Keeping Up With Current Events at Constitution Beach

After reviewing a video created by Chris Busch on Climate Resliancy, I found a few things surprising. I knew that with climate change there would be rising sea levels and hotter overall climates, but I never took into consideration how these two aspects would affect cities. Busch addresses the effects of climate change in cities, specifically Boston, and how the heat will affect these densely populated areas. For example, areas with darker surfaces, such as buildings and paved roads would absorb much more of this heat, causing certain areas to be unbearable. He also mentions rising sea levels and illustrates what exactly a three foot sea level increase would do to the city’s shorelines.  As the water expands and elevates, it would wash out much of lower level areas of Boston, specifically the areas of Boston that have been built up over time. Some of the possible solutions are flood barriers and creating elevated buildings, however these would take more time, money and resources.

This week my group went to Constitution Beach. Constitution beach is a popular spot in East Boston to host gatherings and cookouts, and there are designated spots to set up picnics. This beach is the closest swimmable beach to the airport, and the water is incredibly clean, when compared to what it once was. We talked as a group this week about climate resilancy, specifically talking about preventing the creation of more greenhouse gas emissions from plastic waste. We took part in a beach clean-up, collecting trash from the beach to prevent it from contaminating the harbor. There can be a lot of plastic waste used at cookouts, and this plastic is incredibly harmful to marine life if it gets into the harbor. One way we can protect marine life in Boston is by “Refusing” to use plastic. This way we can “Reduce” the amount of plastic that gets into the ocean, and protect our beautiful beaches. 

As rising waters are beginning to threaten neighborhoods in areas of Boston, people are wondering what is the solution? Globally, we have used about 9 billion tons of plastic since the 1950’s, yet around just 9 percent of this has been recycled. Around 79 percent is left in our environment, in our waters and neighborhoods. 50 percent of plastic is single-use or disposable plastic. As it does, sunlight and heat cause the plastic to release greenhouse gases, leading to a cycle. As our climate changes, the planet gets hotter, the plastic breaks down into more methane and ethylene, increasing the rate of climate change, and so perpetuating the cycle. We can do our best to stop this cycle by reducing, refusing, reusing, and recycling plastic, and being responsible for our environment!

SEA you next week!

Caroline

Fort Point Channel and Fort Warren

Fort Point Channel

Hey! It's your friendly neighborhood JPA, Jasmine, here to talk about the amazing first week spent at the Fort Point Channel in the Seaport district. I got to spend the week with a pretty cool group of SHSB staff and from the looks of it we are going to have an amazingly fun and productive summer. We had the chance to get to know each other better, use underwater drones, and make an amazing video about Fort Point. However, while at first glance the Fort Point Channel and it's surroundings are beautiful, we quickly saw the flaws of this beautiful place when we made our way onto the docks below where we realized that not everything was pitch perfect in the channel. We noticed bottles and plastic zip lock bags floating in the water. We had the chance to come across two men in a small boat who were going around the channel collecting as much trash as they could reach and find. They are not the only ones there to help the Harbor, I recall last year with SHSB where we also did something similar. Last year we had the chance to ride on Kayaks with our plastic bags and nets trying to collect trash from the channel as well. we are not the only ones, there are many organizations and people who are trying to keep the harbor clean for this generation and future generations to continue enjoying. Will you be one of those people?

The Legend of the Lady in Black

Fort Warren, 1861

You ever wonder if ghosts really exist? Well soldiers who were once stationed on fort warren on George's island seemed to strongly believe in apparitions. According to legend it is said that in many Court Martialed cases, soldiers claimed to have seen a woman dressed in black who would walk among the beaches and around the fort. She became known as the The Lady in Black... but who was she? In life she was known Mrs. Andrew Lanier, the wife of a confederate soldier being held prisoner at Fort Warren. It is said that Mr. Lanier wrote and sent Mrs. Lanier a letter informing her of his capture. This news did not sit well with Mrs. Lanier and she decided to rescue her husband from this prison. She cut her hair and dressed up as a man (this gives me some serious Mulan vibes), and she then grabbed a gun and pickaxe. She then took a boat and made her way from Hull to George's Island. She made her way off the beach and slid through one of the small slits in the stone walls of the fort then made her way into the cell where her husband and other confederate soldiers were being held. The soldiers then hid Mrs. Lanier and for a few weeks used the pickaxe to dig a hole to the center of the fort in hopes to gain the bigger hand over the guards and escape. However when they were just about to make the last hit to their destination, the hit made a noise so loud that the guards overheard and immediately came to see what the problem was. They brought all the men out of the tunnel and out last came Mrs. Lanier with the pistol. Sadly Mrs. Lanier heroic action didn't go so far because the guard quickly knocked the pistol from her hand. Upon hitting the floor the pistol went off and shot one of the prisoners and killed him. Of course the man shot was none other than Mr. Lanier himself.Mrs. Lanier was then caught and taken to be punished for her actions, her punishment would be death by hanging. Her last request was to be buried in women's clothing, the men could only find some black robes fit for a woman. Ever since her death there have been instances where soldiers claimed to have seen a figure in all black who would not answer their calls and it is said that others heard her speak to them. 
It's very interesting what you can learn about this harbor, its islands, and it's history. This is only one of the many things you can learn about the islands. But it doesn't stop there you can learn about clean-ups, activities, and history.

Sea you next time,
Jasmine

A week full of Skates!

Hey everyone! Its that time of year again for the adventures of a SHSB summer. This first week at my site, Camp Harbor View, has been a very eventful week. Monday was a good day because it wasn’t too hot and it was different from our usual curriculum. On monday we introduced ourselves to all of the kids because they were being introduced to their staff as well. We gave the same speech about what we do at Save the Harbor/Save the Bay multiple times but we made it interesting by giving everyone a chance to talk and explain fish printing. For those readers who do not know what fish printing is I will explain. Fish printing is an activity that we do a lot at SHSB with flounder that we catch in Boston Harbor. We freeze the fish and then at SHSB events and camp sites we use a special paint to give the fish some color. Next, we use a special rice paper which we press on top of the paint and then you have a nice, colorful fish print.

The view on the pier at CHV!

The second day at CHV was a very difficult day to have energy to fish because it was the last day of the heat wave that hit Boston. We had begun our usual activities of fishing and pulling up the crab traps but the heat was almost making us melt. It is hard to stay out of the sun on the end of a pier but luckily there is a nice breeze to cool us down. We had a lot of crabs in the trap which was great for the kids because they were able to put their hands in the water (to cool down) and also learn how to tell the difference between a male and a female crab. The campers were extremely engaged in activities we had going on despite the heat. We didn’t catch anything on Tuesday with the rods but the kids were determined. What that helped me get through the scorching heat was knowing that the next day was the 4th of July!

After a nice break in the middle of the week it was time to get back to work at CHV. Thursday was a nice breezy day on the pier that we fish off of. At the very end of the day on Thursday something really exciting happened: one of the camp counselors caught a skate by the tail! The skate was unharmed and we got the hook out quickly so that we could get him back into the water to live with his big happy family. It is cool to catch a skate with kids who have never fished before because a lot of people, children and adults, have never seen one before. The skate is a part of the ray family but it is a cartilaginous fish with spikes so you have to be careful when you pick it up. One of the coolest facts about the skate is that it’s mouth is on the stomach of the animal and it often looks like it is smiling.

He's smiling!

This is one of the three skate's we caught this week

Friday was an interesting day at CHV because the weather was CRAZY! It was nice and breezy which was a nice change for once. Not long after we arrived on the island in the morning, the sky became really dark then all of a sudden it started to pour. We had to run really far to get out of the rain but the view of Boston was pretty cool.

During the storm- You can't even see Boston!

After the storm passed we found Boston again

While we were inside, since it was Friday, we had a BBQ which consisted of burgers, hot dogs, mashed potatoes and more. As you can see this was a very eventful week at Camp Harbor View and it was only the first week! I’m sure that the rest of the summer will be just as exciting, if not more exciting than this past week but don’t worry I will keep you all posted on my adventures!
-Maeve