Time Flies When You're Havin' Fun!

Hey guys!

I can't believe we are already five weeks into summer programming! It's been a wild ride so far, but it just keeps getting better and better. This week was a little bit different than the others. I started off the week on Monday in the office as usual, and Tuesday's programming at both Blacks Creek and the Curley were canceled due to rain. Wednesday and Thursday were pretty usual- we went to Atlantic Warf after Blacks Creek on Wednesday, and the Curley in the afternoon on Thursday. Both days were great and we got to continue the awesome stuff we have been up to all summer. Being on-site with Tessa, Damani, Che, and Aidan has been awesome. We get the job done while enjoying ourselves with many laughs during the long and hot days. I think we have really created bonds that will stick no matter what sites we continue with for the remainder of the summer.

Crab race at Blacks Creek! 

What made this week different was that I had my first two events, and I attended MLK Scholars on Friday. One of my favorite parts of the summer has been creating bonds with so many different people: SHEs, JPAs, Supervisors, and the kids, counselors, and parents we meet on site. What makes our staff so special is the diverse group of people that have come together to support a cause that so many of us are passionate about. I have created bonds with people much older and younger than me, people from different backgrounds, and people from different states and countries as well. The events I worked this week were the Community event at the Tynan and the Sand Raking at Nantasket Beach. I was put on site with SHEs and JPAs who I have only met during orientation, and despite that, we had a lot of fun interacting with each other and the communities of South Boston and Hull. The great thing about Save The Harbor is that no matter what site you are put on or what event you are working, you are with people who are so outgoing, caring, and fun to be around. I was also lucky enough to be a part of the MLK Scholars programming on Friday, which was another great opportunity to get to know other Save The Harbor educators and other kids in the Boston area.

A cool portrait at the sand raking event at Nantasket.

A lot of the designs made by passersby at the event at Nantasket.

See ya later!
Maggie

Esther's Week 3/ Blacks Creek

Hey everyone!! I’m back with a whole new blog!

Teamed up to catch the crab!

& the winner is....
This little angel right here! ❤

This week I worked in a new site (Blacks Creek). As usual I was excited to see what this site was like and I was wondering how those wonderful kids were like. But also, I a little bit nervous because that was my very first time ever at that site.

At Blacks Creek the kids went to an adventure where they were exploring for creatures. Since they were so excited and competitive,I gave them a challenge which was that the one who find the most creatures would win, would get to keep them in another touch tank. The kids found Hermit Crabs, Snail Crabs, Sea Snail, and Rock Crabs. The winner was a little girl who found 6 Sea snail and around 8 Snail Crabs.

Princess ❤

Also, we can't forget about the little princess who say that exploring is not her type, but yet she decided to construct her own little castles using water and sand as cement and the little buckets as a container of her own model. But hey, we can't forget about the rocks she uses as designs. This little princess spent most of her time perfecting those castle and adding as much details as possible. Few minutes later, her friend introduce the little princess, all the creatures that she caught. At first, the little princess didn't wanted to hold her because she was scared of them. But after she let the the Sea Snail and the Snail Crabs "live" in her castles but with the condition that they had to protect her castles.

Jimmy's Pool!

Reinforcing the walls!!

Beyond explorers and princess, among the kids there was a builder of pools who decided to build one for all he's creatures that he found, but specially for his crabs who he loved the most out of all. With the help of the princess and myself, Jimmy built his pool with the same material that the princess used. As the the pool was coming along, the other kids were getting attract by his creation, that they decided to join us. They all contributed by building the walls or carrying the water. They were all excited and even myself because they all worked together without complaining or arguing. They also give each other a try to do the fun part which was to throw the "magic water" (that's how they called it) to the broken red bucket, making the water flow to the broken part of it.

Wednesday it was a little bit different. Instead of going to the office at 12, we went to Curley Community Center. The receptionist had us walking back and forth trying to figure out where we supposed to give our session. Imagined a huge bucket filled with water and tons of crabs with someone holding it, as that person walks without knowing their destination, under the hot sun. Now, that right there my friend is what I called a tough situation! As the kids finished introducing themselves they grab their nets and searching for grabs and snails. The water was freezing but that didn't stop them from exploring. Getting their clothes wet didn't bother them either. They enjoyed every single time they found a creature. It didn't matter if they had 6, 7, or 10 Sea Snail, They would not stop searching for more and more.

Sea Turtle ❤

On Friday I worked at Constitution Beach. Were we was teaching the kids how to Fish print. Also we brought a Lobster real so that the kids can touch it while we explain some characteristics of the it. There were two things I enjoyed the most. The first one was that when my co-workers went to get the crabs from the Crab Trap, even thought it wasn't a lot, there was 3 perfect size of crabs. A baby crab, medium crab and another medium crab without a claw. The other one was the Sand Ranking. I really enjoyed it because the kids were able to think and demonstrate their skills and art true the art of Sand Raking. They thought of different species and things that can be found in the sea.

Stay tuned for my next blog!! See you later

~ Esther 

Double Event Weekend

This is Andres Amador, who taught us how to make this art

So the past weekend, I was scheduled to do two events, one on Saturday, and one on Sunday. However I learned that the event was to sand rake at certain beaches, which I learned on Friday at Carson with most of the Save The Harbor staff. Sand Raking is when you get a three ended rake and dig in the ground and make art. What we usually did was make flowers, and names and easy stuff like that. Simple art, however beautiful to make. Then Andres would get the drone and take a picture of it and publish it on whatever website (most likely Save The harbor's site). The first day we went to Constitution Beach.

simple flower

I took the blue line to Constitution Beach, and because it was the same day as the counter protest, not a lot of people were there. Most of the flowers made were done by our staff, and it came out nice. The next day we went to Nantasket Beach. A LOT of people were there and so many people wanted to sand rake after a couple flowers were completed that staff needed to give up their rakes. This whole piece was so beautiful and large people were pushed off to the side of the beach, and I do not think the drone got the whole picture. It was so beautiful, and a fun task to do at work.

Signing out,
Qalid Hassan :)

Don't sit backSta, jump in!

Staff learning 

Kids turn!

 Guess who's back! Andres Amadour is who is back, back and better than ever. Two years ago when I was a JPA I was lucky enough to work an event that was under the instruction of Andres Amadour. We did sand raking at a beach and it was the highlight of my summer. It is so cool to see a form of art where anyone willing can participate. What I love the most is how people surprise themeless. At first people are so hesitant to participate because it looked so difficult and they think that they won't be able to do it. Then they give it a try and are shocked at what they created. This year things were set up differently. The days leading up to our beach events we were able to get a lesson from Andres Amadour. We started with the basics that he shows everyone who partakes in the activity, then we did an activity where one person creates a a design, Andres made a "M" shape with two dots in the middle, I then connected the dots, etc. Each persons would be in charge of deciding when the others would stop the design. This created a piece where everyone take a big role and the work overlaps as you can see in the photo to the left. Then we worked on our flowers once our groups of kids came, you can see their work on the right. Now I feel capable of passing on this art to others on my own! I'm thrilled with this because this work should be shared. The same weekend we had the sand raking event. We turned the whole beach into our canvas and everyone at the beach was able to participate, it was amazing!

My favorite piece