See you next year ! :)

 Hey Sea Lovers, it’s Ché agin! Sadly, this is the last blog I will be writing this summer. This summer was a blast, my favorite part of the summer had to have been the last day of first rotation. My team and I at Piers Park set up a blanket and had a last day bonding time. We ate pizza and a bunch of snacks for our lunch break. This summer was nothing but good vibes, the kids we worked with were amazing and very energetic. I feel as if they had so much fun and learned so much about the Harbor; which was our main goal this summer. To make sure the kids had fun and were knowledgeable about the harbor.

I learned so much this year at work,I  especially learned how to better work with kids. I learned and got better with talking to kids as well. Also with the great staff leader -Fatima and Aleena- I had a Piers Park I was able to learn so many skills on how to lead and how to be a better worker at Save The Harbor. I’m going to use these skills in the real world because I’m going to have jobs where I’m going to need to take initiative and be very vocal and this summer I was shown and learned how to do that.

What I will miss the most this summer is waking up early every morning and once we get to the park we play "Fishy Fishy Cross My Ocean' and 'Everyone's It" with the kids. I will especially miss when the kids would come down to the dock and the first thing they say is “can we check the crab trap” and continue to ask every five minutes haha. These kids love playing with the crabs. These kids are also fearless, they will stick their hands in the touch tank and try and pick up the biggest crab. I’m really going to miss Save The Harbor because this summer was a blast and I was able to work with and be around amazing people! Can’t wait for next summer! 

See You Next Year

 I can't believe it's over! My favorite part about working here was everything, I can't pick one moment that wasn't amazing. One thing I learned this summer is that green crabs have 5 spikes and that's how you can tell if a crab is a green crab or not.  I also learned that spider crabs aren't invasive. Some personal skills I've improved on are my communication skills.  I've managed to tell people about all of the weird and interesting things about crabs and have them actually understand what I'm talking about.  I can use these skills in my personal life every day, except for the crab skills. I don't see crabs every day at school so everything but the crab skills I'll use.  If one day a crab comes along I can freak everyone out by picking it up without it pinching me.  

My favorite game to play at Save the Harbor is Uno Flip.  For August, I was playing with Madison the Uno master.  The one thing I will miss most about this summer is the fun everyone has working here.  Can't wait till next year!

Henry

3 of my favorite pics this summer 

Summer over ALREADY!!

 This summer has been one of my favorite summers because of this job. One of my favorite parts of this summer is meeting amazing people working here and working with them. The most memorable site has to be CHV because not only did I meet amazing people there I was able to sorta experience camping because I never really got to camp when I was younger like the kids there at CHV. I also got to see piers park for the first time because I've never been there in my life until this year.

This summer, I learned how to hook a worm correctly and manage a rod. I also learned a lot about the crabs in our harbor and how to identify them. I'm going to miss working at CHV even though there were downsides to working there because of how early it is. I hope if I work here again another summer I can get that site.

Thank you for a great summer.

That's All Folks!

 After eight weeks filled with laughter and lessons, the summer has come to an end. As I look back on my time at Camp Harbor View I can honestly say it was the best place to be this year. When I first found out that I would be at CHV all summer I was nervous about how the summer would go. I knew that the camp followed a very tight schedule and that we would be interacting with many camp groups during the day. Thankfully, all of the staff members at CHV were incredibly friendly and willing to help at all times. Each day we received schedules to help keep us on track and know which groups of campers we would be with. As a result of the organization at the camp, days ran smoothly and often went by too quickly. Many of the staff members at CHV became more like friends to us, I looked forward to seeing everyone each day and was excited as each group arrived with campers and staff. During our breaks, we would be seated to the side of the campers but it never stopped kids and staff from coming over to share about their day or check in and see how we were doing. 

Caught a skate on the last cast during fishing club!

Not only was the CHV staff so great, all of my Save the Harbor peers were equally as important in making this summer so memorable. From the countless rounds of Uno to joining in on camp songs, we enjoyed each day. When we were working with campers everyone was always willing to assist with all that came up. As the summer progressed, it was clear to me that both staff and campers were learning something new each day. Many campers were given the opportunity to interact with marine life for one of the first times, while STH staff learned more about Boston Harbor species and how to share what they have learned with those around them. Not a day went by where I didn't feel like I had the best job and coworkers in the world. 

Some of my amazing coworkers and I on the PTown II heading to CHV.

I am going to miss heading out to CHV each day. The warm and welcoming environment there is one that I believe all camps should aim to achieve. Thank you to all of the staff who became friends, and campers who made the days worth it. I know this summer has come to an end, but I hope that future summers at CHV bring just as much joy to all who get to experience it. 

 Thanks for following along all summer - I can't wait for the next one!

Jaelynne

The Best Summer

 Hi everyone! My seventh week at Children's was a blast. On Monday we hosted a camp group at Atlantic Warf. On Tuesday, we caught a skate, a flounder, and a green crab at BCM! It was very exciting, and we also met a fish biologist who showed us a different way to tie knots on fishing lines. On Wednesday we caught a few baby flounders and one Green Crab.  On Thursday, I had the chance to got to Camp Harbor View for the day. I did a mimic with a park ranger and I got to go sailing!

Overall, this summer was full of exciting adventures that I am so glad I got the chance to do. My favorite moment with Save the Harbor this summer was the first Thursday that I went to George's Island with All Access. It was so cool because I had never been there before, and going there with David was like having a really good private tour guide. We got to learn all about the history of the island, and I even got to scare the group by hiding in a coffin in Fort Warren. It was a great day.

Through my work at Save the Harbor this summer, I have learned all about the history of the Harbor, Spectacle Island, and George's Island. I am familiar with the types of species that live in the harbor, and I know how to fish. I also got to learn about what being a park ranger is like and the fact that Green Crabs are invasive. The best skill that I was able to take away from this summer was the experience I got working with kids. By my last day of work I felt like I was able to teach kids about fishing or touch tanks in a fun and educational way, and I am so glad I got experience learning how to do that. 

Some of my favorite pictures from this summer!

                                          Our photo contest submission, taken at the old Fort Warren bakery

                                                  Aidan releasing a skate at Boston Children's Museum 

                                                            Catching a skate at Children's!

This summer was amazing! I loved the new experiences that I got to have as an employee of Save the Harbor, between experiencing three Boston harbor islands and the Boston Children's Museum. I hope I can come back next year!

See you on the Harbor, 

Lauren 

Goodbye Summer

 Hey y'all!

This past week has been my final week at Save the Harbor; I'm currently blogging from my dorm room in Pennsylvania. I'll be trading in crabs and skate for dogs and cows. I'm super excited for my upcoming semester, but I am sad to leave Boston and this amazing job behind. It's been an incredible summer of fishing, crabbing, and chatting with my coworkers under our Save the Harbor tent.

Erik and Lauren pulling up a skate!

I have to say, the first part of the summer at the Boston Children's Museum was pretty uneventful in terms of our catches. The most exciting thing we caught were spider crabs and we rarely pulled anything up on our fishing lines. But it seems like our luck changed as soon as I left to visit family up in the Midwest. In the week or so I was gone, my team caught three skate and hooked a striped bass (though that one escaped before we could get it all the way up). The first day I was back, we caught another skate and over 200 people stopped by our tent to check it out! I've never seen that many people come to visit us before. It was a super hectic day, but very rewarding.

The legendary fishing cart

My last day of the summer very conveniently coincided with the last day of BCM programming, so at the end of work we had to bring our supplies back to the office from the museum. In the first half of the summer, we were very fortunate to find an empty, abandoned shopping cart next to our setup area and we quickly claimed it to wheel stuff to and from the museum garage every day. On the last day, we stocked it with everything we had, not including our tent and four fishing rods but including a bunch of sand rakes that had been left there for some reason, and I wheeled it through the Seaport all the way back to the office. Overall, I'd say it was a very successful last day.

Peace out y'all :)

McRae

My Actual Final Blog (oops)

Hey everyone, Sid here. So I accidentally called last weeks blog my last, not realizing I would do one for this week. So here we are. On Monday, we went on a fishing trip as usual, where we caught quite a few fish. The prize was an extremely big black sea bass caught by one of the kids. On Tuesday, we returned to Spectacle, and did the usual things there. We were able to catch our first skate there as well. 

 

On Wednesday, we went to Spectacle again and continued fishing. We were able to catch a lot of crabs, but nothing interesting. Since Thursday was going to be my last day, I went back to BCM instead of going to Georges, so I could leave earlier. It was pretty standard at BCM, mainly just fishing and only catching a few crabs. 

 

That was my final week. In short, it was a pretty normal week. I’m pretty sure I’ll be returning to SHSB for next summer, so until next time

 

-Sid

All Access, All Summer

     All Access was a blast. All of the people that I worked with were super fun and kept the children lively while having fun amongst ourselves. We were able to catch so many crabs and have fun teaching the kids about the harbor while allowing them to be able to learn first hand about certain places on the harbor such as Georges Island and Spectacle Island. My group was small but we got done what was asked of us which is really the important thing.

    There was always something fun to do. I think my favorite day for this site was the first day that my group went to George's Island. I went on the island tour with David and all of the people were very happy to be there, they were all interacting with us, it was great. A little boy named Anthony had the time of his life when his mom volunteered him to go into the oven. This other kid was pretty scared of the dark tunnel so David hid outside of the tunnel to scare him after he came out. We typically catch a lot of green crabs out at George's and Ruben even caught a menhaden. Menhaden are these small forage fish that are known as the "most important fish of the sea" because they are a primary food source for various sport fish, including bluefish. 

    All Access is an amazing opportunity for anyone whether you are working or one of the groups visiting the islands. People take for granted what an amazing chance this is, to be able to visit these remarkable islands in our harbor for free. Being able to see how excited and happy people get when they see the island is probably one of the best parts of my day. Some kids treat it like whatever but others treat it as if they just struck gold. I understand that these trips are fun but you learn so much just from David's talks and just being present at the islands, absorbing them and not being glued to your phone all day long.

I had fun being on All Access for July and cannot wait to continue working that site throughout August. Sadly, I leave for college before the summer is over so I do not get the entire month but I'm happy with the time I've been able to spend at George's and Spectacle and being able to make all of these people have a fun and educational day. 

Sea ya! -Will

400 People Attend the Annual Maritime Festival on East Boston’s Constitution Beach

Hundreds of people flocked to Constitution Beach in East Boston last Friday for the Maritime Festival

On Friday, August 12th, the Harborkeepers and the U.S. Coast Guard Sector Boston held their annual Maritime Festival on Constitution Beach in East Boston. Over 400 attendees spent the day participating in marine themed activities, put on by over 20 local organizations including the East Boston Public Library, Green Roots, the Mystic River Watershed Association, the Division of Marine Fisheries, Boston Sea Rovers, the United States Lightship Museum, Maverick Landing Community Services, Friends of Belle Isle Marsh, the Trustees of Reservations, Boston Harbor Now, MWRA, FMC Ice Sports, Boston Water and Sewage, and Piers Park Sailing Center. This event was made possible through a grant from Save the Harbor/Save the Bay’s Better Beaches Program partnership with the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR). 

The U.S. Coast Guard Sector Boston let attendees board their boat at Thursday’s event

“We love being at Constitution Beach," said Save the Harbor/Save the Bay’s Executive Director Chris Mancini. “The water is clean and cool, and it is easy to get to by the T or by car or van, making it one of the region's most accessible beaches for people of all abilities. But what I like the best is how it truly brings the community closer together."

Children and families came together to learn about marine animals, water safety, renewable energy, and more. Children were invited to kayak with Piers Park Sailing Center, board a boat from the US Coast Guard Sector Boston, and duel with a Captain Jack Sparrow impersonator. A kite expert flew a scuba diver kite in the sky, while the East Boston Public Library offered summer reading books to kids with their mobile library cart and Save the Harbor/Save the Bay brought a touch tank with crabs to educate kids about invasive species.

Kids were delighted by the opportunity to duel with Captain Jack Sparrow

“I’m just so delighted that the Better Beaches grant exists. It’s an incredible program that allows organizations like ours to put on events like this one, the Maritime Festival,” said Magdalena Ayed, Founder and Executive Director of the Harborkeepers. “It really creates a lot of unity on the waterfront and just brings the community together to learn about coastal issues.”

The U.S. Coast Guard Sector Boston taught attendees about important water safety while kayaking

“Given the large Coast Guard presence in Boston, we were grateful for the opportunity to participate in the Maritime Beach Festival to highlight how we serve the community and the public on a day-to-day basis,” said Lieutenant Norberto Perez, Chief of Incident Management at Coast Guard Sector Boston. “One of our primary focuses during the event was to promote safe boating practices. We placed an emphasis on the importance of wearing life jackets even when using small recreational crafts like paddle boards and kayaks. Having the chance to meet members from the community alongside our state and local partners made for a successful day.”

According to Save the Harbor/Save the Bays Development Director Patricia Salic, free beach events like this would not be possible without their program partners and event sponsors, including Arctic Chill and Harpoon Brewery, JetBlue, FMC Ice Sports, P&G Gillette, National Grid, Coast Cannabis, the Daily Catch, Comcast, Mix 104.1, iZotope, Inc, The Blue Sky Collaborative, Boston & Maine Webcams, BostonHarbor.com, The Boston Foundation, and The Richard Saltonstall Charitable Foundation.

 

In addition, Save the Harbor recognized the Metropolitan Beaches Commission Co-Chairs Senator Brendan Crighton of Lynn, and Representative Adrian Madaro of East Boston and the legislative and community members of the Commission as well as Senate President Karen Spilka and House Speaker Ron Mariano for their support for their beaches and communities. Save the Harbor also thanked the Baker-Polito Administration, the Massachusetts Legislature, Save the Harbor's partners at the Department of Conservation and Recreation, the Boston Centers for Youth & Families, the YMCA of Greater Boston, and the hundreds of people who took part in the Shamrock Splash for their support.

 

To learn more about Save the Harbor/Save the Bay and the great work they do to restore, protect and share Boston Harbor, the waterfront, islands, and the region’s public beaches with all Bostonians and the region’s residents, visit their website at www.savetheharbor.org and follow @savetheharbor on social media.

Beats on the Beach Block Party - Saturday, August 27th from 12-5pm on Malibu Beach!

Back row: left to right, Leo the Kind, Rilla Force, ximena, Lightfoot
Front row: LDER, Dephrase 

On August 27th, award-winning local musicians will take to Malibu Beach in Dorchester to put on a first-of-its-kind free music festival, sponsored by Topo Chico and Save the Harbor/Save the Bay. Celebrating Boston music, the Beats on the Beach Block Party is bringing local musicians, food, artist vendors, and music lovers together on one of the region’s cleanest urban beaches. This event is free and open to all ages, with no ticket required. 

 

Beats on the Beach started in 2020 by Rilla Force and LDER as a community music contest. Each year, two featured producers create sample packs for contestants to use to create their own beats, and a featured producer chooses the winner. This year, local producers Dephrase and Lightfoot collected audio samples from Malibu Beach. The featured producer, Leo the Kind, will choose a winning beat and add vocals to make a completed, collaborative track. Acclaimed Boston musicians and members of Beats on the Beach including Leo the Kind, Lightfoot, Rilla Force, Dephrase, LDER, and ximena will be performing at the Block Party, alongside Beats by Girlz Boston house DJ 1800shortking, and The Hip Hop Transformation. 

 

This year's Beats on the Beach featured producers will also be headlining the concert. Leo the Kind, a Dorchester native, won the Boston Music Award for Pop Artist of the Year in 2020. His success doesn’t stop there, with his music being featured in a 2021 Nike commercial and millions of streams on Spotify. His music is a fusion of electronic, pop, R&B, alternative, rock, funk, and more, creating a unique, signature sound easily recognizable to Boston music fans.  

 

Lightfoot is a producer and beat maker from Boston. In 2019, he won the Boston Music Award for Dance/Electronic Artist of the Year and has been nominated for Boston Music Awards five years in a row. His music has been heard in the halls of the MFA and other prominent venues in Boston, including Boston Symphony Hall.  

 

Dephrase is a local producer and engineer. They own Ugly Duck Studio and are known for their duo, Optic Bloom. The duo has been nominated for Boston Music Awards and was featured in Boston Music Award’s “Ones 2 Watch” music series.  

 

This free event is made possible by a grant from Save the Harbor/Save the Bay’s Better Beaches Program partnership with the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR). This year, Save the Harbor let the community decide how to invest $25,000 in Better Beaches funds in a participatory budgeting process that generated more than 200 ideas. Over 600 people voted for their favorites, with the Beats on the Beach Block Party being a winner. This is part of Save the Harbor/Save the Bay’s effort to promote diversity and inclusivity on and around Boston’s public beaches. 

 

“It’s really important to Save the Harbor to make sure that there are free opportunities to come and utilize the beaches that belong to our community members,” said Maya Smith, Partnerships and Program Development Director at Save the Harbor/Save the Bay. “This is one example of over 150 events that are happening this summer to make sure we are helping to bridge the gap between community members and the spaces that we all share ownership of.” 

 

Ludjy Derisier, aka LDER, is a Haitian-American music producer and Beats on the Beach program coordinator. “I’m so excited for the beats on the beach block party because it’s the culmination of three years of hard work,” said Derisier. “I’m glad that we’re putting an event together that is not only for musicians but for the people in the communities that support them.” 

 

Joshua Major-Paschal, aka Rilla Force, is a three-time Boston Music Award nominated artist, producer, DJ and Program Coordinator of Beats on the Beach. “Save the Harbor gave us an opportunity and the tools to help out our community, and plan our event in the peak of the pandemic, even going as far to continue their support years after,” said Major-Paschal. “Their grant program has done so much good for LDER and I, local businesses, individuals, and so many others since we’ve become grantees. Beats on the Beach and the block party wouldn’t be the same without their help.” 

 

At the event, free drinks will be provided by Topo Chico and the Pull Up Food Truck will serve Latin and soul food by the beach. Local artist vendors will sell clothing, accessories, crystals, pottery and more. There will also be free dragon boat rides courtesy of Ohana New England. Save the Harbor/Save the Bay would like to thank our event sponsors: Topo Chico, Newbury Comics and iZotope, Inc. To learn more about Beats on the Beach Block Party, visit https://www.savetheharbor.org/botbparty. 

 

Beats on the Beach Block Party will take place at Malibu Beach in Dorchester on August 27th, from 12:00 PM to 5:00 PM. 

Mohegan For the WIN!

 Hi everyone it is my third week at CAMP HARBOR VIEW!!! Fun fact, I still can't get the clean-up song out of my head. The Harbor Hustle is really exciting I wanted to run so bad! But unfortunately, staff members cant run but it was pretty exciting to watch them run. Mohegan won the hustle and they’ve been winning most of the hustle’s as of recently. And I tried playing basketball against Simon and Maddison but Simon was too good in the end for us and he won.

 

 The last week with the Camp Harbor View group before they switched had a lot of fun. While fishing on Thursday, we caught a whole bunch of crabs, even female spider crabs and they were pregnant! A fun fact about the female spider crab is that They can lay up to 1.5 Million eggs per season! that is a whole lot of eggs to produce.  

As this is my last week here at Save the Harbor I’ll miss CHV the most out of anything other group. Alright, thanks for reading and I hope to have more and more fun along the way, ill see you guys next week!

    

Week 6: Covid Strikes CHV

Evidently COVID is still a thing, because this past week a few kids at CHV got it, and the entire camp was shut down for the next few days. What that meant for us, besides a lot of hasty nose-swabbing, was that we got sent out on All-Access trips to Spectacle Island instead. It wasn't all bad news though. The weather has been nice and cool since the heatwave passed, so it was a lot more enjoyable than usual being on the concrete pier where we usually set up the fishing rods and crab touch tank. Madison and lot of campers had fun decorating the walkway a bunch of colorful chalk drawings. 

One of the highlights of my short week was hanging at the fishing station and talking to the campers. I got into a heated debate with my new friends Jason and Kevin from Idiil Braintree over potato chip brands. They didn't catch more than a single crab in fifteen minutes of standing around, but I'm pretty sure I convinced them that Ruffles are better than both Lays and Pringles. At the very least, we could all agree that Cheez-It Puffs are gross - they need to stay in their lane.

I also had a lot of fun exploring the island and trying to identify some of the plant and animal species I saw. Usually we close down the fishing and touch tank stations half an hour before the boat leaves, which gives you a bit of time to look around on your own. With the help of a species identification key, I was able to spot Milkweed, Purple Loosestrife, and a herring gull picking away at a rotting crab carcass with a bunch of flies around it. Nature is beautiful, huh.

 See you all in the next one!

- Alex Messier

 

View from the South Drumlin on Spectacle

Purple Loosestrife

Week 6: Our Typical (and Atypical) Time at Camp Harbor View

The old lighthouse on a hill across from the sports field.

CHV has a beautiful view of Boston Harbor.

Out of the sites that I have worked at this summer, Camp Harbor View has definitely been my favorite. How lucky I am to be working at it! Although I'm not actually a camper, working around campers reminds me of how much fun I used to have at summer camp. One part of it is that there is chanting. A whole lot of chanting. Right before meals, there is a contest to see which Lighthouse can be the loudest, as they will get to eat first. The Lighthouses are simply the five main groups that the campers are split into.

Camp Harbor View is on Long Island, although it only takes up a small part of the island. It has a large sports field in front of a collection of buildings that house most of the activities, as well as a dining hall. On the shore down by the dining hall, there is a rocky beach where we sometimes take campers tide pooling. The pier that we fish off of is on the other side of the field. It’s also super sunny most of the time, which can be a blessing or a curse depending on how hot it is—there isn’t too much shade on the pier!

In any given week at Camp Harbor View, we do a whole lot of fishing and catch a whole lot of crabs. Well, the campers do anyways. Save the Harbor/Save the Bay is considered a program partner of CHV, so our job is to teach the campers how to fish. We also get breakfast and lunch for free at the dining hall, which is super lovely. And on Fridays, there is typically some kind of special event, like a staff talent show! However, our schedule this week was pretty unusual, as some campers tested positive for COVID and CHV was closed for two days as a precaution. I’m glad they did that, and during those two days we joined All Access Boston Harbor Instead. I appreciate getting experience at another site that I wouldn’t have otherwise.

Talk to you all next week!

Arryn

Week 6: A Normal Day at CHV

This one's about what site we are at and for me, that's Camp Harbor View.  A typical day is pretty easy we get to the boat around 8:15 and we usually don't end up leaving until 9 anyways but there's only one boat that goes there and it leaves when all the campers get there not when we get there so it's better to be early than late. When we get there we set up, eat breakfast, and then we get our first group. We usually get three groups each day two in the morning and one after lunch. When the last group leaves we pack up and get on the boat home, that's basically it.  

My favorite activity to lead is the only one that we do teach kids how to fish, but the touch tank is also fun. You just get to pick up crabs. We usually have kids that are younger than high school age and then the camp counselors who are around the same age I am.  I don't really know of any unique ecological features but there's a rare plant species on the other side of the island that some park rangers were looking at one day I was there. The most common creature we encounter is green crabs but less than at other sites I've worked at.  

I've worked at CHV and at All Access and there both similar they each are on an island. All Access is a little more work because there are just more people. There are pros and cons for both sites and they sort of are the same with minor differences. The one big one is All Access only goes out to the islands Tuesday to Thursday and there are 2 teams on them so if there's something like a fishing trip or anything else that's the site that is going to end up doing it. However, on CHV you get breakfast and lunch for free every day, and it's really good,  whereas All Access you barely get 15 minutes for lunch because you need to set up the rods and everything at the same time. Even though All Access is annoying most of the time I still like it and to me, CHV and all access are the two best sites to work at. And they have a really nice view.  

See you next time

Henry

Barniback and Fireclaw

     Hello sea scavengers! This week at piers park we pulled up lots of crabs in the crab trap. Not too many large spider crabs but lots of green crabs for the kids to be excited for. At Courageous on Tuesday the campers named the two green crabs Fred and Charlie if I remember right. And on Monday the campers at Piers Park names two of the green crabs Barniback (due to obvious reasons), and Fireclaw (due to one of it’s front pinchers being about half the size as the other one).

        On Thursday parts of Save the Harbor also went to the Youth Summit at the Fredrick Law Olmsted Historic Site where we got to meet lots of teens from other public service Boston summer jobs. I talked to a few Mayors Mural Crew people and they were really cool. Mayors Mural Crew presented about how they built chairs for the Emerald Necklace to commemorate Olmsted. We couldn’t say exactly what we do every day to the big group since every location is different but I can talk specifically about Piers Park. A typical week at Piers park consists of showing and playing everyone’s it or fishy fishy cross my ocean on the grass with the kids (aged 5-9), then being at the dock fishing and crabbing with them till lunch time. The kids also get to go on sail boats, kayaks, and paddle boards, while we’re on the dock with them. After lunch we play with them on the grass then some days do a fun game like jeopardy on the white board. Then for another hour we do activities on the dock which they’re very excited for. Then that day repeats till friday!

        Overall Piers Park is truly a lot of fun. The kids really enjoy all the time with the touch tank and playing the lawn games with us, and so do I. Playing the games/lessons with them on the white boards is my favorite part, all the kids get very competitive and have a lot of fun figuring out the facts or understanding the part of the game. This has been quite a short summer, but you know what they say… time flies when your having fun. I only have one week left but I sure will have fun.

Sea you on the harbor

-Sadye

Week 6 another blast at piers park

Hey fishies , it's Ché again and it’s weeeeeeeeeeek 6 and another week of awesomeness. Every week is just super fun, we go play with kids for about 35 min , we usually only play fishy fishy cross my ocean or everybody’s it. The kids love teaming up in everybody’s eat and try to get the staff. After we play we go get our life jackets and set up the dock and make sure it’s ready for the kids to go fish and play at the touch tank. The kids love the crabs as soon as they come they run straight for the touch tank and see if there are crabs . If not , they will go with Fatima or whoever is in charge of the crab trap and go pick it up with them. After the kids are done looking at the crabs they go fishing and they love fishing. They sit there patiently and wait for a tug. We repeat this cycle in the afternoon as well. This is pretty much a day to day schedule.

We usually serve 5-8 year olds which is good and very fun because they don’t know as much so you have to teach them and they are so curious about the animals and what they are. The kids treat these crabs as if it’s one of their own pets which is very nice , they make sure they are safe, protected and comfortable. They even name the crabs after how they act like for example they name crabs feisty , wiggly, etc.

The most common creatures at this sight is either Rock crabs or green crabs , it’s honestly all we really catch. But when we catch the crabs we teach them how to tell if it’s a boy or girl , but since it’s week 6 they kind of picked it up and now they can tell which is which. The green crabs are usually the fiesty ones and the ones that don’t want to get picked up. But overall piers park is awesome. 

ALEX AT ALL ACCESS

 HELLOO PEOPLE! This is Alex back at you with a WHOLE NEW site, called All Access Boston Harbor. Here at this site, we go to different islands in the harbor. Although in the first week, the only island we went to was Spectacle Island. We gather all the people first, then after we gather on all of them, we get them on a thirty minute boat ride to the island. On Tuesday, we met with a group of deaf people who were signed up for the fishing trip. At the end of the week, we had a staff get together at Peddocks Island, where we hung out at the beach.

This brings up the question about how are we able to communicate with people who are unable to hear, and only able to see what happens. Now, to overcome this challenge we had interpreters, but that is an easy escape goat out of this situation. Personally, I feel that people get half of their understanding of others through speech and whatnot, but the other half comes from the body language and how one would show themselves to the world. If you give off a friendly and accepting type of body language, I feel that those who have trouble communicating would feel more inclined to try and make a bridge between you two. 

Many situations can arise where one party would feel threatened or hurt from an action that you yourself thought wouldn't be that big a deal. One case would be where the deaf group were offended when we didn't have their name on the whiteboard, but they didn't realize that we had lost the marker. By otherwise giving more information or explaining the situation, the problem would be resolved. However, by acting angry and ignoring the other side of explanations, they would just become more and more frustrated and focused only on their bit of information of the situation. Moments like these reminds you of how not everyone thinks or feels like yourself and you have to remember that other people need more or even less words or actions to comfort them.

See you on the harbor,

Alex 

OUT!

Another week at Piers Park!

     Piers Park is a beutiful place for anyone to just chill and relax because there are so many trees that can provide shade. A week at piers park is amazing because we first meet up at the park with our team and then we have morning games with the kids. Some of the games include tag, fishy fishy cross my ocean and more. After we are done playing games with the kids we head towards the dock where we set up the rods and pull up the crab trap for the kids. Then after break in the afternoon we either fish with the kids or we play more games and activities with the kids.

    At piers park you can encounter many creatures such as green crabs, spider crabs, and skate which are very common in our harbor. I worked at CHV before arriving to Piers Park and I would say we are catching less crabs than we did at CHV and we got a lot more wind at CHV maybe because we were at an island. It was a lot more exciting at CHV because we would have so many kids and way more fun activities with the children there because it was a day camp at an island.

See you at the harbor, Harry

Week 6 at BCM: The Skate Spectacular!

 Hi everyone! This week at Boston Children's Museum was a blast. We caught two skates and a Striped Bass at the museum on Tuesday and crabs every day. We had a lot of fun finding tunicates under the dock and showing them to our visitors. It was a great week overall!

A week in the life my site is always exciting and new. For most of the week, my group is stationed at the Boston Children's Museum on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. It's a great place to be because it's shady, it has a good view, and you can feel the breeze that comes off of the water. At the museum we service families (most of whom are headed to the BCM) and the museum camp group once a week. The most common creature we catch at BCM is a green crab, and the second most common are skates. The BCM is a great spot to be stationed at for most of the week.

On Mondays and Fridays, my group is posted at Atlantic Warf (Monday) and Mirabella Park in the North End (Friday). Atlantic Warf is right across the canal from the Children's Museum, so we get the same benefits of the breeze off the water and the view. At Atlantic Warf, we host camp groups for arts and crafts and fishing, with lunch after. The most common creature that we catch at Atlantic Warf is a Green Crab. We rarely catch skates, even though we are right across from the water from BCM. At Mirabella Park in the North End, we play games and fish with a camp group to catch green crabs. I love going to Mirabella because it's in the North End, which is neighborhood I don't go to on a regular basis, and it's really fun to explore on Fridays. I also love the fantastic view of the Boston Harbor we get there. Last week we got to see the USS Constitution pull out of the Harbor!

I can't wait for next week. See you on the harbor!

-Lauren 

                                                                Catching a skate at BCM 

                                                                    USS Constitution!

Ten Days Filled with Fun

With a camp session lasting for ten days, each week looks slightly different at Camp Harbor View as they work to get all of the kids through each activity. During the first week of camp, we spend the first-day doing orientation things with the campers, allowing them to get to know one another. The remainder of the week includes two morning fishing groups, with a fishing club in the afternoon. When kids come to fish with us, we get between ten and fifteen campers at a time, and they fish with us for about 45 minutes. Although we don’t always see the same kids more than once, it is nice to get got briefly interact with the majority of the kids who attend CHV. 

The second, and final, week of camp starts off fairly normal, but towards the end, we follow less of our standard schedule. We typically have a day where we participate in ice cream making, spending time with the campers, and hearing their feedback on the summer. Camp ends with the Harbor Hustle,  a day that has campers participate in activities all around the island as they compete to win it all. Witnessing the Harbor Hustle is always so fun, the campers always have so much fun and the staff gets to enjoy the day too. 

Working with campers to help them fish.

In addition to fishing with our groups, we have also begun some tide pooling and beach walks. During these times we bring our groups down toward the water where we search for marine life and identify what we find. The rocky beach provides excellent environments for bivalve species and small crabs. Hermit Crabs and Asian Shore Crabs are most common on the beach while Green Crabs are most common fishing on the pier. Even though we have only gone tide pooling a handful of times, I have greatly enjoyed my time doing so. 

With a few more weeks left at CHV, I am excited to continue to meet new campers while making great memories with the STH staff. I have had the most fun this summer and cannot wait for all that is still to come!

Catch you next time,

Jaelynne

The Wild Adventure at CHV

 Week two at CHV was an amazing experience and this is truly the best site I have ever been apart of. The kids and the counselors at CHV are all great people. They would have different contests and it's always fun to watch the kids compete in different activities. During the fishing activities, the kids are always excited to fish with us and it's cool seeing them catch fishes that I have never seen before. Even when the kids get impatient our team does a great job to keep the kids engaged. I'm very proud of how close our team have gotten over the past 2 weeks and very grateful to be apart of a great group.

The community in CHV is very diverse so I can really be myself whenever I go there. Seeing people from other cultures and races only makes the community more welcoming for all people. Being at CHV saves me a lot of money because they would serve breakfast and lunch every day of the week. At first, I never thought the food will be good but it ended up tasting very good. They never make the same food twice it is always different and thats one of the main reasons I had enjoyed CHV so far. 

These past couple of weeks of CHV been one of the best times and experiences I had in a while. But unfortunately summer is coming to the end but that doesn't mean to stop having good times with our team. There is only two weeks left of summer but knowing our team we will take advantage of the time we have together instead of being down. I hope the next two weeks be the best times we have this summer and really take advantage of the small amount of  time we have together. 

See ya at the harbor

From Simon 

 

Back at it again, Week 6 baby!

Hey guys, it's Rick. I'm back from my week of absence due to covid. I've missed everyone, including the crabs, and my first week at Piers was great. On the first day, we had a larger group, and I spent most of the time interacting with the kids and getting used to our activities. I told some of the kids that my name was Fishing King and that Harry and I would catch (and release) whales on weekends. It was so funny seeing them get so surprised. Most of them caught on though.

Piers Gang

A day in the life in the Piers group consists of us playing freeze tag with the kids for like 20-30 minutes. Afterward, we go down to the dock and fish with them for a while. During our lunch break, we hang out at Faneuil Hall, North End, or at the Burger King 5 minutes away from Piers. After lunch, we'll either go back to the dock to keep fishing or play with the kids until it's time to go. At the Navy Yard, we usually fish for the whole day and hang out with the kids there. We also hang out in the Constitution Museum during our lunch. Our weeks usually are the same unless we have a field trip happening.

Nap at Constitution Museum after a long day

The kids we work with are usually in 2nd grade. They're all very fast and full of energy (I usually lose in freeze tag all the time). They're also very interested in the crabs. They're ALWAYS asking to pull up the crab trap, and they love playing with the green crabs in the touch tank. Most of them have already been fishing before and some have caught some really cool fish (I had a kid tell me they caught a shark).

Trying to catch a shark

I previously worked at CHV on Long Island, and there are definitely fewer crabs at Piers than there at CHV. We had some great catches in the crab trap, but not so much luck with the lines. I think during the first week one of the kids caught a skate, but we haven't caught any fish afterward. I think it may be because of all the boats in the water. All the crabs seem to be condensed in one area.

Anyway, it's been a really fun week and I'm excited for my last week with the Piers gang. 

Sea you all next week,

Rick.

Week 5: My Final Blog

 Hey all, Sid here. This week was another one pretty standard week at All Access, along with a few events that happened. Unfortunately, this will be the last blog I do, since I'll be going to India next week on Thursday. I'm looking forward to going there, but I'll also miss this job a little. On Monday, I was at Piers Park, where we helped some kids fish on a dock. It was extremly hot there, and it didn't help that the dock was compltely metal.

On Tuesday, our group went on a fishing trip with a family, and we were able to catch a ton of fish. I think our total was 3 blue perch and 2 black bass; we may have caught others but I can't really remember.

 

On Wednesday we went to Spectacle once again, and it was a pretty regular day. It was actually a little chilly, which was a massive change from the previous days. At Spectacle, we did the usual fishing and helping kids.

On Thursday, we went to a youth summit, where I got to meet and talk to a bunch of other youth groups that are working in Boston. It was really interesting to learn about all of these other organizations. Some examples were The Mayor's Mural Crew, Stewards of the Future, and the Storytellers in Parks. I got to learn a lot. Finally, on Friday, my group went to Constitution Beach for the Maritime Festival. We ran a touch tank, and it was a pretty short event. 

So that was my Week 5. This is my final blog so maybe I'll come back next summer. I'm still not sure but, until next time

- Sid