Castle Island

A great way to begin our week was with a fishing trip aboard the infamous Belle. Captain Charlie gave us a lesson about how lobster traps work. Aidan and I were lucky enough to help hoist one each onto the boat, check what was inside and send it back. We learned that the lobsters travel backwards so they will climb into the trap and get stuck by the net that blocks them from walking back out. Although there weren't any lobsters in the traps we checked, we were able to catch a few crabs such as green crabs, baby spider crabs, and rock crabs. One of the green crabs were molting, which we were informed is around the same time the female crabs lay their eggs. The shell was very soft and squishy to the touch. Upon release we gathered at the front to enjoy the ride towards hull for fishing.

Team Fatima & Kharliyah

Out in the waters there was lots of fish activity. That morning my entire team was able to catch a fish, plenty of black sea bass, perch, tautog. I caught two fish that morning one black sea bass and one perch, both beautiful creatures with diverse colors and intricate patterns on their scales. The appearance of the sea bass is easily distinguishable, they are black or a dark brown and their dorsal fins have white spots. They are intimidating especially when they flex their fins. Meanwhile the perch's appearance was smaller, with a golden/green-ish tint and dark bands on its sides. I released them both after catching and helped others hook their bait. It took me over 5 years to become comfortable with touching a sea-worm. Just the sight of them makes my skin crawl, they look like water milipedes with tons of legs surrounding their bodies. Not to mention their two sharp teeth that come out when they feel threatened. They certainly are great bait to use because they were gone after fishing all morning, we had to use some squid too. I did not have as much luck catching anything with the squid.

We spent the next few days at Castle Island in South Boston. This was an interesting site to walk around and see the many people who come to exercise or simply enjoy the area for walks with their friends, families, and dogs. So many cute puppies and dogs showed out this week. The weather was perfect for a walk around the ocean and lunch at Sully's. We worked on a mural of the things we saw around the island, including Fort Independence. It is one of the oldest forts of English origin in the US, once used as a confinement for prisoners and training for local soldiers. On a regular day the fort would be open to the public where you can wander freely or go on guided tours. From above the fort has a distinct Pentagon/Star shape. Similar to the Charlestown Navy Yard, there is a Korean War Veteran memorial at the front of the peninsula.

Waiting to see what's next
-Kharliyah
Summer 2020

War Veteran

Castle Island mural

First week, multiple creatures

Lovely Vacation in the Boston Harbor

Summer was off to a late start during the year of 2018. What felt like the longest winter ever, finally came to the end as the week of July 4th welcomed the Boston Harbor with warm winds and sunshine. Save the Harbor is back into action and the team this year has got plenty of tricks up their sleeves to give the youth what they need to have a fun summer. 

My first day back went smoothly over at Piers Park. We started the day with a game of "The west wind blows" where we learned each other's names. Next we played Indian Chief, which to my surprise, the kids were fairly slick enough to go unnoticed by the guesser throughout multiple rounds. Before we headed down the dock we went over simple, but pretty important rules, then our day began. I spent a good time fishing with this one boy, Ismael. For an 8 year old, he sure did know a lot about NASA and our solar system. When I asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up, he told me, "I want to work for NASA". He seemed to have his heart set on creating rovers and spacecrafts for them. It all started when I told him about how the tide comes in and out about every six hours. Ismael immediately began to tell me about the creation of the moon which led to more.

After a few minutes of fishing, Nieomi asked me to join her and Wesley on a kayak ride. In the water we paddled around the dock to see what all the fuss was about, another set of kids on a kayak were going crazy trying to catch a moon jelly from under the bridge. As we paddled under we spotted another and they grew happier to the sound of TWO jellyfish! Luckily, the jellies eventually made it around the dock in time for Garret to pick them up and show them to the kids. We spent the hot morning and afternoon session fishing and kayaking. What better way to spend my first day back?

Fishing

Proper Technique

Day two and three, we join Kharliyah on All Access Boston Harbor to George's island for the hottest Tuesday yet. The sun rose early and the rays shined bright on this day. We greeted about 200 camps and families at the pavilion each day who were all eager to ride the boat over to the island. Tuesday I met a wonderful pair of best friends who had never been to the island before. I asked them if they were planning to go into the dark tunnel and they insisted they would even if the black lady spooked them a bit. I informed them of our fishing lessons that would be on dock after lunch if they wanted to stop by and learn. I met them later that day at exactly 12:30pm on the dock and they told me about their adventure into the tunnel as well as the Island. They were most excited about the tunnel and being able to try fishing because these were things they never done before. I felt proud and helpful to be able to give them a good experience. These girls were not at all intimidated by the claws of the crabs or by the heat of the sun. They were good listeners and very patient when it came to fishing. Although we did not catch any fish, we enjoyed observing the crabs and talking about what kinds of fish they could pull out of the harbor. 

Fishing = Patience

Thursday was another incredibly hot day and I met a lovely family from the UK who had just moved into Boston. They were most intrigued and interested in fishing more than the island. When they saw the amount of crabs we had in our touch tank that morning they went wild. Most surprised about the different types of crabs we had in our tank, they wanted to touch them all and hold one of each. We caught a few giant Jonah Crabs that morning and a few, slightly small red rock crabs, along with some feisty green ones.

Fairly new to Boston, I informed them about a few must visit places like Prudential center and tower as well as the Children's Museum. They told me they really enjoyed our trip so I encouraged them to sign up for one of our Spectacle Island trips! The kids liked the sound of that and I let them know they could sign up online if they google-d Save the Harbor All Access Boston. The family was sure they would aim to return in August. I ended my week where I started, at Piers Park on Friday. We led an environmental lesson on the salinity of water that morning after kayaking and fishing by the dock. I helped Meaghan at station 1, where we used refractometers and learned about how salt gets into our oceans. One of the kids, Ferdinand knew lots about Estuaries. They were in amazement at the lack of salt we found was in our harbor compared to filtered water with sea salt we added. They measured the buoyancy of water with eggs and understood why it was necessary for marine life. 

18 crabs and counting

Will it bite me?

Learning something new everyday,

Kharliyah

A Good Day At The Orientation (introduction)

A Good day At The Orientation

Good morning explorers,

  Last week was a great week with the team of "Save The Harbor Save The Bay". I was excited to be back at save the harbor save the bay because i wanted to experience more about the harbor and get to know new people from different community and talk about how great is going to be this summer. Also, tell them that they will enjoy every second when they step there foot on the harbor islands and other access. At the orientation people was kinda of quiet and shy like they never been around people before but i was trying to keep them awake and excited. At the orientation was fun because we was playing a game called "ride ride that pony", it was fun playing the game that people will enjoy and get to know them if they were shy or quiet or just lazy laugh out loud. My favorite part of the orientation was singing the song called "I'm a fisher man", the song is kind of long but once you start repeating yourself and keep singing the song you will get the hang of it. Some people was kind of lost on the song but they could ask a partner if they could see the writing song or repeat what they say about "I'm a fisherman".

  On June 29th, we went to Georges Island. All the explorers was excited to go because they want to know about the lady in black. If you ladies and gentleman don't know about the lady in black, the lady in black is a woman that was in love with a soldier and she travel all the way to Georges to see her boyfriend but when she travel to Georges she dress herself as a man and not as a woman because people aka. solider don't allow women to see their love ones and join the war on Georges island, so one day the lady in black got caught by another solider and she pulled out a pistol to fire the solider but it back fired and hit her love one so he passed away but when the lady in black wanted to shoot herself she got caught. When they caught her they said she was going to be hang so when they told her that she told all the solider that she wanted to be hang in a dress not in man clothing so they pulled a drape out of the window and it was black so they dressed her and hang her with a drape from the window and that why they call her the lady in black because they see her shadow and her spirit on the island. On the island some of are educator got scared because David told them that they berried her body in a

tunnel on the little room so some people jumped when he was telling the story it was so funny that some of them jump and Mauricio said when he was trying to scare them his neck got stuck so he filled but he still got some of them so it was so funny.

Sincerely, Carlos Garcia    

At The Children's Museum

The crew of "Save The Harbor Save The Bay".

  Good Morning everyone,

 It feels good to be back at Save the Harbor Save the Bay. On April vacation we had to choose to come to an event on April 19th, 21st, & 23rd. I only came to two events sadly but i made to the 19th and 23rd. On April 19th, we went to the Children's Museum. I was so excited to be back with the people I've worked with for two years. The people that I was working with at the Children's Museum were Abdi, Isabella, Arianna, and Jayda. We had fun interacting with the kids at the Children's Museum because they wanted to know where the lobster came from and how they got here to Boston Harbor.  I was kinda nervous because the kids came up to me and thought I was a stranger, their parents teach the kids not to talk to strangers so I told them I work with Save the Harbor Save the Bay and I was just letting them know if they would love to see a lobster that we caught. The kids were surprised because they never saw a lobster with huge claws and even I was surprised. It was nice catching up with ya'll ladies and gentlemen, and I hope to see you soon in the summer. 

Sincerely,

Carlos Garcia 

Being A Leader

Leadership plays a big role in my life, not only at work but also when I'm at home . Everyday I put on my Save The Harbor shirt I look at myself as a leader . I know when i go to work there are plenty of kids and family's that look up to me . I also have to be a leader for my co-workers–– not that they need it, but just being there to help and giving extra support is showing a lot of leadership.

At home, I have my 3 younger siblings that really look up to me . I know its on me to show them the positive way of life . I tell them all the time that school is the most important thing right now. If you finish school you can do whatever you want in life .


One of the main reason I love working for Save The Harbor is we're about giving back to our community. It feels good being able to hear that we provide access to some of the cleanest beaches in the country . Some kids and adults that come out with us have no idea what they're going to experience, so when you're standing at the highest point on Spectacle Island just look around at the view and take a second to think: its not about just standing on a island in the middle of the Boston harbor, it's really about enjoying the finer things in life .

 Not every city has a Boston Harbor. Not every city has organizations like Save The Harbor that provide  free access to programs for the youth around them. Being apart of something so special like that is being a leader. The fact that I'm able to help change and make my city a better place is an amazing feeling.

Birthday Well Spent At Carson

This past sunny and hot Friday was nothing but fun. It was my birthday and I couldn't have spent it better anywhere else but Carson beach with the BASE kids. The morning started with some arts and crafts, soccer, and football. I was doing arts and crafts with a few girls from the BASE camp. They were pretty engaging and really smart young girls.

              Preston and Cynthia 

As they sat next to me coloring and drawing the different types of sea animals, Cynthia and I got engaged in a conversation. We became best friends for the entire day. So Cynthia and I started talking about birthdays and she was telling me how her birthday was July 26th and I told her that my birthday was July 31st. As a gift from me to her, I colored a striped Bass and decorated the entire sheet for her. 

          My gift from Me to Cynthia

As we move on to a massive game of soccer, Cynthia wanted to be on my team so I couldn't resist not having her play with me. She did a pretty good job being the goal keeper even though we lost. After the soccer game, she told me that she wanted to go kayaking with me but she couldn't because she had to go get lunch with her group. I went kayaking by myself after teaching the YMCA kids how to cast a rod. As I was returning from kayaking, guess who I see? Well it was Cynthia! She was kayaking with her friend and she told me to go stay next to them to help push them because the pedals were too big and she was so tiny.

Spending the day with Cynthia and Carson doing different types of activities really made my birthday worth spending it there. She is a really bright little girl who acts and talks much like a grown up. If I could replay Friday with her, I definitely would. 

Hoping to see you soon,

- Andrea Lopes

Awesome People Create Awesome Memories

       Dexter Andrews
      Carson Beach 2015

    This was my first time working full time at Carson Beach in beautiful South Boston, where the city lies right behind the many Boston Harbor islands. It is definitely a beautiful site. The day started off with some games and fun from America Scores.  The icebreaker they performed was spectacular as the Save the Harbor/ Save The Bay crew got to meet and interact with other summer youth programs who also provide jobs for teens throughout the city of Boston. I had never played soccer before, so a lot of the games we had to play were extremely new to me. Competition was still at its highest.

 Bucket of baby clams caught along Carson Beach

     Later on in the afternoon, when the different camp groups began strolling in, fun turned into more fun and more fun turned into memories that both the kids and the adults will cherish forever. The Malden YMCA was on the shore so the Save The Harbor crew gathered the buckets and shovels, and strolled down to enjoy the search for clams!!!

Everyone who knows me, knows that I am a big football guy–– a football fanatic!! It seems that the kids knew that too. "Hey you! do you want to get a game of football" a group of kids asked me. My face lit up with excitement, "YEAH LETS GO!" I replied. All the children and I had a wonderful time playing beach football and cracking jokes.  The heat was slowing me down, which called for a little intermission, but the youngin's called for another game. Of course before that group departed, another game was necessary. They didn't want to leave Boston. In fact I'm convinced they fell in love.

Football Game w/ Malden YMCA

Looking back on the week as whole, the experience was unforgettable. The children were all amazing and brave enough to go outside their comfort zone to try something new and fun that they've never experienced before. As a guy wearing a blue shirt out there it feels good to be admired and called upon to spread light amongst the kids. I remember when I could fit into those same shoes, and I got the feeling they knew they had an unbelievable time. It's awesome. Every week I set a goal  for myself and this week the goal was make sure every camper was having fun and feeling happy. Whether it's cheering/motivating other kids to be good leaders or setting the bar for others to follow, if I did not obtain that goal I know I have failed at my job. Failure is ok, but it is not something one should make a habit. I personally don't settle with failure, but if it happens it happens and it's my job to also correct it and re-strategize on how to make things better the next time out.         

-Dex Andrews

"Sea you on the Harbor"

                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Leadership Is Key #BCM Crew

Today was a successful day at the Children's Museum. We caught 3 fish on our rods and also pulled 2 out of the crab traps . I really enjoy working at the museum. Its a fun and cool place. I can see why all the kid LOVE IT !  The number of family's  that participate with our organization has been increasing  everyday. Mike even mentioned that we had over 200 yesterday, which really shocked me .  

 

Showing leadership has always been important to me,  and I know it means a lot to the Save The harbor / Save The Bay . This is my 3rd summer working for the Boston Children's site. I know the 1st year JPA's tend to look up to me sometimes and have no problems coming to ask for good advice to help them become a better leader in our organization . 

I encourage any family's to come visit some of our 8 sites around the Boston Harbor . The Harbor Islands are amazing and beautiful , It truly is a great life changing experience, especially if you've never been there. There is a ton of history behind the Harbor and the Islands . One of Save The Harbor's goals is to keep helping family's, youth programs, and the community stay connected with Boston Harbor. I am proud to be a part of it .

   

                                                 - Mark Rose 

Kayaking is Deceiving

     Kayaking is definitley a lot harder than it looks! It was my first time going to the Charles River and to top it off, I kayaked. I was definitely nervous as I walked down the dock and Kelly and Luke told me I have to at least try kayaking. But it was a great experience; and it taught me to always try new things and face your fears. I had no clue what I was doing from the moment Luke pushed the kayak in the river. With the assistance of Ruth as well as the rest of the children in the community boating program, I started to gain some confidence and get the hang of it... Of course with time, trials, and tribulations, but the important part is everyone had a good time.  By the time we returned to the dock it looked like I had jumped in the river instead of boating.

                       

     Courageous Sailing earlier that morning was also very exciting as I added to my list of things I had never done. Including pulling up lobster traps, which are very heavy by the way, seeing a sea squirt and actually getting squirted in the face, and seeing a live lobster. Through the fortune of the Save the Harbor program I have been able to experience all of these wonderful things. Guess what? It's only the first week and there's a ton of new activities left to be conquered. 

-Dexter Andrews

Boston Harbor Snow Dumping

 

As Boston digs out from this week's record snowfall, we wanted to let you know why Save the Harbor/Save the Bay supports dumping snow into Boston Harbor during snow emergencies like the one we now face.

While we recognize that snow can carry trash, oil, and other pollutants and can cause damage if dumped into shallow water onto fragile wetlands, much of Boston's inner Harbor is 40 feet deep with a large tidal flow.  As a result, disposing of snow will have a very limited impact on the marine environment.

The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection supports this position. Though their regulations prohibit disposing of snow in vegetated wetlands and certain other fragile environments, they permit snow disposal “under extraordinary conditions” in open bodies of water like Boston Harbor.

According to Save the Harbor's spokesman Bruce Berman, "The extreme snow falls we have faced over the past few weeks has certainly created extraordinary conditions. We believe that the Mayor and City officials are right to put the public's safety first, and support their decision to consider dumping snow into the harbor as a last resort."

For more information please call Save the Harbor's Director of Strategy, Communications and Programs Bruce Berman at 617-293-6243.

The start of a new enjoyment

If it was a swamp or a creek, it would not make a difference for the Save the Harbor crew because we would still be in full affect! This week I went to Blacks Creek in Quincy, Ma. I spent a few days there and it was a great time. The children have minds of their own, and love organizing events for themselves because they know what the other kids would like. It's sort of like having them doing all the work, and you learning, which is an awkward yet awesome thing. Let me be the first to say, I have never swam in a creek, and man was I terrified. Have you ever felt your leg disappear? Take a two minute swim in the creek, head a little while in towards the mud and try to stand, or just ask Tommy or Shane, two experienced campers that can tell you.

This week, just like many others was full of events that were filled with fun, and new memories. Little did I know, I was so tall (one would think they knew this), and kryptonite was my weakness. This was a new game Tommy and Alex made up, when they found a green rock and told me it was Superman's weakness kryptonite. This was even better, it made the kids feel like they were actually in a marvel comic book.


Mave and a few others set out to the water to find minnow and other sea creatures. The kids were very well experienced and knew exactly where to find anything we asked them to look for. Blacks Creek has some of the most active, outgoing children in all of the greater Boston area. They love sports and also love the water, just as much as Bruce. Its been a great start of the week and cannot wait to see what the rest of the week has in store, This is Ahmed Hassan, and I am logging out! Thanks


-Ahmed Hassan

The Elusive Striper

Hello All,

On Monday at the Children's Museum, we caught an elusive striped bass that swims in the Fort Point Channel. Team Children's Museum often sees the fish swimming to the surface to munch on some bread around 2 or 3 PM. On this day, Sam, one of our Senior Harbor Educators, was determined to get the striper out of the water.

Team Children's Museum with the Winning Catch

He started with a simple bread hook with no weight attached. Candido, one of our Lead Harbor Explorers, directed Sam to the area that was most promising. It was only 11 AM, but Candido spotted a striper swimming alone near the bridge. Sam casted out with the hopes that the fish would take a nibble; his prey took a bite. When Sam knew that the striper was securely on his line, he slowly reeled the fish in. The tricky part was pulling the fish up 15 feet and getting it over the railing without losing it. Candido tied a rope to a fishing net, threw it into the water, and scooped up the striper. Many people nearby stopped to watch Sam reel in the fish that was about 35 inches and at least 15 lbs.

The Elusive Sriped Bass and I

After we took pictures with the striper and showed the fish to the kids, we put it back in the water, so it could swim freely. Hopefully, we'll catch one again soon. 

See you on the pier,

Iris Ayala

Fan Pier Fishing Tournament

Save the Harbor/Save the Bay's Fan Pier fishing tournament was today. We started the day with breakfast. The breakfast was very good. After breakfast they passed us a white Save the Harbor/Save the Bay fishing shirt that we all had to put on. Next, Bruce divided the Junior Program Assistants and paired us with kids from the Boys and Girls Club. Then, we all got on different boats.

Boats Docked at Fan Pier

                           
As we left the dock, we picked up the bait that we were given to catch the winning fish. On our way to one of the destinations, I saw a lot of lobster traps and an island that has a lot of rocks filled with birds. We used defrosted clams and blood worms as bait to catch the fish. We also used different fishing poles.

Hours had passed and we still hadn't caught a single fish. We did get stopped by the Coast Guard to do a routine check, but it was fun being on a boat in the middle of the Boston Harbor. When we came back to the dock, there were only two teams who were able to catch a the winning fish.

See you on the Harbor,

Edward

An Eventful Day

Today at the Boston Children's Museum, it was an eventful and exciting day.

We started the day normally: taking our supplies from the utility closet, cutting up bait, throwing in the crab trap, and setting up the fishing rods. Maybe it had something to do with the type of bait we used.

In the morning, Bruce brought us a bucket of fresh quahogs for the day. We usually use herring or bass for bait. Within the first hour, we caught not just one spider crab but two!

Candido, Lead Harbor Explorer, and I cracking a quahog

Also, we have been chumming the waters with white bread and a few saltine crackers. Candido, our Lead Harbor Explorer, and I spotted a few striped bass close to the underpass. We often see the stripers after our lunch break at about 2 pm.

While we try to catch the stripers, we like to talk to the kids and family we see about what they find in the channel each and every day. Many kids and even parents are surprised to see how many different types of creatures swim below them.

Sam, Senior Harbor Educator, fishing for a striper

It was a fun day filled with sun, laughter, and teachable moments. I am hoping for many more days like this one at the museum.

See you on the pier,

Iris Ayala

Off to a Great Start

We kicked off our first week of the Boston Harbor Explorers program at the Children's Museum. This is my 2nd year at the site, and I'm looking forward to all the experiences, seeing new faces, and creatures we will catch off the pier of the Fort Point Channel.

My team at the Boston Children's Museum is LHE, Candido, JPAs, Marco, Sumtoo, and Edward. I'm really excited about what we can accomplish at this site.

As the week comes to a close, we've caught green crabs, spider crabs, cunners, moon jellyfish, and tunicates. Candido, our Lead Harbor Explorer, and I are currently dedicated to catching one of the mysterious striped bass that roam the waters of the Fort Point Channel each day around 2 PM. With the help of Sam, a Senior Harbor Educator & fisherman extraordinaire, we will catch one soon enough.

Candido, Lead Harbor Explorer, showing the crowd a spider crab

We've experimented with many types of bait such as herring, quahogs, and bread. We still have some tricks up our sleeves and plenty of summer to catch a striper!

See you on the pier,

Iris Ayala

What was Boston Harbor like 100,000 Years Ago?

Have you ever looked out on the Boston Harbor and wondered what it was like before now? What was there before the docks, the piers, the islands and the channels that make up what we now call the Boston Harbor?

Since the Earth first formed almost 4.6 billion years ago, it has been constantly changing. Where you see mountains may have been desert at some point. Where there is an ocean, there could have been a jungle. In the case of the harbor, where you see the harbor islands and beaches, there was once a massive glacier.

If we went back 100,000 (yes, that’s one hundred thousand) years, we would all be under more than a quarter mile of ice! This enormous glacier was called the Wisconsin Ice Sheet and formed during the last ice age.

Under all that ice, there was still a lot of sand and rocks. With this huge slab of ice moving over it, the sand and rocks were pushed around, eroded and deposited to become drumlins. Drumlins are stretched out hills that are shaped like the back of a spoon, rounded and high at one end and pointy and small at the other.

This view of Peddocks Island shows the characteristic shape of a drumlin.

About 16,000 years ago, the ice began to melt so the glacier began to retreat. And as we all know, ice becomes water, and this water became the sea. So the sea level was rising, but at the same time, the huge weight of ice had been removed from the land. The weight was so great that without it, the land itself started to bounce back. This is called isostasy, and is the same as when you try and push a buoy underwater and it bounces right back.

When the land rebounded, the sea level was low again so what we now see as the harbor and harbor islands would have looked like big grassy plains with the drumlins popping out as great big green hills.

This map shows part of the harbor and harbor islands with drumlins outlined in black.

One of those hills is Spectacle Island, which is named because it is made of two drumlins that were connected by a spit and it used to look like a pair of spectacles. The island doesn’t look like that anymore because it has been changed so much over recent history. Spectacle was once home to a horse rendering plant (where different parts of dead horses can be made into useful products), then a trash incinerator, then it became a big smelly dump. It has been used by the people of Boston in many different ways, but it has been restored to a pristine recreational area.

Spectacle Island before restoration

What do you think you would find if you took a shovel and started digging straight down on Spectacle? Would you find heaps of trash buried under the grass?

When the Big Dig began in 1992, tons of dirt and clay was dug up and had to be removed. This material was used to resurface the island. The amount of sand, clay and rocks put on Spectacle would fill more than 1200 Olympic sized swimming pools! On top of this is 2 feet of clay and then 2-5 feet of topsoil. Where there was once a major trash mound, there is now one of the Harbor’s greatest treasures.

Boston Harbor will continue to change over time, but through the efforts of Save the Harbor / Save the Bay, it will only change for the better.

Rock on!

-Sej