Another One!

Zach with our second Horseshoe Crab

Blacks Creek keeps impressing me and I'm sure I will feel this way everyday I go there. I thought we lucked out and had a good circumstance with harbor explorers when we found the horseshoe crab the first week, but that was not the case! What a surprise it was when we found not one more but two more horseshoe crabs. I guess the harbor explorers at Blacks Creek are doing it right. The first time we caught one, it was a bit chaotic as you can imagine. The kids were freaked out because this was a new creature, maybe it is the fear of the unknown, but each time we catch a new one more and more of the kids are ready to be brave and touch and hold it.

Jahari helping out
 with our first crab hat

I realized this week that we do not have to have a crazy catch each session. There is always something new, no matter how little it may seem to us, that can be done for the children. At the end of each session Zach ask the kids if anyone tried or experienced something they never had before, the answer is always yes! Even the kids that return to us yearly and come for two times a week are able to point out new things they were able to achieve. They are proud of their newly found knowledge and are eager to show us that they retain the information we learn together. They want to teach each other and grow in their knowledge!

Catch ya later,

Ana

Starting week 2!

This picture was taken on the dock during a safety talk for the campers.

I'm very excited to start week 2 of working at Save the Harbor Save the Bay. Even though I am still struggling to wake up early, it is worth it coming here everyday to get on the ferry and work with the kids fishing with them on the dock. Yesterday I went to Camp Harbor view and I must say it was extremely hot. Once we got off the boat we started setting up our crab trap and gathering our first group of kids. We instructed them about safety and how to fish properly, but surprisingly they were already familiar and had previous fishing experience.

Baiting the fishing rod at Georges Island 

Today I went to Georges Island where we were fishing with the kids and playing sports with them. We did not catch any fish but as usual we caught plenty of crabs! We also used a flounder fish as bait we had to cut it up and as you can see in the picture above I was placing the bait on the fishing rod. We caught Green crabs, Jonah crabs, and Red rock crab. It was raining but we managed to continue fishing and the kids didn't mind at all. Once we caught the crabs they were very intrigued and excited to hold them. We got to show them how to tell the difference between a male and female crab.


                                                                          Sincerely,
                                                                         Vince Vila

So It Begins!

Orientation and our first days are now completed! I remember going to Georges Island and David doing his best to scare all of us with his ghost stories, 9/10 times he was successful. I went in knowing what I should expect from this trip, prepared to not get wrapped up in his ghost stories, but there was a change in Islands! We took a trip out to Spectacle Island instead, getting to visit this island is always such a treat so I was excited about this change but I'm sure David was sad he wouldn't get to scare anyone that day. It's amazing how certain things come back to you, we went through a ton of information that is going to be helpful at all the sites we work!

This summer I am stationed at Blacks Creek, I was hesitant at first, only because I had never been there before and wasn't sure what to expect. The first days I felt stiff, attempting to figure out what a normal day would look like and what my specific role would look like. We played a few warming up games so that the children would feel comfortable and then we got right into it with our exploring. We were catching crabs and the children were ecstatic about this but we came across a horseshoe crab  and everyone went crazy. I never thought we could catch one this summer let alone at Blacks Creek! What a great way to start the summer off.

Catch ya later,

Ana