailing Center in East Boston, Ellice Patterson, Executive Director of Abilities Dance Boston, and Andrea Gayle-Bennett, Third Junior Vice Commander of the Disabled American Veterans Department of Massachusetts.

Coleman Nee, ​​CEO of Triangle Inc. who has hosted "Beach:Ability" at Constitution Beach in East Boston as part of Save the Harbor/Save the Bay's Better Beaches program partnership with DCR thanked the Commission and Save the Harbor/Savethe Bay for their leadership on this issue. "I cannot stress enough the positive impact on mental health and spirits of those who attended Beach: Ability...our program participants love the beach and they love the ocean," said Nee. "In truth, these beaches are public assets and they shouldn't only be available to the disability community during an event once a year, they should be available all the time. We need additional investments, we need more walkways and ramps, we need proper equipment, we need mobi-mats, we need floating wheelchairs at every beach, and we need all bathrooms and snack stands to be ADA compliant."

Ellice Patterson, Executive Director, Abilities Dance Boston said building cultural understanding is "just as important as the physical access and the equipment to enjoy these beaches. Diverse and disabled beachgoers shouldn't have to fight to explain themselves. We should be able to participate in these spaces like everyone else." 

 Alex DeFronzo, Executive Director of Piers Park Sailing Center, whose Adaptive Sailing program is a national model, stressed the importance of inclusive programming. "The hard infrastructure for making the beaches accessible is extremely important, but perhaps more important is the human infrastructure of actually programming the beaches and getting groups of people out there. When there are Better Beaches  or Universal Access programs running, that's when the beaches feel most welcoming, most successful and most inclusive"

Kathy Lafferty, Executive Director of the South Boston Neighborhood House agreed, saying "When we offer a program on the beach, we want everyone to be able to participate. That means getting on the sand, near or in the water, and not just on the pavilion to watch. We are in this conversation because we want to be a part of the solution”

Andrea Gayle-Bennett of Lynn, Third Junior Vice Commander of the Disabled American Veterans Department of Massachusetts, said that when accessibility to the beach is limited for those with physical disabilities, "It turns them into spectators instead of participants."

"No one should ever be prevented from sitting on a public beach on a summer day, hearing the crash of the waves or the call of hungry seagulls, especially not because of a disability, much less someone who incurred that disability in service to our country," Gayle-Bennett said. "Public beaches should be for everyone to enjoy."

As the hearing drew to a close, MBC Co-Chair Sen Brendan Crighton of Lynn thanked Save the Harbor/Save the Bay and the dozens of community members who took part in the hearing, saying "The powerful testimony we heard today will help shape necessary improvements on the Commonwealth's public beaches to ensure that these resources are always accessible for all."

MBC Co-Chair Adrian Madaro shared that sentiment. “Our state beaches are public treasures that belong to all of us,” said Madaro. “We need to advance environmental justice and center diversity, equity, and inclusion so that people of all backgrounds, conditions, and abilities can enjoy them for years to come."

The Metropolitan Beaches Commission welcomes public participation and will gladly accept written testimony from all interested parties. Please email your comments to rodriguez@savethe harbor.org.

For more information about the hearing contact Save the Harbor's Executive Director Chris Mancini by email to mancini@savetheharbor.org or on his cell at (617) 909-6667, or their Director of Strategy & Communications Bruce Berman by email to bruce@bostonharbor.com or on his cell at 617-293-6243.

About the Metropolitan Beaches Commission
The Metropolitan Beaches Commission is a permanent Commission charged with making findings and recommendations to the Legislature and the Department of Conservation & Recreation (DCR) on ways to improve the metropolitan region's public beaches. It was established by the Massachusetts Legislature in 2006 and is led and managed by Save the Harbor/Save the Bay.  You can find more information about the MBC on Save the Harbor/Save the Bay's website, and download copies of our previous reports at https://www.savetheharbor.org/mbc-archives.

Late last spring the Commission decided to focus attention on ways to increase diversity, equity and inclusion on the Metropolitan Region’s public beaches, to improve access for people of color, people with disabilities, and people who may not speak English as their primary language.  In May, we heard from a diverse group of civic leaders and community members about ways in which we could increase diversity on the beaches and in our beach programming.

After the November 30th hearing on improving access for people with disabilities, in January of 2022 the MBC will hold a hearing on language barriers that affect public safety and enjoyment on our region’s public beaches.

Following that hearing, the Commission will host a Virtual Summit, at which they will present their preliminary findings to a broad and diverse audience of beach users to get their thoughts and input. Following the Summit, the Commission will share a report of their findings and recommendations with the Legislature, the Administration, DCR and the public.  It will serve as a roadmap for improving access and increasing diversity, equity and inclusion on our public beaches going forward.

For more information about the MBC or the hearing, please visit savetheharbor.org and follow the links to the MBC pages.
 

Public Policy and Environmental Advocacy

In 2021, with the support of government at all levels and our partners in Boston’s neighborhoods and the region’s beachfront communities from Nahant to Nantasket, Save the Harbor/Save the Bay made important progress on our environmental policy and advocacy agenda, which has two equally important goals.

Improved water quality in the region, with a continued focus on the overall health of the harbor and the bay, improved access to clean water and more accurate beach postings on those metropolitan beaches in densely populated communities that continue to be unsafe for swimming on as many as one out of every five days in a typical year.

In June we released our annual Beach WaterQuality Report Card and began a coordinated and comprehensive campaign to elevate our concerns about the filthy, bacteria laden discharge at Stacey Brook on King’s Beach in Lynn, and to roll back or revise recent changes to the already flawed beach flagging and posting protocols, which are less accurate than before.

 

Pollution from that outfall prevents low-income kids and from that dense and diverse community from enjoying a beach that should be a civic and recreational asset, not a liability.
 

As a result of our efforts, this summer both Lynn and Swampscott officials have publicly acknowledged their contributions to the problem and have identified what we believe is a workable solution. This month, with the support of Metropolitan Beaches Commission Co-Chair Senator Brendan Crighton, the Legislative Leadership of the Senate and the House, and the Baker-Polito Administration, Lynn and Swampscott secured $5 million from the Commonwealth to “jump -start” this important work.

 

More equitable and inclusive access to the harbor, the waterfront, the beaches and the islands.  This requires clean water and stronger physical connections to inland and upland communities of color and need, improved access for people with disabilities, and increased participation by people of color and those for whom English is not the primary language spoken in their homes in both city and state planning processes.

On the state level, Save the Harbor and the legislative leadership and community members of the Metropolitan Beaches Commission (MBC), which we help lead and manage for the Legislature, held hearings on equity, inclusion, diversity and better access to the region’s public beaches for people with disabilities are planning a third hearing - and a Summit for early 2022.

Though we understand that systemic change requires sustained effort, we have already begun to see improvements to public access for people of color and people with disabilities on the region’s public beaches and increased diversity at our public hearings, in our free Better Beaches Programs and on the MBC itself. This will continue to be a priority in 2022. If you would like to take part in the hearings and join us at the summit, email rodriguez@savetheharbor.org

At the city level, we are working closely with our partners in the community and the City of Boston’s planning and development agency, the Commonwealth’s DEP, and the private sector,  to make certain that Bostonians of every race and ability are included in the planning process and the governance of public spaces on the waterfront, and that our activation strategies for the waterfront and the watersheet are in service of that goal.   

As a result, we have begun to see improved physical connections like the South Bay Harbor Trail and the Nubian Shuttle, as well as programmatic connections and activation strategies that will bring more diverse events, programs and audiences to the waterfront, the Fort Point Channel and the Seaport.

Public Hearing on Improving Beach Access for People With Disabilities on November 30

On Tuesday, November 30, at 10:00 AM, the Metropolitan Beaches Commission and Save the Harbor/Save the Bay will convene a Virtual Public Hearing focused on improving access for people with disabilities on the Commonwealth’s public beaches in Lynn, Nahant, Revere, Winthrop, East Boston, South Boston, Dorchester, Quincy and Hull.

 

The public is welcome to join us to share their thoughts on what is working and what we can do better. You can register for the hearing by following this link https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUtfuqgrj0sG9TqjeIa1rCNflHCx69GR_mF

Floating wheelchairs and mobility mats made it possible for the Wallis family to enjoy a day at the beach this summer
thanks to Save the Harbor/Save the Bay’s Better Beaches Program and Triangle, Inc.

At the hearing, we expect to hear from members of the disability community as well as a panel of experts including; Kristen McCosh, Commissioner of the Boston Disabilities Commission, Coleman Nee, Chief Executive Officer of Triangle, Inc., and Kathy Lafferty, Executive Director of the South Boston Neighborhood House. Stephanie Cooper,&nbsp Acting DCR Commissioner, is also expected to attend.

 

About the Metropolitan Beaches Commission

 

The Metropolitan Beaches Commission is a permanent Commission charged with making findings and recommendations to the Legislature and the Department of Conservation & Recreation (DCR) on ways to improve the metropolitan region's public beaches. It was established by the Massachusetts Legislature in 2006 and is led and managed by Save the Harbor/Save the Bay.  You can find more information about the MBC on Save the Harbor/Save the Bay's website, and download copies of our previous reports at https://www.savetheharbor.org/mbc-archives.

 

Late last spring the Commission decided to focus attention on ways to increase diversity, equity and inclusion on the Metropolitan Region’s public beaches, to improve access for people of color, people with disabilities, and people who may not speak English as their primary language.  In May, we heard from a diverse group of civic leaders and community members about ways in which we could increase diversity on the beaches and in our beach programming.

 

 “We hope to do for equity, diversity and inclusion what we did for management and maintenance of the Metropolitan Beaches.” said Commission Co-Chair Senator Brendan Crighton of Lynn. “Working together we will provide DCR and our communities a blueprint for improving public access to take these beaches from good to great.”

 

After the November 30^th hearing on improving access for people with disabilities, in January of 2022, the MBC will hold a hearing on language barriers that affect public safety and enjoyment on our region’s public beaches.

 

“Our state beaches are public treasures that belong to all of us” said Commission Co-Chair Representative Adrian Madaro of East Boston. “We need to advance environmental justice and center diversity, equity, and inclusion so that people of all backgrounds, conditions and abilities can enjoy them for years to come.”

 

Following that hearing, the Commission will host a Virtual Summit, at which they will present their preliminary findings to a broad and diverse audience of beach users to get their thoughts and input. Following the Summit, the Commission will share a report of their findings and recommendations with the Legislature, the Administration, DCR, and the public.  It will serve as a roadmap for improving access and increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion on our public beaches going forward. 

 

“The legislative and the community members of the Commission hope that this hearing will help us better understand the challenges facing people with disabilities on the metropolitan beaches,” said Chris Mancini, Executive Director of Save the Harbor/ Save the Bay. “We are looking forward to working together with DCR to develop strategies to improve access to these spectacular urban natural resources for everyone.”

 

For more information about the MBC or the hearing, please contact Save the Harbor's Executive Director Chris Mancini by email to mancini@savetheharbor.org or on his cell at (617) 909-6667, or their Director of Strategy & Communications Bruce Berman by email to bruce@bostonharbor.com or on his cell at 617-293-6243.

Summer 2021 Youth Program Recap!

2021 brought us another summer where we had to be mindful of the pandemic while trying to safely run programs. To our delight, we were able to welcome 13,795 youth and their families back to the Harbor in person, while also continuing to connect online with those who could not join us on the waterfront. 

We brought back each of our programs with a reduced capacity, which allowed us to interact more with each participant. While we are waiting for the day that we can bring back our normal programs, the successes that we had this summer are ones to celebrate! 

All Access Boston Harbor: All Access trips were once again made possible by Bay State Cruise Company, the Department of Conservation and Recreation, YMCA of Greater Boston, and Leader Bank Pavilion, not to mention many other incredible partners. We decreased the capacity of the trips - the limit which was once 1000, down to 400 sign ups per trip, the frequency of the trips - down to one day a week from three, as well as the scope of the trips - with our destination only to Spectacle Island. Heading into the season, we were excited to exceed the 400 person registration on each and every trip. The weather forecast for July and August had something to say about our early projections, as it was one of the rainiest summers in history. Although we did not cancel any of our trips, we ended up averaging about 250 people per trip. We engaged with groups on Spectacle Island through fishing and crabbing lessons, touch tanks, beach glass and ceramics walks, and swimming. We are proud to say that thanks to the YMCA we were able to provide lifeguarded waterfronts for our trips so that participants were able to enjoy swimming at Spectacle Island’s beautiful beach. Each group that joined us was so appreciative of the opportunity to go on an outdoor field trip, not to mention give the kids an opportunity to go on a boat ride and visit the Boston Harbor Islands, some for the first time. 

Youth Leadership Program: Made possible by the John Hancock MLK Scholars program, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, Hood, and the Department of Youth Engagement and Employment, we were able to employ more youth staffers than ever before with 42 on the team. This year the staffers visited 18 different waterfront sites over the course of the summer in Revere, East Boston, Charlestown, Winthrop, South Boston, Allston/Brighton, Cambridge, Downtown, Dorchester, and Quincy. With COVID-19 impacting our last two summer's programs, we were able to focus much more time on the personal and professional growth of our youth staff without our usual packed schedule of outdoor education. We were able to tailor a speaker series to their interests so that they could be connected with people in professions that align with their areas of interest. Our staff, while normally at one or two waterfront sites throughout the course of the summer, they were able to visit a different site almost every day - allowing them to become more familiar with the holistic view of the Boston Harbor. The youth staff worked with many partner orgs, including MIT Sea Grant, the National Parks of Boston, and the Stone Living Lab to do community science projects, which increased their scope of understanding of the changing waterfront. They were also able to create educational content based on the sites that they visited, increasing their skills with video production, digital content creation, social media professional presence, communicating through writing weekly blogs, and more! In the summer of 2022 we will continue to integrate all of these aspects into what we refer to as a "normal summer".

Boston Harbor Explorers: Both Save the Harbor and our site partners were beyond excited to be able to collaborate in person again this summer. These sites, including Boston Children’s Museum, Piers Park Sailing Center, Camp Harbor View, Courageous Sailing Center, and Atlantic Wharf, were visited by up to three of our staffers for two days each week. While we would have loved to provide environmental education programming five days a week, this reduced schedule and staffing numbers aligned with pandemic protocols while continuing to work with the youth in a hands on way that you just can’t replicate through a screen.

Catch of the Day Fishing Trips: Thirteen Catch of the Day fishing trips this year were made possible by Boston Fun Cruises’ The Belle. These trips provided groups with a more flexible schedule, not to mention the opportunity for individual groups to spend a day on the harbor with curriculum tailored to their needs. Each group had a blast, whether they went out on a cold and rainy day or had bluebird skies, each and every kid on the trips was able to catch a fish for themselves. Many of these kids had never fished or been on a boat before, so watching them reel in a black sea bass was one of the highlights of the summer. 

Beach Bashes: While we pivoted from three to two beach bashes this year, we were able to geographically spread out these parties and enhance them with food, music, dancing, acrobatics, kayaking and more! We really relied on our partner communities to help us spread the word, and that resulted in our most highly attended beach bash in recent memory! A trike called funk was an awesome new addition to the beach party, as not only did they play music, but they invited participants to their pop up dancefloor to show their moves. The circus guild was captivating as ever with the addition of their hoverboard performances alongside the aerial shows. We are excited to continue these new partnerships into 2022. All in all, the summer of 2021 was a great success. We were thrilled to be back on the beaches and the waterfront sharing Boston Harbor with the region's youth and families. We can't wait for you

Meet Patricia! Save the Harbor's Director of Development

Hi! Today marks my 53rd day at my dream job with Save the Harbor. I am grateful to a few people in my life who I met during my Core Certificate program at the Institute of Non-profit Practice last fall. Malene Welch (Boston Children's Museum), Nikki Tabron (Thompson Island) and Carole Charnow (Boston Children's Museum) have witnessed my re-birth as a fundraiser and frankly, as a wife, mother and individual. 

Nikki Tabron, Patricia, and Malene Welch

I guess my life's lesson is that you never know who you will meet or how things will come together, but surrounding yourself with good people is key. This is what I have realized through my journey starting back in the early nineties (now you know how old I am). 

Having working in the for-profit side of business in luxury cosmetics for 14 years before my pivot into fundraising, I have witnessed the intersection of both, resulting in a long-term partnership with my now husband, formerly the recipient of a small grant from Kiehl's Since 1851 when I was in charge of International Business Development and Global Marketing - Asia, Latin America and Australia. Adrian, a cell biologist, taught me how his work, and that of many others is heavily reliant on the philanthropy of others.

Fast forward and here I am today. Stronger, after working with small to medium sized shops, and wiser because of my mentors and colleagues in the field like Sonja Plesset (while at Whitehead Institute), Fabio Fernandez (while at the Society of Arts and Crafts), Bernie Pucker (my earth angel) and Rebecca Lubens (while at Understanding Our Differences). 

Often, when people find out that I like to fundraise, they are amazed. I respond that fundraising is a way for me to best utilize the skills I have been given. Listening and engaging people on their interests and understanding their motivation to support a particular cause is like opening a book. I believe that every person has a story and I want to make Save the Harbor a major part of this story.  Through the years I have also learned that if you do not ask, you will not receive, and a "no" is not a final "no" but a "not today". 

Patricia holding a huge striper at the Fishing Derby

So everyday I wake up loving the work I do because I am surrounded by intelligent, creative and really good people at Save the Harbor, doing what I love to do - passionately and whole heartedly,  I can truly say, I have found my dream job. Thanks for reading!
-Patricia

Meet Sabrina!

 Hello! My name is Sabrina Suros (she/her) and I am beyond excited to join the Save the Harbor/Save the Bay team as the Social Media & Communications Assistant. 

I graduated from the University of Central Florida in Communications and Media Management. While living in Orlando, I discovered my passion for environmental activism interning at two local non-profit organizations that aim to help people and heal the planet. Ever since, I have known that I wanted to pursue a career path that allowed me to do my part in conserving and protecting our natural ecosystems, which is why I am so grateful to be part of this wonderful organization. 

In this past year, I set out to explore new cities and fell in love with Boston. Yoga, walks and meditation by the harbor were the highlights of my summer! I am so excited to take on this new role at Save the Harbor/Save the Bay and can't wait for what's to come!

- Sabrina

A New Chapter at Save the Harbor!

             

Revere Beach Sand
Sculpting Event 2021 

Hello everyone!! As you may already know, my name is Aleena Mangham (she/her/hers); I’m sure you have seen me here a lot!! 

            This past August, I finished my fourth summer on the harbor as a Program Assistant. This time around, I’m not working as a summer staff, I’m taking on the position as a Community Engagement Assistant. I’m extremely excited to get to experience the works of Save the Harbor through a completely different lens. While working on the water is my favorite thing to do (as you can tell because I have worked here forever!!), learning how to build connections,
make partnerships, and work “behind the scenes” to help build our programs is going to be a great learning experience for me. I plan to use some of these skills in the future.

Summer 2021 with my team

When not on the harbor, I’m a full time student at Howard University in Washington DC. I’m studying Criminology and Political Science in hopes to work in a job that incorporates prison reform and aiding those who have been wrongfully placed in prison and/or wrongfully sentenced for a minor crime. I have always wanted to work to help people, I just didn’t know how, and I feel like over the past two years I have found my calling--helping fix a broken justice system.

Thanks for reading!

Sea you soon,

Aleena

This is a See you later

 Hey there, 

As we all know it, all things come to an end, but it’s all the great memories made in that time that last forever. This was the last week of the 2021 Save The Harbor summer and like always we finish it off with a bang. We spent our last days as a whole group doing fun things like going on a spooky trip to George’s Island, joining summer groups and families on All Access to Spectacle Island, hitting up Boston Bowl and the Arcade, and finally a team picnic in the Boston Public Gardens. 

In the three years that I have worked at STH, I can never recall a dull moment even when it's 1000º outside and we’re all going crazy.  I always enjoy the refresher on the marine animals that share our harbor and this year learning more about Bivalves as well. 

My favorite moment from this summer was the first trip to Spectacle Island that we took as a whole staff. I got to make new friends and regroup with old ones while seeing kids actually get to be outside again since quarantine. 

I can’t wait to come back next year and do it all over again. A big thank you to the STH staff for always giving me the best summer. 

Sea you on the flip side, 

Jay Gomez 

Week 6 - Grappling with the Effects of Climate Change

 Howdy folks!

    This week was a very intense one, because it was HOT. As in above 90 degrees Farenheit pretty much every day. We really noticed the effects of this in how it impacted our programming--we couldn't do very much of it in an effort to stay out of the heat. Coincidentally, some of the programming that we were able to do was about heat resiliency, so this combined with the weather really got me thinking about it.

    We learned that in Boston, as with many other cities, the heat is worse in areas that have more structures and less green space. This is because of how the heat interacts with the different environments. Not only do green spaces provide shade with trees, but they allow the heat to dissipate as well. Urban structures, on the other hand, absorb the heat and it builds up in the area. Currently, air conditioning units are the most widespread and effective tool for cooling indoor areas. However, many people in Boston cannot afford them, and this combined with the fact that many low-income areas in the city have little to no green space provides for a very difficult situation for the vulnerable populations that occupy such neighborhoods. And besides, you can't cool an outdoor area with air conditioning, and the units aren't exactly the best for the climate either!

    So how can we address these problems? One obvious solution is to add more green space into areas that don't have it and have populations that are particularly vulnerable to the heat. There are additionally technologies currently being developed to help cool outdoor places efficiently and without adding to the issue of climate change. I personally do not know of a more environmentally-friendly alternative to air conditioning that is just as effective, but it is always helpful to not overuse it. Perhaps the use of glass that does not allow for temperature transfer in windows can help, and it would prevent heat from building up in people's houses when the sun is bright. All this being said, there are many different ways to address the issue of extreme heat that is with us right now, and there are infinitely many that I haven't covered nor even know of. It is simply a matter of learning about and implementing those strategies, especially where they are needed most.

See you soon,

Arryn

 

A comic that I made using a City of Boston resource as part of our programming about heat resiliency.

 

We ended up working at the Copley branch of the Boston Public Library on Thursday to beat the heat. They have air conditioning, and I got to eat lunch in their beautiful courtyard!

One Last Cinnamon Swirl

Dear Blog Readers,

It's with a heavy heart that I tell you that this is going to be my last STH blog of the summer 2021 season. It's been a good run, but fall is around the corner and now I have to get ready to wake up early in the morning again. Yikes. Before I dive into what undoubtedly be an absolute banger of a blog, I'd like to thank you, my devoted readers, for sticking with me this far, you all clearly have excellent taste.

My time at Save the Harbor/Save the Bay this summer has given me so much more than just a way to finance my Tasty Burger addiction, although that's definitely a big part of it. Like, a big part, I'm actually very bad at money management. But that's besides the point. One of the biggest perks of working at Save the Harbor, I've found, is the connections you make with everybody else in the program, and especially with the people in your group. I went into this summer just looking for a job, and I came out of it with a hell of a lot of new friends, whose names I will try my best not to forget over the school year, at the risk of looking like a dickhead next summer.

I had a great time getting to know the people in my group. I'm definitely somewhat of a shy person, so I didn't really know what to expect when meeting them for the first time in Revere at the beginning of July. I joined the program late, and I hadn't been to the orientation week, so I didn't really know anybody's names and I hadn't made any friends, but none of that ended up mattering because the environment is super friendly and welcoming, and quite literally within three days I felt like a seasoned veteran of the group. Some of my favorite memories of this summer were from my first week on the beaches of Revere. I remember getting the sunburn that will permanently ruin my tanlines, and the stench of rotting seaweed on Short Beach. I remember doing the Bivalve Quest, and walking around in the intertidal zone, searching for green crabs, intact clams, and orange sheath tunicates, and sea water soaking through my sneakers when I accidentlally plunged my foot in. I remember playing keep-it-up with a volleyball on Revere Beach, and digging a massive pit in the sand, and then everyone in my group dancing together afterwards to some 2000's bangers. I have more memories from this summer than I feel like writing about, and way more than you'd want to go to the effort of reading through.

Another thing that I've taken away from the STH is a greater appreciation of the diversity of marine life living in the Boston Harbor. By myself, I never really would have thought to go walk out on the shore, turning over rocks to look for crabs and sea bugs, or digging around in the sand for bivalves. I also would still not have known how to fish, or had the mental willpower to come anywhere within a five foot radius of a bloodworm. By researching biodiversity, and learning a lot of interesting facts about these creatures, I found myself feeling less hesitant to look at them  up close, and suddenly a lot more interested in the specific biological mechanisms that make them tick.

It's hard to think of a single event that defined this summer for me, but the Beach Bash we held at Constitution is definitely up there. The event was pretty much textbook STH from what I can tell, meaning that it was basically organized chaos. That in itself made it pretty exciting, though. There must have been five hundred kids there or more, which meant that for a JPA the day was spent running around from activity to activity, making sure that no kid was left unattended, and generally taking care of whatever else needed to be done. I started out running the sports area, but I ended up volunteering (being volunteered by Bridget) to dance in a big group of kids for a local news broadcast, helping Kurtly run the fishing section, and helping Jason return one of the kayaks to its place. By the end of the day, I was super exhausted, but I can say that it was by far one of the most fun and rewarding things I've done in a while. I think events like that, and the All Access trips we did to the Boston Harbor Islands, really reflect what my job this summer was all about. The Beach Bash was chaotic, unpredictable, and required everybody to be adaptable and move around to wherever we were needed. Most importantly, we got to directly interact with the community, which was pretty cool. Since we talk a lot about how our mission is to make the harbor more accessible to the public, it was nice to see a direct way in which we can have that impact on kids' lives.

Our final week this summer ended on a high note, with a lot of group activities that brought together all of the JPAs and team leaders. On Tuesday and Wedneday, we had trips to George's Island and Spectacle Island, respectively, and on Thursday got to go bowling at Boston Bowl in Dorchester, since the rain caused the Beach Bash at Carson to be cancelled. I kind of suspected that I was going to be shitty at bowling since it been a few years since I had last done it, but apparently I was just born a star, because I absolutely smoked the competition and won. I was feeling pretty proud of myself until I saw Kristen's score two lanes over, and that humbled me a bit.

Waving Goodbye to a Summer Well Spent!

 Hi Everyone!

It's crazy to think that this summer has finished, it feels like I was just meeting my team and trying to dig the deepest hole of all time into Revere Beach. We've had so many adventures this summer, and I was able to learn so much about the history of Boston Harbor, the animals that live in it, and the impacts humans continue to exert on the water. I began this summer with pretty limited knowledge of all the different T lines, and I had never gone fishing on the ocean. Now I feel comfortable taking Boston public transportation anywhere, and I cooked up a massive striped bass that I caught and killed in the harbor! I'm very grateful to have had such an awesome team of students this summer who were interested in learning about the natural world around them and had great insights into all of the social, cultural, and economic factors that affect how different people in the city access green spaces and the water. Shoutout to Ari, Jasmine, Aleena, McRae, Kurtly, Henry, Alex, Albert, and Julian for all of the laughs, serious conversations, and hilarious memes this summer! 

Me with a MASSIVE striped bass during the fishing derby. Definitely one of my favorite days this summer!

The harborbots in East Boston! So grateful to have had such an amazing team :)

I was very proud of the deliverables that my group was able to create this summer. Each week, I would have 2 students from the team be in charge of coming up with a concept for our deliverable then assigning people different parts to work on. Together we would all brainstorm ideas until we thought of something that we hadn't done before. We were able to make species guides, tik toks, informational videos, infographics, and more! My favorite deliverable we made was a set of postcards we created that were written by people living in East Boston during different time periods. By writing from the perspective of people living in the past, we were really able to think through how attitudes towards the harbor have changed over time. As someone who used to love historical fiction books as a kid, I thought this was a great way for younger students to imagine themselves as residents in East Boston while the harbor was a foul and dirty body of water. We were also able to capture demographic shifts in our postcards which showed the impact of immigration on that area of the city.  In our other projects, we also were able to improve our video editing skills and some of us tried out graphic design for the first time by using Canva! 

The last few weeks were spent exploring the Charles River Esplanade and the Harbor Islands, which were both a blast! We welcomed another member to the squad in Julian, and he was a great addition to the team with his energy and sense of humor. After surviving the heat wave together, we spent some much needed time out on the water and harbor islands, where we did our last fishing session with kids and all got to say goodbye through bowling and a picnic! It was so cool to see my team at Spectacle Island on our last All-Access trip because although some had started the summer never having fished before, by the end they all felt comfortable introducing fishing to younger kids, hooking up bait, and showing them how the reels worked! 

Exploring the floating marsh on one of the hottest days of the summer!

Our final picnic! It was sad to say bye to all these amazing students :(

This summer at Save the Harbor far surpassed my expectations! We were able to see so many sites and it was awesome to see my group grow and try new things each week. It was so cool to send some of my students off to college, because I know they're gonna do amazingly on their next chapters, and I can't wait to see where we all end up in the future. Special thanks to Kristen, Bridget, and Maya for doing so much work behind the scenes every day and making sure we had everything we needed to be successful! This summer has really ignited my passion in non-profit work and I'm so excited to meet even more people through Save the Harbor :) 

Sea you all soon!! Can't wait to continue working with everyone in the future :)

-Jason