2nd Annual Tenean Beach Day!

The Save the Harbor team making works
of art at the beach.

Hello all!

This Saturday I assisted Save the Harbor Save the Bay in hosting the 2nd Annual Tenean Beach Day. We arrived to discover we would be setting up our station next to one full of circus performers, courtesy of Save the Harbor! There we were on the beach flatfish printing with children and adults alike; the parents were blown away by the fact we were using an actual flounder fish, and the kids were delighted to decorate it with inks and make fish prints with it. This one young woman was especially astounded by the current condition of the beach, and the harbor in general, compared to that of when she was a child. She shared with me how she and her brother would come down and fish at the beach and end up walking away with a cooler full of flounder that they would then fry up at the house. The story helped me envision the beach in its younger days pre-dating the big Harbor Clean-Up enacted by organizations like my own and the Department of Conservation and Recreation. It instilled in me a greater sense of appreciation for both the work we have already accomplished, and that which is set before us all if we are to maintain the condition of some of the cleanest urban beaches in the country.

The majestic Boston Fire
Department Marine Unit!

It was shortly after that that the Boston Fire Department Marine vessel arrived! It sailed in from the bay with its sirens ablaze, drawing the entire crowd to the shoreline to watch as it twirled about, spouting water from each of its five hoses aboard the boat-- what a sight! The excitement of the day was only compounded by the free hot dogs and sausages being served throughout the event. At one point a Boston Police van that had been modified as a ice cream truck showed up and distributed free ice cream cups and sandwiches to the public-- a big crowd pleaser from the enormous line that formed in front of it that never seemed to dissipate. Did I mention the mayor was there?! He made a special appearance to the event, connecting with the Port Norfolk community and stressing the importance of being able to provide their children and families with a clean natural resource such as the beach. The kids went home happy to have spent a beautiful day at the beach, and we went home knowing we helped to foster that experience; a good day!

Talk to you again soon,
Maxwilliams

Beach Bash and Blast!

Fishing Instruction 101 class in session.

This Friday marked Save the Harbor Save the Bay's annual Beach Bash and Splash! It was a blast! I loved seeing all the many campers and variety of different camp groups there at Carson Beach celebrating with us. I was lucky enough to spend most of the day knee-deep in the cool ocean water, fishing with eager campers yearning to, obviously, hook a fish, but also to learn how to cast a line and use a fishing rod correctly. My Save the Harbor crew lead many tutorial sessions, allowing the kids to understand the basic mechanics behind casting a get a handle on how to fish. Many of them expressed their skepticism regarding actually catching a fish there at Carson, but I reassured them all that I was just there earlier in the week and witnessed a man and his son pull out a nice sized striped

Way haul away, we'll haul
away Joe!

bass while fishing from the beach! Though we weren't as lucky with reeling in any fish of our own, many of the kids went home with the new knowledge of how to fish and cast a fishing rod and to them, that's makes all the difference!

The fun, however, did not stop at fishing! Save the Harbor also offered activities such as face painting, fish printing, sports madness, clamming, and the opportunity to explore the different types of crabs that were caught from fishing in a touch tank. There was a humongous beach volley ball that was sliding around the beach with an entire posse of campers chasing after it. We even lead the audience in a rendition of our famous sea shanty Haul Away Joe! The crowd was dazzled by the shanty's lyrics, not to mention the simultaneous hauling of those imaginary hulking sails. At the conclusion of our performance came time for my favorite part of the evening-- the SPLASH! I changed into my bathing suit and spent a couple extra minutes cooling off and enjoying the beautiful day floating on my back in the buoyant sea water. We all sure were hungry after a day of festivities, so it's a good thing we had come prepared with 700+ hot dogs that we grilled and served right there on the beach! I want to give a big thanks to the generous, hard working people of the Department of Conservation and Recreation for accommodating all of us and allowing us to host our event on the beach.

All the many Beach Bash and Splashers!

Until next time,
Maxwilliams

A Bittersweet Defeat

Ready, set, hut!

My last day of All Access Spectacle Island last week was bittersweet. We began with a highly competitive game of two-hand-touch football on one of the island's drumlins with a group of campers from the Boys and Girls Club. Being the big shots they were they thought their entire club could face off with me and just three of my Save the Harbor associates. They were right. After getting creamed 3-1 in the preliminary round, we figured it would be better if we recruited some of their star players for our STH team. It wasn't until the addition of their athletes that our tide finally turned; it was a gritty game, but by the skin of our teeth we pulled off a 3-2 win against those unlimited springs of energy in the next game of our series. The final tie-breaker game started with promise, one of our receivers caught a 20 yard pass bringing us within inches of the goal line-- just what we needed to overcome the six point deficit we were faced with (the opposing team had failed their extra-point attempt). In my haste, the next play I threw a pass that was intercepted by one of the Boys and Girls Club counselors that had joined the game for the final event. It was a devastating blow that ultimately resulted in a loss for our team, hence the bitter portion of my day.

Baby sculpin fish caught on Spectacle!

With our tails between our legs, the Save the Harbor squad returned to the pier after the game to assist the fishing club with clean-up. We arrived to discover that we had finally caught some fish on the island!! Our fellow senior harbor educator, Jenn, with her fish-whispering abilities was able to net some baby sculpin, a green shore crab with a baby flounder in its clutches, as well as a skate! After a month of tireless searching, we were finally able to prove to the kids, campers and STH staff alike, that you can catch fish off the islands! After the crushing defeat we were dealt on the drumlin, seeing the kids' excitement as they held the baby fish that they had caught really made up for it. Hopefully we will see the same success next week on George's Island-- I've got my fingers crossed!
Yours truly,
Maxwilliams

Wonderful Day for a Dip in The Charles River

Me attempting to free a fishing line
one of the kids had gotten snagged.

This week marked Save the Harbor Save the Bay's last day at the Community Boating Sailing Center on the Charles River. It was a sad affair, but the environmental science coordinator, Molly, had a treat in store for us. She had scheduled our morning session to go paddle boarding on the river! I had never been paddle boarding before, and quite honestly, had spent the summer growing envious of those kids enrolled in their program lucky enough to be able to paddle out all the way put to Cambridge. I erred on the side of caution and removed my cell phone from my pocket before embarking on our trip, and so I wasn't able to grab any cool pictures! This preemptive act turned out to be a blessing in disguise, however, because I ended up falling in the river trying to avoid crashing into one of the fellow paddlers! I went through the rest of the day with a soaked uniform-- my team thought that was really funny; I'm not sure I did tho!

This group hardly needed our help!

This week on All Access we revisited Spectacle Island, my favorite as you all know. With the returning of the fishing gear we had stored at Community Boating Sailing Center, we were able to bring a couple more rods with us out on the island, which made a big difference. With them, we were able to serve a lot more people, and give more children the opportunity to fish on a Boston Harbor Island. This week in particular the kids were especially good at tangling up the fishing reels; every time I turned my attention to another child, the previous one I had been working with's fishing line would be tangled in one big mess! Thankfully my team was rehearsed in troubleshooting and repairing the rods after a summer of untangling and re-rigging them. The crap trap yielded a boatload of crabs, all of different species! There green shore crabs, red rock crabs, Jonah crabs and even spider crabs! The kids were in awe at all the crustaceans crabbing around in our touch tank. One group was especially knowledgeable about crabs and mobbed around the tank, pointing and identifying the crabs' sexes!

Stay tuned for more,
Maxwilliams

"I want to hold it, I want to hold it!"

Me introducing young
campers to me new friend!

This last week on All Access was a blast! My team and I spent it on Georges Island, familiarizing young campers with their harbor and the many creatures that live in it. Fishing off the pier yielded more crabs, surprising I know. The kids delight in reeling them up, and the best part is letting them investigate their catches in our touch tank. The young children are usually timid towards them at first, but it's not long after after seeing my associates and I pick them up and learning a little bit about their anatomy and life cycles that they perk right up and begin asking to touch and hold the crabs themselves. I enjoy seeing the kids venture from their comfort zones and get hands on with the sea critters; they always bunch up their little faces, almost as if they can't believe they're holding a real live crab in their hands!

These two were my star
pupils of the day!

We educate campers and counselors alike!

The children love fishing so much, I know they would do it all day long if they could. Often times groups of them will stay for a couple sessions and I have to encourage them to get out and explore the island! I myself was able to explore the fort housed on the island, with its pitch-dark tunnels and legendary "Lady in Black". I walked in with two little girls I had seen sitting outside of one of the tunnels too scared to venture inside. We held hands as we tried to navigate through the darkness, but even with them being arms-reach from me I could not see either of them. The farther inside the dark tunnel we got, the harder they began to tug on my hands trying to reverse our direction. I was pleading with them to continue onward until we had reached the back wall, but then I heard a scream come from right next to me and I was unaware there was even a person in there with us! Suffice to say all three of us bolted out of there screaming bloody murder until we had reached the safety of the sunlight. A part of me is still disappointed I didn't reach the end of tunnel, I know deep inside that I have what it takes-- I will have to fix that on our next trip back!

Until next time,
Maxwilliams

Did You See That?!

Me instructing a group of teens how to cast and
care for their rods.

It was another fun week at Georges Island! The hustle and bustle of shuttling the 400+ passengers to the ferry every morning is blissfully interrupted by a soothing ride across the harbor to the island. The campers and counselors alike buzz at the sight of our fishing equipment as we board the boat, pleading to enroll in the day's fishing club-- I am so thankful for my team member Patrice who has assumed the responsibility of helping me structure the club's schedule and often assists in touring the boat in search of eager children to come fish with us!

I wish you had seen the size of this thing!

This week yielded zero fish caught on the island. All day we were reeling up crab after crab, mostly green shore crabs with a few red rock crabs peppered into the mix. I admit, though, the kids never seemed disappointed. Many of them have never gone fishing before, or had never had the luck of hooking anything; they are honestly just satisfied with actually having caught a sea creature, from within the same harbor they call home no less. Today, as a few of the kids and I were hoisting our crab trap, we spied a humongous-sized spider crab clinging to the outside of the net! Believe me when I say I was not the only one that was frightened! I was sure small dogs couldn't breathe underwater, but the size of the figure's silhouette really made me doubt myself for a second! Sadly, the crab let go of the trap before it broke the surface of the water so we weren't able to grab a pic. I left an extra big piece of bait in the trap for it though so hopefully we'll have another chance at capturing photo evidence tomorrow, I will keep you posted.

It's a starfish!

We weren't completely disappointed though, today one of the kids reeled up a starfish! My colleague Jenn jumped into action, identifying for the group of campers and Save the Harbor staff alike, the madreporite and its role of filtering water in the starfish's vascular system. My favorite were the looks on the childrens' faces as she went on to explain how starfish fed by expelling their stomachs out of their mouths and externally digesting their lunch; a very fitting description as it seemed as though some of the campers' partially digested lunches would soon be making an appearance of their own!

Until next time,
Maxwilliams

A Secret Ingredient of the Charles River

Participants of the environmental science class
deep in the dough-making process.

I'm still getting used to freshwater fishing on the Charles with Community Boating's environmental science class. This last week my team and I decided to introduce a new type of bait to the kids in hopes of seeing more success reeling in fresh water fishies. I had received a good tip from an onlooking passerby with experience in fishing; he told us that dough balls were great bait to use when fishing in freshwater, especially for catching carp, a fish known to reside in the river. We brought bread, flour, and the special ingredient, garlic powder and taught the children how to mix their very own dough balls. The kids were very excited at the mention of creating their own bait, in no time at all their hands were completely covered in dough. At first the balls kept sliding off their hooks in the water so they had to go back and re-tweak their recipe, but making the bait made the fishing experience all the more interactive for them and they made sure to express their appreciation! We got a whole bunch of bites but unfortunately we didn't reel anything onto the dock; the fish were experts in liberating the dough from the hooks, all the while evading capture. For next week, we have to think of new type of bait to use that will successfully get those fish on the line-- it's back to the drawing board!

The Save the Harbor team
hard at it!

A participant showing off
her masterpiece!

This weekend I had the pleasure of working the Revere Sand Sculpting Festival! We had our own Save the Harbor table nestled in among the numerous food vendors, obstacle courses, and of course, sand sculptures. There we offered free flatfish printing to the public allowing them to get hands on with a real life flounder. The crowd was in total disbelief of the fish being real, and it wasn't until being challenged to touch it that they realized we were not kidding! The kids always love inking the fish and making their very own colorful prints, but it's always a joy to see the parents enjoying learning about the history behind Gyotaku fish printing, as well as seeing the excitement of their children as they print the fish and certainly the look on their face as they display their new works of art!

Closing In on the Big One!

A beautiful picture of the Community Boating sailboats!

At the Community Boating Sailing Center this week the Save the Harbor Team accompanied the environmental Science class coordinator Molly in teaching the kids about water quality and the various instruments we use to measure them. The center had so many cool tools and gadgets for the children to use, I myself was unfamiliar with a few of them! They utilized hydrometers to measure salt content, litmus paper to test pH and water hardness (the amount of dissolved minerals such as calcium and magnesium in the water), and Secchi disks to determine the level of water turbidity. Those kids sure were sharp as many of their hypotheses were in alignment with the collected data; they had even accounted for the fresh water aspect of the River in estimating the waterway's salinity! We closed the class getting down and dirty removing articles of trash from along the River's banks, and even the River itself as many kids labored to reach pieces of trash polluting the River without themselves falling in. Good thing they were young and limber, I'm not sure that these old bones could have contorted themselves in much the same way!

Some campers fishing for our first catch!

Our next stop for the week was to Spectacle Island, which I must confess has grown to be my favorite island. Fishing along the dock yielded another surplus of green shore crabs, though my team and I have yet to lose hope! Today, a striped bass was nearly reeled in, but it was able to wiggle loose before we could get it onto the pier! I was heartbroken, that would have been the first fish caught on the island and was exactly what we needed to break the dry spell. The missed catch, however, has only motivated me even more so as there is no longer any mistaking it-- there are in fact fish there along the pier and they're biting! Only a matter of time now before we haul in a big one!

Be on the lookout for our first catch!
Maxwilliams Iwuala

With this Fishing Rod in Hand, I'm going to be a Fisherman!

Me instructing a young camper on how to side cast.

George's Island this week went by swimmingly. My team and I went back to the drawing board after the hectic day we had earlier in the week and decided to bring more fishing rods with us to the island so that more people would be able to spend time fishing. Through my instruction on casting techniques and some helpful fishing tips I was able to impart to them, the young children really seamed to get the hang of it! Again, it was a crab-heavy week as far as our catches go, but as promised, we did catch something with a lot less legs than the typical crab; one of the kids fishing along the dock reeled in a sea quirt! Neither I nor the kids were familiar with the species and so we turned to a field guide that was on hand and was able to identify it as a club tunicate. The kids were fascinated by the sea squirt's amorphous body, and definitely were surprised by the stream of water I squirted them with by squeezing on it.

On Friday I was posted at the Courageous Sailing Center in Charlestown right there in the navy yard. The weather was cloudy and rather chilly so my team and I spent most of the time under one of the center's tents, teaching them about water quality. We introduced them to Secchi disks, an instrument used to test the quality of water. The kids rejoiced in designing and creating their very own replica Secchi disks out of plastic straws, string, and cardboard and even took to the water to test their new creations. Our Save the Harbor team had constructed one using one method, but I was surprised at all the different ways the children were able to come up with make their own! One girl was so impressed with her disk that she tied it to her glasses and began walking it around as if it were her pet. Fishing off the pier was admittedly unsuccessful, but a number of the participants had never fished before and relished the opportunity to cast a fishing line into the water in hopes of hooking a big one. Hopefully next week will bring with it some scaly, finned fish for us to catch!

The Courageous crew sporting their Secchi disk creations!

Until next time,
Maxwilliams

All Access Save the Harbor

Me gearing up for the rope course on Long Island.

Hello all!

Maxwilliams here, returning for yet another exciting summer on the harbor! I have just recently graduated from Stonehill College, receiving a hard-earned degree in Biology. I have spent the last few months working with Save the Harbor Save the Bay helping to restore budget funding for the better beaches program that is responsible for the up-keep of the region's many beaches. With the help of our President and the Save the Harbor team, we have hosted several fundraising events, our largest one being the Shamrock Splash held last March where the Save the Harbor crew jumped into the at-the-time frigid Boston Harbor in conjunction with nearly 250 participants. We have also attended numerous public hearings along the north shore, including one at the State House, addressing the importance of the maintenance of our region’s public beaches and urging that we continue to work improving their conditions.

A few incredible tall ships docked in the Boston Harbor!

A little bit about myself; I was born in Nigeria but I have spent the majority of my life living in Boston. I am the second oldest of five children and love sports, my favorite being football. This summer I am proud to announce I will be working as a Senior Harbor Educator with the All Access Boston Harbor crew, providing fishing education and sports activities to hundreds of children every day! It wasn't until beginning working for Save the Harbor Save the Bay three years ago that I was able to experience the Boston Harbor and all of its beauty, through events ranging from fishing tournaments to civic engagement and community service, all the way to seafood festivals and the company's annual Beach Bash and Splash. This past spring I was even fortunate enough to witness the arrival of several tall ships, clippers and schooners alike, to Boston Harbor-- an event that has not taken place in Boston for nearly half a decade! Yes the word "tall" is in their description, but one does not truly appreciate the meaning of the word until faced with the ships' hulking masts and sails, not to mention their fully operational firing cannons.

Suffice to say I am definitely excited for the upcoming summer, getting to know my new All Access crew and continuing the company's mission of sharing the Boston harbor, along with its beautiful islands and public beaches, with its many inhabitants and instilling in them a sense of ownership of this pristine natural resource. Jealous?

Yours truly,
Maxwilliams Iwula

STHSTB Annual Marine Mammals Safari Hunt!

     This weekend marked Save the Harbor/Save the Bay's annual Marine Mammals Safari Cruise! This was my first time on the trip, exploring the harbor in search of seals and porpoises willing to surface and say hello on the rainy day. 

     The clouds made identifying the sea critters increasingly difficult, especially the porpoises whose brief appearances could be missed in the blink of eye! From the looks on the passengers' many faces, however, this did not detract from the amount of fun had from catching a glimpse of one of these marine mammals peering their heads out of the water. Nor did it deter them! I saw many a passenger equipped with binoculars, bouncing from one deck to the next in hopes of being the next one to announce a sighting. Admittedly many blunders were made; driftwood being mistaken for porpoises; buoys being taken for seals. I myself may have announced a sighting or two that panned out to be nothing more than a bobbing cormorant head. 

     Though I enjoyed spotting the different marine mammals "porpoising" about the harbor, the highlight of the trip came at its close, when the STHSTB staff and myself escorted the passengers off the ship and shared our last farewells. The many thanks and words of appreciation we received from the exiting voyagers and their families reaffirmed for me the importance of the organization's mission to provide Boston's neighborhoods and communities with opportunities like these affording the city's inhabitants the chance to interact directly with its beautiful harbor! 

Good to be Home!

Max gearing up for the rope course at Camp Harbor View

Hello everybody! For those that do not already know me, my name is Maxwilliams Iwuala and I am a senior Biology major attending Stonehill College. I have worked with Save the Harbor Save the Bay's summer programming in previous years, but have recently made a return to the company working as a project assistant aiding in the review of their 2017 summer curriculum.

I was raised in Boston for nearly my whole life and have visited many a beach in the Boston area. It was not until, however, working with Save the Harbor Save the Bay during my sophomore year of college that I was able to appreciate the beauty and liveliness of the Boston Harbor and the region's public beaches. More importantly, though, I realized the numerous extraordinary experiences I had been missing while living in the harbor's very backyard. 

Max instructing a young camper how to cast a fishing rod

I can still remember my first time fishing off of a boat in the harbor with Camp Harbor View’s fishing club hosted by Save the Harbor Save the Bay; my memory becomes a bit hazy when trying to recall whether or not I actually reeled in any fish that day, however, I will never forget the excitement and sense of adventure the trip inspired in all of the young fishermen and women and myself. From the looks of the faces on some of the young campers I could easily discern this too was their first time fishing on the waves, untethered from any semblance of seashore. It was then that Save the Harbor Save the Bay’s mission became real to me; aside from the abundance of fun had by both the staff and the thousands of children participating in our summer programs, there is an indisputable commitment to sharing the local beaches, harbor and Boston harbor islands alike, with underserved youth communities inhabiting this great city that otherwise may not enjoy the opportunity to do so. I have experienced firsthand the impact of such opportunities and have since refocused my aim to assisting Save the Harbor Save the Bay in extending these experiences to the countless children reached by the company’s community programming!

Max searching for invasive species along the shores of Long Island