"Is that a real fish?!"

      This week I had an awesome opportunity to fish print with some of the visitors of the Fish Pier! All ages came to try their hand at creating a masterpiece. Though we had visitors of all ages they all seemed to have the same question; IS THAT A REAL FISH?! The answer is yes! We are painting a real flounder and creating art with it! Though we had to compete with Stop & Shop and their free wheel of prizes we still had an amazing turnout!  We made everything from spider-man themed prints to rainbow ones and ones hat were just brown! It was great to explore some creativity with so many different individuals and I can't wait to have the opportunity to do this again!

Making sure all of the ink transfers from the fish to the paper!

Purple and Green Fish Print!

Seafood Festival Fun

Hello,

On Sunday, Save the Harbor/Save the Bay attended the 3rd Annual Seafood Festival celebrating 100 years of food, culture, and economy on the Boston Fish Pier. When I arrived, it was raining. But the rain didn't dampen the festivities that ran underneath big white tents along the pier. Senior Harbor Educator, Sam, and our Junior Program Assistants set-up a table to create fish prints.

Senior Harbor Educator, Sam, leading a fish print at the Boston Seafood Festival

Sam showed us how to create a fish print. We used a few different types of fish including flounder. First, Sam cleaned the fish from any residue it had. Second, he put several drops of acrylic ink on the fish; he choose a base color and an accent. Third, he spread the ink over the fish to make sure it covered its head, gills, fins, and head. Then, he cut a piece of rice paper, and he placed the paper on the fish. We helped him pat down and smooth out any ink spots. When he lifted the paper, a wonderful fish print was created.

After my shift ended, I was able to explore the festival which had music, art, and vendors. I even had a cup of chowder from No Name Seafood. It was a rainy yet rewarding day.

See you on the pier,

Iris Ayala

Fishing Tournament with the Dream Team!

Hey guys again to tell you all about my trip on the fishing tournament,

Save the Harbor/Save the Bay

The day was cold, rainy, windy, and cloudy-- so, it wasn't exactly the best day to go fishing along the harbor. I was on a boat along with my sister and mother, Karrisha and Marline, Kiaunna, Mark, and Captain.

The "Dream Team"

          We sailed to and around Nantucket Beach and we caught NOTHING. It turned out the other team had all the bait...coincidence, I think not! Besides not catching anything I had a blast-- I sailed on a yacht for hours, held a fifty pound fish (yuck) ,and best of all I was surrounded by friends and family!

Me holding a Stripe Bass

           At the end of the trip all of the Save the Harbor crew and staff gathered together for a delicious lunch! Although, everyone was cold... nothing could have swept our smiles and laughter away!

Save the Harbor Save the Bay

                             
                                              Peace, Love, and Happiness,
                                                      Anicia Gillespie
     

Taking a Moment to Appreciate the View

Today marked the start of our third week here at Courageous Sailing in Charlestown and before greeting our new group of kids for the SSS or Sail, Swim, Science class I took a moment to look around and admire my surroundings. Being from the suburbs of Boston I spent the majority of my free time these last two weeks getting lost in the City while attempting to drive from different STH/STB sites and still be on time. Before working for STH the extent of my knowledge of Boston was driving to Back Bay to spend the day on Newbury or taking the green line to Fenway Park. These past three weeks I have been able to immerse myself in all things Boston and have been able to come away with a deeper understanding of the city I call home.

Haley looking Boston Strong in front of the TD Garden

After living in California the last two years anytime someone would ask the inevitable "where are you from?" the answer was always "Boston and proud of it", although home is actually Natick, MA. After the these last couple of months with all the trials and tribulations that Boston has gone through I have felt a little guilty about saying that I am from Boston without knowing too much about Boston itself. Today I was proudly able to drive from the STH office to Courageous without getting lost, a huge feat that I didn't believe was possible a mere two weeks ago. Upon arrival at Courageous today I was able to take a look around the pier and point out where the TD Garden, North Station, East Boston, and the STH office were all located, another impressive accomplishment I could add to my Boston resume. With the help of Thi Tran I was even able to navigate the unknown waters of the Red Line and get myself home after a long day in Quincy. These last couple of weeks working for STH/STB have not only been fulfilling by being able to teach kids about the ocean that I love, but has also been able to open my eyes to all parts of my beautiful city.

A Boston Staple: Duck Tours

I can now proudly and with confidence say I am a Bostonian. Need to directions to get to North Station? No problem! Need a new place to park now that the Longfellow Bridge is under construction? Let me know and I can point you in the right direction!

And as always-take chances, ask questions, get messy! Sarah B

Save the Harbor / Save the Bay Awards Over $25,000 in Better Beaches Grants

Save the Harbor Save the Harbor / Save the Bay awarded more than $25,000 in grants to 12 groups to support 30 free public events in nine beachfront communities from Nahant to Nantasket at an awards breakfast at our office on the Boston Fish Pier on Saturday, June 23^rd.

Recipients of this year's Better Beaches grants with representatives
from Save the Harbor / Save the Bay, Harpoon Brewery and JetBlue Airways

This year’s “Better Beaches” events include sand sculpting competitions, beachfront concerts, environmental education programs, family fun nights, reading programs, and beach programs.

“The region’s 19 miles of sandy public beaches have the power to connect a million people with the Harbor we have worked so hard to restore and protect,” said Patricia A. Foley, President of Save the Harbor / Save the Bay. “We are proud to support our partners in the city's waterfront neighborhoods and beachfront communities as they work to bring the regions kids and families to their beaches and the harbor.”

In addition to the grant, Save the Harbor / Save the Bay also gave each group 22 one-inch diameter blue marbles to scatter on their respective beaches. Anyone who finds one of these marbles between now and the end of the summer will be entered into a drawing to win one of five prizes of 40,000 TrueBlue points from JetBlue Airways. Click here for more information about this "Marble-ous" summer treasure hunt.

Save the Harbor's "Better Beaches" program was launched in 2008 in partnership with The Boston Foundation, whose early support helped make it a success. In the past four years, local community partners in Nahant, Lynn, Revere, Winthrop, East Boston, South Boston, Dorchester, Quincy, and Hull have leveraged $116,500 in small grants from Save the Harbor with $403,500 in cash and in-kind donations from local government and small businesses for a total of $520,000 to support 130 free beach events and activities for everyone to enjoy.

Funds to support this year's grants came from the 2nd annual Harpoon Helps Cupid Splash and the more than 500 “Splashers” who plunged into the chilly ocean water to support their beach. Additional financial support comes from Save the Harbor's "Better Beaches Program" funding partners at Harpoon Brewery, JetBlue Airways, National Grid, Comcast Massachusetts, the Harold Whitworth Pierce Charitable Trust, Russo Marine and Legal Sea Foods, as well as our in-kind supporters at the BCYF Curley Community Center and the Department of Conservation & Recreation.

About Save the Harbor / Save the Bay

Founded in 1986, Save the Harbor / Save the Bay is the region’s leading voice for clean water and the restoration and protection of Boston Harbor, the waterfront, our region's public beaches, the Boston 

Harbor Islands and the marine environment.

To find out more about Save the Harbor / Save the Bay’s Better Beaches Programs, visit our website at http://www.savetheharbor.org.

2012 Better Beaches Grant Recipients

Community	Group	Event	Amount
Lynn & Nahant	Friends of Lynn & Nahant Beach	2012 Red Rock Summer Concert Series	$2,500
	Friends of Heritage Park	World Folk Festival	$500
Revere	Revere Beach Partnership	National Sand Sculpting Festival	$5,000
Winthrop	Friends of Winthrop Beach	Family activities on the beach	$1,000
	Friends of Belle Isle Marsh	Educational activities on the beach	$1,000
East Boston	East Boston YMCA	Summer Food Service Program and Campfires	$3,500
South Boston	South Boston Neighborhood House	Family Fun Night on the Beach	$2,500
	City Point Neighborhood Association	Beat the Summer Sizzle at Pleasure Bay	$1,000
	BCYF Curley Community Center	Summer Youth Programs	$3,500
Dorchester	Friends of Savin Hill Shores	Beach Festival Family Movie Night	$2,000
Quincy	Friends of Wollaston Beach	Kids Fest	$1,000
	Quincy Beaches and Coastal Commission	Pumpkin Fest	$1,000
Hull	Friends of Paragon Carousel	Museum Projects and Reading Program	$1,000
	Hull Nantasket Chamber of Commerce	Endless Summer Waterfront Festival	$1,000

Save the Harbor / Save the Bay Releases Beaches Report Card

 

Save the Harbor / Save the Bay issued its first annual "Water Quality Report Card" on the region's public beaches from Nahant to Nantasket on Wednesday morning at 9:00 - 1-:00 the Exchange Conference Center on Boston's Fish Pier.

To assess and compare the water quality conditions on each beach, the group looked at the percentage of tests exceeding the state swimming standard of 104 cfu/100ml of Enterococcus.

Overall Beach Safety from “Best to Worst”

Nantasket	100%
South Boston @ M Street	98.60%
South Boston @ City Point	98.60%
South Boston @ Carson (Bathhouse and I Street)	97.30%
South Boston @ Pleasure Bay	94.50%
Wollaston @ Rice Road	93.20%
Constitution Beach - East Boston	93.20%
Malibu Beach - Dorchester	91.70%
Savin Hill Beach - Dorchester	91.70%
Nahant Beach	88.50%
Wollaston @ Milton Road	87.70%
Wollaston @ Channing Street	87.70%
Revere Beach	87.50%
Wollaston@ Sachem Street	86.30%
Winthrop Beach	84.60%
Short Beach  - Revere	83.30%
Tenean Beach - Dorchester	79.50%
King’s Beach - Lynn	73.20%

"Some of the region's beaches, including Nantasket Beach in Hull and the South Boston beaches, are safe for swimming nearly every day and rank among the cleanest urban beaches in the nation" said Save the Harbor / Save the Bay's Bruce Berman.

"Many others are doing quite well.  However there continue to be pollution problems at some of the region's public beaches, including most of Wollaston Beach in Quincy, at Tenean Beach in Dorchester and at King's Beach in Lynn.  We need to address them all if we are to achieve the late Judge A. David Mazzone's often stated goal of beaches that are safe for swimming "Damn near every day!"

Last year Nantasket Beach in Hull was the "Gold Standard" for the metropolitan region's beaches, earning a 100% rating for beach safety. The South Boston Beaches came in a close second, averaging better than 98%. Tenean Beach in Dorchester and Kings Beach in Lynn each failed more than 20% of the tests performed in 2012.

The results were made public at the initial meeting of Save the Harbor's Beaches Science Advisory Committee, convened to conduct a systematic review of water quality and beach flagging accuracy on the region's public beaches from Nahant to Nantasket.

"Our goal is to help turn the data into information that people can use to make decisions," said Dr. James Shine of the Department of Environmental Health at Harvard University, who co-chairs the science committee along with Dr. Judith Pederson, a coastal resource specialist at the MIT Sea Grant College Program. "As scientists, we are here to focus on the facts," said Dr. Pederson. "It is Save the Harbor's job as an advocacy organization to build a consensus on how to address the situation going forward."

Berman, who teaches marine science and management at Boston University, agrees. "The scientists and technical advisors play a critical role in increasing our understanding of the causes of these problems, and can help us evaluate proposed solutions. But at the end of the day, this isn't just about the science, it is about our shared values and the love we have for these beaches."

By all accounts, the Deer Island sewage treatment plant and the Mass Bay outfall pipe have dramatically improved the health of Boston Harbor and Massachusetts Bay since they were completed in 2001. However, Berman noted that the first phases of the Boston Harbor Project were not intended to solve all of the problems that cause pollution on our region's public beaches. "The remaining problems need to be addressed on a "beach by beach" and "pipe by pipe" basis, as we did in South Boston with remarkable success" said Berman, "and that's exactly what we propose to do."

Save the Harbor / Save the Bay also asked the science committee for advice on ways to better protect the public’s health and access to clean water by improving the current beach flagging system. 

"Posting yesterdays test results on the beach is simply not a sensible way to let the pubic know if it is safe to swim today" said Berman. "Most of our beaches deserve a fairly high grade, but I would flunk the red flags."

Here is a link to Save the Harbor / Save the Bay's 2012 Beach Water Quality Report Card
for the Boston Harbor Region's public beaches from Nahant to Nantasket.

Here is the data on which the report card was based, which was presented at
Save the Harbor/Save the Bay's Beaches Science Advisory Committee meeting
at the Exchange Conference Center on Boston's Fish Pier on Wednesday, May 30 2012.

MWRA Presentation (Background and Water Quality Testing Methods)
EPA Presentation (Past and Future Water Quality Criteria)
EPA Presentation (Rapid Testing Methods)
Save the Harbor / Save the Bay's Report (Beach Safety ad Flagging Accuracy)

Here is an Executive Summary of the results.
Here is the Data on which our report is based.
You can find a Press Release about the report here.

Here are two useful papers - on Antecedent Rain and
an analysis of posting based on the Previous Day's Results.

For insight into our values, view Save the Harbor's television commercial about beach flagging,
view our short video "Water Power" or visit our webpage at www.savetheharbor.org

If you have any questions, please contact Bruce Berman at
bruce@bostonharbor.com or by phone at 617-293-6243

Starting out at Save the Harbor/Save the Bay

Hi! My name is Kelsey O’Brien and I’m a rising senior, studying Information Systems and Operations in the School of Management at Boston University. I’ve just returned to Boston after spending the past semester in sunny Sydney, Australia. I had a truly incredible time there learning to surf, exploring the outback, bungee jumping in the rainforest, and scuba diving on the Great Barrier Reef, but I’m glad to be back in my favorite city for the summer. I know that working at Save the Harbor/Save the Bay will be a whole new kind of exciting adventure! I’ll be here helping out on the tech side of things as we transition to the spiffy new website that will be up later in the summer – be sure to keep an eye out for it! 

I’ve heard so many great things about SH/SB from my good friend Cassie who worked here for the past two summers, so I can’t wait to get started! I can already tell that I’m going to love it here because my first event requires me to go to the beach. I’ll be attending a JetBlue clean up of a local beach next Wednesday. Helping the environment, spending time at the beach, and having opportunity to bond with some of the other staff, what more could I ask for? Hopefully the weather turns around by then, because so far it has been a very COLD and rainy June in Boston (see photo above for a look at a frozen Kelsey on the Boston Fish Pier). 

Weather aside, the summer is off to a great start. I'm looking forward to an awesome experience at Save the Harbor/Save the Bay!

Impression of Boston Fish Pier

Boston’s Fish Pier in South Boston isn’t your average pier. It’s not a tourist destination, like Santa Monica Pier. And it’s not a small-town, wooden dock to go fly fishing on. While there doesn’t seem to be much action, a closer look reveals the Fish Pier is a busy, industrial center. A walk around the apron shows men working to pull in their catch from medium-sized ships.

The Fish Pier is also teeming with marine life. While is difficult to see past the depth of a meter, schools of small fishes dart back and forth to the current in the water below. Various mollusks line the edge of the pier and ships. Seagulls are noticeably larger here than other places, due to the easily found scraps from the fishing boats.

As a part of the larger Port of Boston, the Fish Pier holds a special significance as the oldest fish pier still in use in the United States. This label is not especially evident, however, as the pier is not specially marked with signs and plaques. Despite the lack of recognition, the Fish Pier continues to provide for the fishing and maritime industries that have been using the port since it opened in 1915.