"Rain, Rain, Go Away!"

They seemed to like the rain much
more than me!

Boom!

That's the sound that the thunder makes when the lighting hits the ground. It's pretty loud, but it's nothing compared to the screams of the kids when the thunder claps. I honestly think the lighting and thunder are more scared of the kids than the kids are of them.

Kids playing in the rain!

The day started off like any other day. We took the kids fishing, sailing and kayaking. However, the day took an unexpected turn when it started to rain during our Capture the Flag game. The sun was still going strong and shining during the beginning. The teams were chosen and we stared each other down from the safety of our own sides. I felt the tension between the two sides because of the intense rivalry between them. It was a match to see who was better, Oysters or Clams! The clouds started to roll in and we knew the battle was about to start. Both sides charged at each other with no plan in mind. It was flag or nothing. Casualties were being

taken on both sides as kids tagged each other one after the other. As the game went on, droplets started to fall from the sky. But droplets quickly turned into pounding downpour of rain that smacked against your skin when it hit you. With one last chance to grab the flag, both teams made one final push to secure a victory for their side. It was clear that there could be only one victor at the end of the day. But to our surprise, it was neither oyster nor clam. It was the rain. With the rain coming down harder than ever before, both sides agreed to call it a truce and we all ran as fast as we could to the tent. At that point, it was clear that we were no longer oysters or clams! We spent the rest of our day inside our tent and singing campfire songs until the rain finally went away. What an eventful day at Piers Park! It was fun, but I would like to finish the game next time!

Until next time,
Henry

First Day at Piers Park!

Hello Everyone!

My first kayaking adventure!

I traveled to Piers park for the first time today! I had no idea what to expect. I loved my previous adventures on All Access, but I was also excited to experience our ocean on a different site. When I arrived, I realized that Piers Park was a camp filled with energetic staff and campers. To get out some of the energy that all the children arrived to  the camp with, the day started off with an never ending game of Everybody's It. If the staff hadn't stopped the game, the kids would have kept playing all day. After our time on the field, we proceeded to go on the dock. We set up fishing and a touch tank for the kids. Although I could not take the kids sailing because of my lack of expertise in that area, I was able to take the kids out to kayak. We traveled around the shore and under the dock to pick up both trash and invasive periwinkle snails. It made me happy to see how enthusiastic the kids were about picking up trash and cleaning the harbor. 

After we finished up at the dock, we headed back up to our tent to eat lunch. The kids would need the fuel for the rest of their action packed afternoon. The activity up next in the day was a visit to the park to play in the water sprinkler. After a hot morning, the kids got the chance to cool off in the water. The kids didn't even bother drying off because the activity that was next up on the list was a game of capture the flag in the sun. We finished up the day with one more round on the dock. It was a great first day at Piers Park and I can't wait to come back here tomorrow!

I hope you enjoyed hearing about my first day at Piers Park!

Henry

George's Round 2

Hello Everyone!

Two-hand touch football with the kids!

This week was the second time that All Access made a visit to George's Island. I was stationed at Sports this week and had the opportunity to visit the dark tunnels once again, but this time, as an expert. As always, David led our expedition into the dark passages. Along with our usual group, we had the opportunity to show a few of the Save the Harbor interns who usually stay in the office around the island. The second time in the tunnels was even better than the first. Instead of being the one who gets scared, I was the one doing the scaring this time. We got to lead some of the campers into our "trap" led by David  of course. The weather that day was extra chilling, making the hairs on our arms stick up. You could feel the temperature drop when you walked through the tunnels. This made the presence of the "Lady in Black" that much stronger. It probably made the experience for the kids much more exciting and fun! It was fun to see how scared everyone was, knowing that was how I felt last time.

During sports, I got to play football with some of the campers. We invited them over when we saw them aimlessly walking around the fort. It always feels good to bring some smiles to a few friendly faces. We organized a game of 4 on 4 with, no tackling, but two hand touch. I also had the pleasure to witness our senior harbor educator Jennifer "master" her football throw. Maybe she will be the next Tom Brady by the time summer ends! The Patriots will finally find the perfect quarterback replacement!

Until next time,
Henry

Ahoy Mateys!

Ahoy Mateys!

This Friday, I had the pleasure to go to the Atlantic Wharf for a day of fun activities. We were visited by campers and families all afternoon. It was an extremely hot and sunny day, but we were powered and energized by a free Boloco lunch! The activities kicked off with some fun stories with "Tony the Pirate!" After his pirate stories, we split off into separate groups to maximize our time with activities such as fishing, mural painting and touch tanks.

I was assigned to the touch tanks. We set up the touch tank, but the sun was so hot that it was practically boiling the water. We had to place an ice pack in it to keep the water even mildly cold. It didn't work too well, so we had to continuously change the water to keep the crabs alive and functioning for the kids to see. We got to spend our time explaining to the kids what type of crabs we were catching in our crab trap. They were mostly Green Crabs and we got to explain some fun facts about them. Females are usually orange and you can almost spell out the word green on its shell. Despite the hot weather, we all had an extremely fun time. It was nice to be able to do some of the activities I normally do in the middle of the city and not just on Spectacle Island.

Signing off,

Henry

Touch Tank!

Into the Dark Tunnels

Hello Again!

This week was the start of our All Access adventures to George's Island. Although this wasn't my first trip to George's, I did receive a jolt of excitement when I heard David tell his haunted tales of "The Lady in Black" to all the little campers. This reminded me of the times when I was a little boy. Although I may have been a lot more gullible back then, I still do believe in those haunted stories. That is why I never get tired of them, I'm always down for another scary adventure.

We made our way to Fort Warren, where supposedly, "The Lady in Black" haunts the pitch black tunnels of the fort. There were also many campers that ventured into the tunnels as well. As they reached for their devices for some lights to reassure their safety, David yells "No flashlights!" The flashlights would upset "The Lady in Black", and the kids wouldn't want that would they; I'm pretty sure even I wouldn't want that! To play a joke, David decided it would be fun if we lured the kids into the tunnel and into a large room. Inside the large room, there was a sliver of light from a little opening outside the room on the ceiling. To scare the kids, David would appear from the dark and into the light with just his hand. This devious plan had great success and I'm even sure it would have worked on me about 10 years ago.

As we made our way back out of the tunnel, I was tasked to walk through it once again to see if any trash was left behind. I would have surely not dared to do this if I was a few years younger, but since I am past the "little boy" stage of my life, I decided that I would be up for the walk. I went back through the tunnels, most of which had some lights shining through from outside, and collected any trash that was left behind. As I safely made it back outside, I looked back into the tunnels. Only about 20 minutes ago were the tunnels lit by the screams and laughter of the children, but now, as I looked back, it was as silent and empty as it once was hundreds of years ago when "The Lady in Black" searched for her escape in these tunnels to find a way out. I took a minute to look inside. I couldn't see anything from the outside, but I wonder if something was looking at me from the inside...

Until next time,
Henry

Me and Vince doing some tree climbing on Georges!

A Little Rain Never Hurt Anybody!

Hello There!

Tuesday started off like any other beautiful day at Georges Island. The sun was shining and the weather was hot. Luckily, we were back on Spectacle Island. That meant we could take a cold and salty shower in the ocean at the end of the day.

Being stationed at the fishing club meant cutting up bait in the toasty sun. I could smell the squid being cooked in the 90 degree weather. If you smelled me, you would think I was a chef preparing calamari for our harbor guests. I was tempted to wash off the foul smell when I was collecting water for our touch tank. As I placed the tank into the ocean, the waves washed onto my feet. It was so refreshing that I wanted to go deeper into the water, all the way until my body could not longer feel the scorching heat. But as always, duty calls. Plus, if I didn't brought the touch tank back, the crabs would dry out and what would I scare the kids with then?

The Save the Harbor team is the only ones in the water!

As the day came to a close, the sun receded and the clouds came onto the scene. The wind started blowing and the sky became dark. Suddenly, out of nowhere, the rain started to pour. I heard the screams of the kids as they ran to find shelter. I looked onto the beach and it reminded me of a scene from Jaws when everyone would get out of the water when they saw the shark. However, we determined that the rain would not deter us from going for a nice cold swim. We quickly got changed and raced towards the water. The feeling of the rain pounding on my body made me feel as though the ocean was slowly engulfing me in it. Once I got in the water, I felt as though I could stay in forever. Unfortunately, our time in the ocean was short lived. The rain stopped and the sun came back out just in time to dry my clothing for the boat ride back home. What a perfect ending to a perfect day.

Until next time,
Henry Liang

CBI Adventures

Hey!

Fishing and fun in the rain!

Last Friday, the All Access team and I traveled to Community Boating, Inc. for the first time. The sun was not shining that day, but we still had a great time. It was a rainy day, and we expected to work with the kids from CBI in the classroom for the majority of the day. However, the kids did not want a lecture on how to fish. Instead, they wanted to go out in the rain and fish for themselves! We thought it was a great and fun idea, despite the fact that it was pouring outside.

Me holding my very first catch!

We brought our fishing rods and even an eel trap outside to the docks. We cut bait and baited the rods and tossed them in the water. The kids seemed especially interested and grossed out by the dissection of the dead flounder, but they were happy that we were the ones touching them. It seemed as though most of the kids had already fished before, but our senior harbor educator Maxwilliams was able to teach them safety tips that kids often seem to forget. One example being that you have to look left and right before casting your rod so you don't hook anyone! The rain kept pouring, but our day was coming to an end. None of us caught anything, but fishing in the rain brought a smile to everyone's face. We took the unused flounder bait and tossed it into the eel trap. We would return to the eel trap on Monday to see if we got lucky. Disgusted at first, the kids seemed to enjoy throwing flounder organs into the trap and the river-- a free meal for those fish that wouldn't bite.

We came back on Monday and we were excited from the great time we had on Friday. The first thing we checked was the eel trap and to our surprise, we caught an eel! The kids were able to touch the slimy eel before we released it back into it's home. Towards the end of our session, I casted the fishing rod for about my third time in my life. Right away, I felt a tug on the rod. Could this be? Was I about to catch my first fish ever? And so it was, I was able to reel in my first fish and it turned out to be a bass. Once again, I had another great time at CBI and I can't wait to go back again!

Signing off,
Henry

A Festival of Crabs at Spectacle Island

Hey There!

Me holding my new 10-legged friend!

This past week I had the pleasure of working at Spectacle Island through All Access. We ushered families and summer camps into the Blue Hills Bank pavilion to wait for the departure of the Provincetown Ferry. While waiting, I got the chance to pass around coloring sheets and talk to some families. There was a mix of first timers to the island while there were other families who have already been to Spectacle quite a few times. But one thing that was for sure was that everyone inside that pavilion was excited to board the ferry and land on the island!

When we arrived on Spectacle Island, I was stationed at the fishing club. Fishing is something that I am not familiar with and by being around it, I can learn a lot more about it. I helped with cutting up the squid and baiting it on the rods. Throughout the afternoon, there were no fish to be found, but a lot of crabs were caught. We placed them in the touch tanks and invited families and kids to come touch them. Although crabs might not be the most exciting ocean crustacean, we definitely made it fun for the kids. I realized that to most of them, any moving creature can be exciting, especially when the grown ups put in the effort to make it fun and interesting. We taught the kids how to hold the crabs and when it was time to let the crabs go, we ended fishing club with a crab race to see which crab could make it to the ocean fastest. I had a great time at Spectacle Island and I can't wait until my next adventure there!

Sail you later,
Henry

About Me!

Hello!

My name is Henry Liang and I am very excited to be working at Save the Harbor Save the Bay this summer! I was born in Boston and I have lived here ever since. The Boston Harbor has played a huge role in my life for as long as I can remember. I remember going to the beaches when I was younger and being told that it was not safe to swim in the ocean because the water was not clean enough. Thanks to organizations such as Save the Harbor Save the Bay, our ocean is now one of the cleanest in the entire country. I am thrilled to have been given the great opportunity to take on the role of a Lead Harbor Explorer this summer! I can't wait to learn more about our marine habitat and environment and be able to relay that information to the children in our community. It will be a pleasure to work with my coworkers in raising awareness for our harbor that plays such a big role in my life and so many others.

A little more about myself includes that I am currently a rising sophomore at Providence College. I am planning to major somewhere in the business field, possibly in either accounting, finance or marketing. Some hobbies of mine include playing sports, particularly basketball, joining clubs at my schools and spending time with my family and friends. I also enjoy trying new things, something that I will get to do a lot this summer as I have not really fished or sailed before. I also enjoy meeting and working with new people, whether it is with my peers or campers. I think this summer will give me a great opportunity to work in an environment where I will have the chance to cooperate and build relationships with many different people.

I hope you enjoyed learning a bit more about me and I can't wait to learn more about you guys as well!

Henry