Belle and the Castle (A Very Fishy Tale!)

     This week my group was stationed at Castle Island in South Boston. Between the constant roaring of planes taking off from nearby Logan Airport and the clanks of metal shipping containers coming from the shipping facility next door our group was able to discuss our topic of the week, fisheries! I myself, starting out this week asked the question, what in the world is a fishery? However, I have learned that a  fishery is the area in which fish are caught or processed and sold consumer markets.  When I heard this week’s theme my first thought was “Michael must be really excited to talk about fishing” as Michael, our staff expert on fishing, and I have had many conversations about fishing in New England. 

Our team hard at work preparing and baiting the hooks, we used Flounder and Sea Bass Hooks with Squid as bait! 

        As someone who is by no means an expert at fishing, I was excited this week to learn as much as possible about fishing, as it is something that I want to do more in my spare time. This week I was able to learn about the types of fish in Boston. The most common fish caught around Boston Harbor are Black Sea Bass, Skates, Flukes, Flounder, and Stripers. I did also learn that Flukes or Summer Flounder often eat other fish like the Black Sea Bass, which I thought it would be the other way around!

First catch of the day! I caught a Black Sea Bass, watch out for that razor sharp spine!

    We were pretty lucky to have our fishing trip scheduled for this past week! We got to take a few hours to take a tour on Charlie’s fishing boat “The Belle”. Charlie and I got the chance to talk about the parts of the fishing rod (who knew there were so many parts?). He also showed me a technique to catch Black Sea Bass by moving the rod up and down once the weight hits bottom, and I ended up with the first catch of the day! All in all we had a great week catching fish (and some rays) as a team! 

The team catching some rays on the way back to shore! We had to take a silly picture on the bow of The Belle!

Our group is excited for our final week of the season next week so stay tuned (or tuna-ed!) 

Stay salty, 

Caroline

Just keep swimming

Hello guys!
Back for another year! The fourth year, but this year is a lot different. Over the past four years, I haven't changed too much. There are some new achievements on the board however! I graduated from Boston Latin School, and will be attending UMass Amherst next year. After a successful basketball season, and a lovely spring coming, everything was taken away.

For the intro blog, I decided to take a different approach. A lot of my minor details like me being a gamer and athlete, and being a native from Boston can be found in my other blogs. This year has been really hard.

Being a senior going to BLS, high school was no easy ride. It was hard for me to acheive success and good grades. I was always looked down on as one of the lower performing kids in absolutely every aspect of life. I was not one that was easily accepted, or taken seriously in a professional environment. Once I started to change my view on life, and accept the reality rushing in front of me, I decided to prepare myself. Senior year was my year to prove myself. After a very strong finish to my junior year, I set a standard for myself: chill with my true friends, and make my parents proud. I started in the summer of 2019.

Going into Save the Harbor 2019, I aimed to change the way I approached, work, people, everything. I started to be more open to people, and was able to find a peace to work, no matter what I was doing. I used to complain a lot, but decided to accept my role where I am, and work for who I want to be. That vision allowed me to win Harbor Hero that summer.

I was on a roll, and was ready for senior year. I grinded all my classes, and pushed through the final basketball season which was a very emotional ride since I was down with a fever for about a month. Despite basketball being in the way, and my health not cooperating, I did not forget about college and school and kept going. But then, a pandemic ruined it all.

I won't be able to see so many faces that I just smiled at. People who I always wanted to speak to, people that loved me, people I loved. There was no senior prom. No senior graduation. No senior week. No celebration. Just a diploma.

To hold what was the tangible representation of my success through the last four years, things still did not feel good. However, seeing a smile on my mother's face was the most satisfying moment of all. Save the Harbor allowed me to realize the minor things. What it means to make a kid smile when he catches his first fish. The small conversations that teach kids life lessons. Hanging out with my All Access crew for the summer, and annoying my bosses Bridget and Kristen.

This summer, despite the pandemic, and all the circumstances not allowing for another summer of programming, I will keep going. I will work to provide educational content, and marine science based lessons for kids in the Greater Boston Area. That is my position here at Save the Harbor: to keep going.

See ya next time :),
Qalid Hassan.

we back fellas

New Summer New Job😂

Hello fellow staff members, allow me to reintroduce myself my name is Alex... al to the e x (Doesn’t have the same ring to it as JayZ’s but whatever😂). I grew up in the Charlestown Projects, I loved it there because even though we were some bad kids we all grew up like family and it was a fun but fast childhood. I currently go to Charlestown High School and am going into junior year! I have interests in physical health, mechanics, and low key I like politics and learning about all the crazy evil things the elites do in this country. Also I like learning a little history! 

The thing I’m most excited about in working with Save the Harbor is the people I get to meet and knowing they have multiple resources that can help others. This is my first year so I’m working with people I’ve never met which is letting me practice social interaction and networking.

I would love to learn more about Boston in general, I’ve lived here my whole life yet I know very little history regarding the city. Hearing everyone teach about the harbor and other surrounding islands is just interesting to me because I’ve been to these islands but didn’t know anything about them. 

My favorite part about orientation for me was the ice breakers we did. It was my favorite because it was super simple yet fun. We all also learned at least one thing during the whole orientation whether it be about someone or something. 

Importance of Water and the Harbor!

Hello, Once again!

When it comes to saving the harbor, we need to know multiple things when it comes to water in order to monitor its quality. This is important for the ecosystem and human health because it can teach us how water affects animals and many other things, like the tides and the water cycle. Humans can affect the system and if they affect it drastically they can ruin animals habitats and harm the water in general, which would overall harm all life. Speaking of water, there are a lot of challenges that we are facing now to maintain the water quality in Boston. The main being the plastic pollution in the harbor that affects all the animal and water life, that is the main challenge considering that the pollution in the harbor keeps coming back up to where it was before. It is going to take a while before we get rid of pollution. 

Do you ever wonder what happens to the water after it leaves your house? Well, the water that leaves our homes ends up going into sewage water/septic tanks that are buried under us. After that, it is sent to a sewage treatment plant that is sent from the sewer. This is what filters used water and new water from our houses, along with a test to see if the water quality is clean or not. We do multiple tests, like a mineral test or a bacterial test to see if the water is clean for us to bathe in and drink. Naturally, the aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems have a big part to play in natural water purification and each organism that resides in that habitat plays apart into cleaning and assisting with our water. This could be in the form of interactions or living arrangements in the water. 

Most of my generation before me that's apart of my family (my parents, grandparents, etc.) grew up in Jamaica so they won't know much in regards to Boston Harbor. However, according to my mother, she recalls Boston Harbor as decently dirty. It was still developing into the Boston Harbor we had now, however, it wasn't as much as a trash dump as it used to be because of the development of making the harbor very clean. Her memories compared to my own aren't do differently though, mainly because the harbor is clean as it is due to the cleaning process that took place many years ago, but they still need to be more cleaning done. We all need to fix the pollution problem that is messing up our harbors.

Anyways, I hope you SEA what I SEA and help me clean up the harbor! ~Kamal

Shaking things up!

Hello again!

This week was a little bit different, due to the changes in staffing for our normal daily routine at Blacks Creek and the Curley Community Center. We lost Che and Damani, but Flo and Sebastian were put on site with Tessa, Aidan and me. It was a good to shake things up a little bit and see fresh new faces excited to take on Blacks Creek and the Curley.

Every morning, we start off at Blacks Creek. We have two sessions: 9-10:30am and 10:30-12pm. During these sessions we have at most 15-20 kids, but in other sessions we have as little as 4 or 5. Blacks Creek is a unique site because we are able to really get to know the children we are working with. We have created relationships with the kids and at some other sites they do not see the same kids enough to do that. I worked at the Curley Community Center all throughout high school, so I am used to becoming close with the kids and seeing trust grow between myself and the kids throughout the summer. We have been able to watch the kids grow more comfortable with holding crabs and identifying the sex of the crabs. We have seen the kids become more confident in their time in the water and their knowledge of the sea creatures they have continued to catch each week since camp began. It has been a rewarding experience working at Blacks Creek, and because this is our last week at the creek, I will definitely miss the working environment there.

The Curley Community Center is a bit different working environment than Blacks Creek. I am very familiar with many of the staff members, including two of my sisters, two cousins, and many long time friends. Because I am a part of the South Boston community, and had worked at the community center throughout high school, I am also familiar with many of the campers as well. Because of this familiarity, it was a much easier transition than Blacks Creek was in the respect of having immediate authority and control over the kids. Working at the Curley can definitely be stressful because we are teaching kids how to overhead cast fishing rods on a beach where people sometimes swim, and the kids are constantly running around and may not being paying as close attention as they should be around fishing rods. It is consistently a challenge to remind the kids to make sure they are being as safe as possible and mindful of what the consequences may be if they are not. The kids are very responsive and continue to improve in their casting skills each day we are there.

I was also able to work two great events this weekend: the Beach Bash on Friday and the Seafood Festival on Sunday. They were both great events that I had a great time working. It is so much fun being able to work with the staff that I normally don't get to see on a daily basis-- and sometimes I even get to spend the day with my sister, Kathleen, if I'm lucky.

Me and a wonderful family I had the chance of meeting at the Seafood Festival on Sunday!

My sister, Kathleen (an SHE), on the right, and me on the left having a great time serving hot dogs at the Carson Beach Bash! 

The summer is flying by, and now I only have 3 weeks left of working!

Catch you on the flip!
Maggie

Blacks Creek- New Site

Sunday, August 4, 2019 

Heyyyy I’m back! So this week I was working at Blacks Creek and it was totally different from what I’m used to from past weeks. This goes from the commuting routes I have to take every morning to the environment of the salt marsh. To sum it up, we play field games with the camp kids, fish for minnows, drop crab traps, and teach the kids about the marsh. This site is more chill, I would say, because we have to wait for the camp kids to be dropped off resulting in a range of 1-10 kids throughout the whole day. There are many types of marine life including horseshoe crabs, green crabs, minnows, shrimp and other insects. The marsh floor is partly muddy and rocky so we have to walk in the water with water shoes. We are installed in Quincy with the Quincy Rec Center. This past week it was much hotter in temperature and I believe it contributes to the feeling of longer days of work. Within these hot days we play various games with the kids including Gaga Ball, speedball, Uncle Sam, Froggy Detective and Evil Scientist. At this site, everything is all fun and games. 

I personally enjoy leading the hunt for minnows because it’s interesting to see their behavioral instincts when us humans approach them; they scurry!! It’s so funny to see them and cute to hold them in the small nets. Minnows are the most common creature at Blacks Creek because they are literally everywhere and can be seen from above the water’s surface. The kids enjoy squinting their eyes in the murky water with me too. The students' ages range from 6-7 so they are always engaged with the activities we offer. Especially on Wednesday, we taught the kids about the salt marsh water quality with a refractometer and about the marshes' soil with a soil corer. They ‘oohed’ and ‘ahhed’ at the science behind water and dirt. Who would have known?!?!

I try to help raise awareness about saving the Earth from harm by telling the kids to always pick up trash and dispose of them in the correct bins to avoid any type of pollution. “Save the Harbor, Save the Bay” is known for helping spread the word about the harbor and other neighboring bodies of water of how we can save them from resorting to old ways. I'll creek to you in next week's update, Flo.

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

InSEINE Week at Black's Creek and the Curley

It’s Maggie, and I’m back to report on our second full week with Save The Harbor. We had an exciting second week out at Black’s Creek and at the Curley Community Center in South Boston. Coincidentally, I worked at the Curley almost all of my summers in high school so I am very familiar with the environment, the staff, and the kids that continuously come back every summer for fun days in the sun! 

This week at Black’s Creek was similar to last, but my fellow Save The Harbor Educators are becoming more comfortable with the kids, and we are becoming more comfortable with each other. This week at Black’s Creek we got to use the Seine net which is something that the kids were very excited about. A Seine net is a large net with two posts that two of our educators walk through the water with in hopes of finding critters that our kids may not be able to just scoop out of the water at knee depth. I used the Seine net with Che, and I must say it is a gnarly process. Because Black’s Creek is a marsh, the seafloor is not so pleasant to be walking around on. Although we wore water shoes, the murky water and the mushy floor makes using the Seine net a little bit icky! Although sinking into the marsh floor is not something that sounds appealing, the look on the kids faces and the satisfaction of catching critters they have not seen before makes it all worth it. 

Che and I doing the Seine net at Black's Creek. 

A nice view of where we teach the kids how to fish at the Curley Commmunity
Center in South Boston! 

After our short days at Black’s Creek, we head right on over to the Curley to teach the kids about fishing and clamming. The first day was a little chaotic, with fishing lines being swung around and the kids not being familiar with the techniques, so we decided to come up with a system. We took two of the fishing rods and removed the hooks, so that way we would have a test system. We would let the kids cast their lines without the hooks and prove to us that they were capable of casting their lines in a safe manner! This system worked perfectly, and being able to see the progress of the kid’s skills in just one session was great! We have only been able to catch crabs at the Curley with the rods, but we are hoping to one day catch something bigger! 

Because we are on a marsh for most of the week, I thought it would be interesting to share some knowledge of the importance of marshes in our ecosystem and what they do for humans and the animals in the salt water. Wetlands are one of the most highly productive ecosystems in the world. Wetlands provide ecosystem services such as flood control, shoreline erosion control, and water quality improvement. Wetlands are also the home for many endangered species in the United States. It is important to preserve and take care of places like Black’s Creek and educate the public, more importantly the youth, about how important it is to respect these marshes and creeks. The issue of pollution in the world, but more specifically in the United States has been out of control for decades. If you haven’t heard of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch-- go take a look! It might make you think a little bit differently about what you are throwing away on a daily basis, what you aren’t recycling, and even what you are purchasing at the grocery store. So much of what we consume on an everyday basis ends up in landfills and in our oceans. If we can make an effort to recycle more of the plastics we buy, use reusable water bottle, buy a reusable straw, bring a mug to a coffee shop in the morning instead of using the plastic ones they give out, bringing reusable bags with you food shopping, or even looking more closely to the items you are buying in the grocery store to make sure you are buying compostable or recyclable plastic, you could make a huge difference. The average American takes home almost 1500 plastic shopping bags a year, and only 1% of those plastic bags are returned for recycling. All of this trash and pollution ends up somewhere else, and it takes at least 500 years for each one of those plastic bags to decompose. Our oceans and marshes are highly important to our ecosystem and the way the world’s environment works. The ecosystem services the water provides for us humans are crucial to our lifestyles. You could make a small difference and encourage your friends to do so, and that will be a big change in the direction our planet is headed! 

See you next week!

Maggie 

Any Fin Is Possible with Save the Harbor!

Hey everyone! My name is Kathleen, and I was born and raised in South Boston, MA and will be joining Save the Harbor/ Save the Bay for my first summer as a Senior Harbor Educator (SHE).  I recently graduated from Elon University in North Carolina with a degree in Environmental Studies and minors in Political Science and Women & Gender Studies. The past three years I have spent my time working as a peer leader and educator, creating lesson plans for students regarding holistic health practices and information. My junior year of college, I spent four months on Semester at Sea, sailing around the world and taking environmental classes for credit. The past year, I have learned about and practiced outdoor, environmental education specifically at farms and gardens. I have an exciting urge to be outside, enjoy the planet we live on, and encourage others to do the same!

Semester at Sea, sunset in the South Atlantic Ocean.

9 year old me enjoying the harbor! Some things never change!!

As someone who grew up on and thoroughly enjoyed the harbor, Save the Harbor Save the Bay has been a household name for my family. Just in my short lifetime, there have been major strides to clean up the bay and educate people about the environment and our effects on it. Dedicating my summer to Save the Harbor will give me the opportunity to learn more about the harbor, teach others about it, and make an impact, no matter how big or small, on  the harbor and the communities surrounding it. I am eager to approach the SHE position with creativity, passion, teamwork, and fun!

Kayaking in Ha Long Bay, Vietnam

Orientation week was a blast. I learned more about the historical and long standing efforts to clean the harbor. From the necessary trash burning at Spectacle Island to the waste treatment facility on Deer Island, I gained more in depth information on one of the cleanest urban harbors in the country. In terms of marine science in Boston Harbor, our fishing trip with Bruce Berman was something I had never done before. I learned more about how to properly hook a sea-worm for bait and how to make delicious sashimi and ceviche for a quick meal. My favorite part about orientation, aside from the exposure to new information and fishing techniques, was starting relationships with my fellow coworkers. Save the Harbor fosters a sense of community around Boston, but also within its staff. I could not be more excited to get to know my coworkers and get the summer started doing what I love!

Catch ya later!

☮Kathleen

Hooked on a Feeling

Boston, where the first American lighthouse was built in the harbor in 1716. The harbor an essential part to the city of Boston for tourists and residents. While scrolling on Instagram, I came across the Save the Harbor Save the Bay page and I was instantly interested in their programs and philosophy. I saw that the organization was hiring for a summer Senior Harbor Educator position, my expertise with children and high school students encouraged me to apply. 

I was offered the opportunity to work for Save the Harbor Save the Bay, an organization that is the leading voice for clean water in the region. I moved to Boston from Chicago to work as a Senior Harbor Educator. Back home, I devote a large portion of my time to Best Buddies and I work with children who are on the autism spectrum. I have always had an interest in marine and environmental studies but never had the courage to apply to a position that wasn't my speciality. The first week of orientation changed that for me. 

Orientation, the night before jitters began, thousands of question and worries that I had before my first day (i.e. I don't know how to fish, never met any of the staff before...) On Monday, we met as a team I was kindly greeted by Kristen, Bridget and the rest of the staff that I would be spending my summer with. Everyone was friendly and enthusiastic, those jitters and worries immediately went away. 
Once we got onto to the boat, I realized that- what an opportunity this is, an honor for me to be at SHSB. We made it to Spectacle Island which was interesting to learn how it was a landfill. The story behind it really taught me something, that if there's a group of people that want to change something they could with persistence and patience, once a landfill; now a beautiful beach to swim and hike at. I was hooked on a feeling and I knew that this summer position was off to a great start. There is nothing better than a job that allows you to learn and work simultaneously.

At Spectacle Island, we played this magnificent “Shipwreck” game that tested our ability to listen to directions closely and bond with our peers. I would have to say that was my favorite part of orientation. 

The second day of orientation was all about FISHING. A sport I am not familiar with, but was able to "catch" on quickly. I touched a sea worm- which hands down is the ugliest creature I have came across, it bites, squirms and is hairy. I learned how to to tie a knot and put bait on a hook. I didn't catch a fish, but I held one! (FLOUNDER MAN). Now, I will enjoy fishing because the staff and peers made it an amazing time. Seeing the students get thrilled about catching a fish and not having to use their phone to have a good time gave me a great feeling. In a world of technology, seeing teens enjoy their peer's company and not being glued to their phones is an exceptional thing to see! 

I know this summer will teach me more about marine life but I am positive that this experience will impact me and change the way I look at patience, persistence and enjoying the moment I'm in. 

Crab ya later, 
Katerina 

Second Week Shenanigans!

Hello Everybody!

The second week has gone by, surprisingly quick, and a lot has happened so let's get started with what happened on Monday. Monday was not the best day for me because I missed the boat to Camp Harbor View. "So where did you go for the day?" you may be asking. Well, I went to the Children's Museum and it was my first time so I didn't know how things worked over there. The day was more chill and relaxed than I thought it would be with kids and their parents stopping by and checking out what we had. With the minor hiccups like the tent not fully working, which resulted in us just taking it down and dealing with the hot sun, it went by quickly and great.

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday I was on All Access, with us going to Georges Island. Like last year, I was getting a little tired of going to Spectacle and was excited to go to Georges for the first time. Once again, I have these same feelings, but now toward Georges. However, that doesn't mean that I'm sick of Georges. Tuesday was a typical All Access day with us going to Georges. On Wednesday, it was in the mid 70s so it was very cool which made things very easy. Fishing and going on tours was a lot easier without the sun's heat on my back. Even going into the dark tunnel made me get goose bumps because it was too cold.

One of the shows referenced on the wall (Gravity Falls)

On Thursday, I did a lot more exploring through the fort. After leaving the dark tunnel, I went up a hidden staircase that lead up to the top of the fort. The top of the fort is the best place to have a great view of the most of the Boston Harbor. You could've seen Downtown Boston in the distance, Long and Spectacle island. I decided to explore more on top of the fort. I came across a shed and decided to go in to check it out. Inside you could see that there was the typical writing on the walls. But there was a surprising amount of geeky stuff written on the walls referencing TV shows and a podcast that I never thought would ever be written on the walls of an abandoned shed. Although I wanted to keep on exploring, I had to head back to the dark tunnel.

The shed of top of the fort

On Friday, I headed, once again, to attend the MLK Scholars meeting. This year they decided to make the event a little more exciting. They started out with us (the scholars) getting into five big groups. With our groups, we had to keep a beach ball up in the air and count every time we hit the ball. If the ball hit the ground, we would have to restart everything. There wasn't a prize; it was very energetic and was really fun. Then we had a lot of speakers. Last year, there would be one speaker per meeting, which would mean that there were four speakers through the whole summer. There were at least five speakers in this meeting alone. There was the vice president of John Hancock, the executive director of Camp Harbor View and even Mayor Marty Walsh for speakers at the meeting. This week went by very quick but it was very eventful and I glad that I saw more in what Save the Harbor has to offer and hopefully and this will continue through the summer.

Mayor Marty Walsh at the MLK Scholars Meeting

See you guys on the Harbor!

-Imani Dorsey

Quick Update

Prepping the ceviche.

To kick off the summer, all the staff attended a mandatory two day orientation, where we learned and reviewed expectations, tasks, more information about the job, and so on. Things got a little more exciting the second day. After we gathered and learned about pirates, we got on a boat and started to fish. We caught some black sea bass, and some scupps. Not only that, but a chef taught us how to filet, and cook ceviche and sashimi with lime juice. The ceviche was surprisingly good, because it did not have the distinct salty, seafood taste that fish usually has. After orientation closed, we were assigned our sites, and I was given Camp Harbor View (CHV).

CHV is a large camp located on Long Island, and I teach kids in the fishing club how to fish, the biology of crabs, and how to take care of the harbor. These kids are very great to work with, because they have enough experience and knowledge to achieve things, such as holding a crab, or even catching one! The kids that signed up for fishing club love this, and Save the Harbor at CHV added a new activity: fish printing! Fish printing is a way Japanese sailors kept their great catches to show to their wives and friends, but through art. Kids love to fish print because it is a hands on task, and some like it because they get to touch the fish!

Some days start off slow at CHV, but when it comes to fishing, you just need to be patient. Patience is key because if you constantly reel up the rod, your chances of catching something become slim to none. The kids at fishing club understand this, and so their chances became larger and larger. They practiced jigging their rods, and spotting birds for more marine life to catch. Fortunately, we caught a few skates, one in the crab trap, and three on a rod! The biggest surprise was when we lifted up the lobster traps. There was a skate, but we seen those before so no biggie...that was until we found a pretty big sized flounder! The kids loved it, but unfortunately we had to toss it in the water because that was the group's decision. That is just the tale at CHV.

July 10, 2018, I made my grand return to All Access Boston Harbor. I primarily worked at this site all of last summer, and I really enjoyed it. From the swimming at Spectacle Island, to the horrific screams at the dark tunnel, every moment was a memorable one at All Access. I made a few friends from different community centers as I told about all the fascinating things they could do at the island. Some were afraid to go through the dark tunnel, which is completely reasonable, but they were brave enough to touch, or even hold a crab! They made the best out of their time there and loved their time there. They accepted these challenges, and the BASE kids brought a challenge to a few of us on the team.

Dex and I with a few amazing BASE kids teamed up to face Damani and Kamal's team "The Explosions". They were an intense team with a lot of heart and determination to take us down. Kick ball however is a game that can take a drastic turn if you play it right. We were down 0-2, but the Blue Dogs can fight back fast. We scored to grand slams, and one runner to end the game 9-2. This one kids would not accept the fact that we did not cheat, and kept screaming " CHEATORRRR", but he said that was the funnest game of kick ball he ever played. The question now is, can anyone take down the Blue Dogs? Guess we'll find out later.

The New Team!

Signing out,
Qalid Hassan

Day 0 - Introduction

Hello world (or at least blog readers)!
   
My name is Colin McRae. I'm 18 years old and I'm going to be a freshman at NYU in the fall studying music technology. I've studied classical piano for 10 years, and I also played percussion in my school's marching and concert bands. I like to play video games, and I usually go for long bike rides to stay in shape. I'm part of a weekly D&D group with my friends, and I also try to go to pick-up ultimate disc games over the summer. I live in Swampscott with my brother (16), my parents, my aunt, and my dog Percy. Swampscott is a coastal town north of Boston (next to Lynn and Marblehead), which means that I have a long commute to work, especially because I'm still learning the ins and outs of the subway system.

Working with Save the Harbor will be a new experience with me, but I think it's a good change. I'm excited to be outside 5 days a week, and I get to teach little kids about the harbor and environmentalism (even if I don't personally know everything about it). The work I'm doing is something I wish existed when I was little, and probably would have changed the way I see the harbor now. I can't go back and experience that, but I can make sure others can. Both the kids I'm teaching and I will learn something new, and that's a good enough reason to get up early every morning to go into Boston.

The first two days have been thrilling! I don't have many of the skills I will need over the summer, but luckily I learn quickly and orientation is fast-paced. It's only been two days and I've already learned how to hold crabs, gone fishing in the harbor and caught a perch, and eaten raw (but clean) fish (Basil Freddura, the head chef at the Daily Catch, made the best ceviche I've ever eaten, right in front of us). I was taught the basics of storytelling by Norah Dooley, a professional storyteller, and got to listen to Captain Claudia Gelzer of the Coast guard for over an hour. Most of the stuff we've done has been fascinating. I'm looking forward to my actual first day on Monday. I'll be at Blacks Creek in Quincy, and despite not knowing what I'll be doing other than being there with kids, I'm sure I'll enjoy it.

See you in the next blog!

~Colin

Learning the Ropes

Welcome back!
 
This week (and possibly future weeks) I was stationed at Blacks Creek down in Quincy. Our job was to work with councillors from the Quincy Recreational Department to teach kids about the animals that live in the harbor and where they can find them. It's got a pretty basic structure, with two sessions of kids to teach: session 1 arrives at 9:00 and stays until 10:30, which is when session 2 starts and then ends at 12:00. Most sessions have between 10 and 25 kids, with some exceptions (one of our sessions on Monday had 4 kids.) During each session the kids would introduce themselves, and then we'd help them explore the beach. They'd all take nets and try their luck at catching minnows and crabs and periwinkles. Most of the time, we wouldn't find anything, but occasionally somebody caught a baby crab or a few minnows. So, after failing to catch much sea life and after some explanation about various aspects of the sea life in Quincy, we headed up to a nearby field where we played a game the kids called "Ga Ga Ball." (This is a game I vaguely remember playing during recess in middle school. It's like reverse soccer mixed with volleyball: you're thrown into an octagonal ring and have to defend yourself against small children trying to hit a kickball with their hands into your shins.)

Day 2 is where the activities got more interesting, thanks to a crab trap we brought that day. We baited the crab trap with hot dogs (go figure) and then resumed normal activities. Before we pulled the trap up we let kids search the water for animals, and one kid named Nate found several crabs and a shrimp (he was our star catcher for the day). After being taught how to pick up the crabs the kids eagerly followed us to our crab trap, where they learned how crabs are lured by the smell of bait only to drop into the trap and have no way out.

Crab Trap

     The crab trap was a huge hit with the kids, and they learned how to tell the difference between a male and a female crab (shape of the triangle on their belly) and how some crabs lose limbs in territorial fights (this made for some easy crab-holding for the kids). After the kids played with the crabs for a bit, we started a crab race. Kids got in pairs and picked a crab, and everyone put their crab down on the start line and let go at the same time. The race was slow going, but we did have a few winners before we decided to pick up the crabs and put them in the water to prevent them from overheating. 

Crab Races

Ga Ga Ball

Kids touching crabs

Close-up of touch tank

     So far I'm loving working with Save the Harbor. I get to be outside, with kids, and have my feet in the water. Looking forward to the next few days!

See you in the next blog!

     ~Colin

Glad to be back!

Hello Everyone!

My name is Imani Dorsey and this is my second year at Save the Harbor/Save the Bay. It's great to be back and learn more about the Boston Harbor and also take the stuff that I learned and share it with others. I am still a JPA( Junior Program Assistant) and I am about to go into my senior year of high school.

On the second day of Orientation

Since last year, I've learned so much about the Boston Harbor and how to fish. With the knowledge that I gained from working last year, it was fun sharing my knowledge about the different creature and the islands. Last year, I worked at Piers Park and with All Access and both sights had something unique about them. At Piers, I worked with kids that were between the ages of six and nine. Going down on the docks and pulling the crab traps up was one of my favorite parts about working there. This is because of how the kids would react to seeing a bunch of crabs. Some would be little scared while others would look at them with wonder. Some would be scared of picking them up while others would just go right ahead and pick them up. At the end of the week, the kids that were scared of the crabs or scared of picking them up would be picking them up and even offer to help pull up the crab traps. Although Piers Park was fun, there wasn't that much exploring going on. So when I was assigned to do All Access, I was excited to actually go and spend time at the Boston harbor islands. While working at All Access, I learned more about the islands and the history that the islands had to offer. This year I'm stationed at All Access and Camp Harbor so I'll be learning even more about the harbor islands. Well, that's it for now. I'll be back ready to tell you guys more about my exciting stories about the harbor.

See you guys on the harbor,
Imani Dorsey

Glad to be back

Well, the summer did come to an end, but Save the Harbor hosts year round trips to the islands, even in the fall. I was proud to be invited to work back at the site where it all started, Spectacle Island. However that day was different, David was not there, it was not the exact same team, and it was not a bunch of camps, there were groups of families. We gathered in front of the Dunkin Donuts checking people in, and when that was all said and done, we were ready to set sail! The Provicetown II set out  towards Spectacle Island.

I worked fishing that day, and there were a lot of mackerel around. Bruce re-rigged the rods to a unique double hook style, and taught us a new technique called retreating. When you cast the rod you don't let it go all the way down and pull the rod up every 15 ish seconds, and we saw mackerel all around, but unfortunately we did not catch any. People relaxed and enjoyed themselves at the fishing station, while others did hiking, and treasure hunting looking for the blue marbles that could possibly win you free Jet Blue tickets. People got their pictures and were entered into the contest, but that was how the day went, and I was so happy to be back!

signing off!
Qalid Hassan :)

where it all started

entered into the contest!!

CHV or All Access

On Monday I went to CHV, a site I have been to once before. I went on the boat and the kids on the boat were very energetic and loud, and sounded as if they were ready for the day. We got on the Island and set up for fishing club. As groups went by, one group member caught a skate. I have never seen a skate before, and I was shocked because it kind of looked like a sting ray. Nevertheless, we ate food at CHV, and it was not too bad, but I did think the "eggplant" was a cookie. After fishing club was over, we looked at the eclipse (with glasses), and I played some basketball with Ray. It was a pretty eventful day.

Fishing at CHV

Bye Patrice!

On Wednes-day, it was Patrice's last day of work. She is a soccer captain and fall sports start on Thursday, so she had to go to tryouts. This was a bummer for most people, because Patrice is a favorite for a lot of people. We split the team so we could do sports and soccer. I was at sports playing kickball with the BASE kids, and there were definitely a lot of them, about 17 a team. We lost by one, but the game was very intense. After we swam in the ice cold water, and once we got it out it was time to go. Time flies, it is already the last day of All Access.

Peace out!

Qalid Hassan :)

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 :)

Last Day at Courageous

This is a picture of me
steering the boat!

On Wednesday Save the Harbor/Save the Bay had a fishing tournament, and it was great! I was on a boat with Mark, a previous Harbor Hero, and the guest I brought, my little sister Lian. We drove off into the harbor until we couldn't see any land around us! On the way there it was very cold and bumpy, I almost fell off the boat! We used live bait which the owner of the boat said was the best kind, but we ended up not catching any fish at all. Regardless I still had fun because I did something I had never done before. Also the captain of the boat let me drive it on the way back!! At first he let me drive the boat at 15 mph, and then he sped up to 45 mph, and that's when it started getting real fun. My colleague Eric ended up catching the biggest fish and won the tournament!

Me gearing up for the big race!

Friday marked our last day at the Courageous Sailing Center and we had a boat race! There were two different kinds of boats that we got into. The regular type of sailing boat and these ones called Quest boats. The Quest boats capsized in the water which means the passengers were able to swim and jump off. If I were to known this ahead of time I would've tried to get on that one-- I love to swim since I've started working for Save the Harbor. We raced from the center all the way to our office on the fish pier. It actually took a long while even though we could see the office from where we had started the race. Every time we got closer, I felt like the finish line was moving further and further!

Stay tuned for more!
Vince Vila

Fishing Derby Fun!

Gearing up for a day fishing out on the harbor!

Hey guys welcome back! For those of you that don't know my name is Jaiden. This week I went to Save the Harbor Save the Bay's annual fishing derby for the first time! Although I didn't catch as much as I'd have liked,  it was still a ton of fun being on the boat with my friends trying to catch a fish. I spent the day on the Belle with Captain Mike and a few other Save the Harbor staff. Even though the day was longer than a usual work day, I didn't mind because of the fact that I was out there having fun and catching fish!

Me on the Belle with the Save the Harbor crew!

Today turned out to be one of the best days of the summer because of how much fun it was. Me myself, I'm not really the fishing type but Wednesday made me rethink that because of how much fun I had. I had so much fun kicking back chilling with friends, in nice weather listening to music while we fished. This was by far one of my top 5 days of the summer and I can't wait to do it again next year!

From ya boy,
Jaiden Coren