The Carson Beach Blues

Tuesday was the perfect day, the sun was shining in a brilliant blue sky, and the breeze a perfect mix of salty ocean air warmed by the sun blowing in over sparkling blue waters. Even the sand was blue- with our dedicated partners from Blue Cross Blue Shield that is. Save the Harbor / Save the Bay and Blue Cross Blue Shield came together to do our part to keep Carson beach clean. Blue Cross Blue Shield participated with us as just one part of a larger effort including thirty projects, 1600 hours, and 3000 participants in a statewide cleanup effort. Working with the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, we were placed into eight groups and to spread out so each group could take a section of the beach and cover more ground.

The BlueCrew hard at work cleaning Carson Beach.

My group was assigned the far side of the beach near the seawall. Our mission was to pull weeds and pick up any trash. Once we arrived to our section we split into groups of two and we got to it. It was nice seeing people from other communities coming together to keep the Carson Beach landscape beautiful. As we prepared to head back for lunch our group took a moment to see what we had accomplished with just a few hours of hard work. BCBS employee Jackie Bliss stated that it was amazing the difference from when we started.

Jackie Bliss, Greg Ciagelo and Jackie Kenney from BCBS.

During lunch, I talked with Greg Ciagelo of Somerville. We spoke about how it’s great that the water is now clean so people can swim at the beaches, but that there’s still much more to do. We need to continue to maintain the beaches so visitors can enjoy them for their recreational purposes. I agreed with him-it’s one thing to be able to swim at the beach, but if the sand is dirty or the facilities are not in good condition then it limits other activities that these beaches can provide. After lunch, the teams spent another three hours beautifying this relaxing space just minutes from downtown Boston. Performing service to better our community is rewarding in itself, having the opportunity to meeting the employees from Blue Cross Blue Shield and be a part of their cleanup project made the day that much better.

- Camilla

Camilla Fitzpatrick

Communications and Development Intern

Save the Harbor / Save the Bay

Time Spent on Spectacle Island

Boston, from South Drumlin Summit

Nearly 300 people braved the wind and rain to board the Provincetown II for the trip out to Spectacle Island, yet no sooner had we docked than the clouds parted, giving way to blue sunny skies and a light breeze to cool us as we ventured about the island’s ample trails photographing the spectacular views of the harbor and skyline. The island is made up of two "drumlins" or little ridges. Amazingly, this beautiful spot was built of decades of garbage and the dirt and clay left over from the Big Dig. Talk about recycling!

Right to Left: Ellie, Maddie, and Patti

On the way down from the summit I met and picnicked with a wonderful family- Patti and her granddaughter Madison (or Maddie for short) along with Ellie, a Korean exchange student staying with them. Patti lives in Winthrop and she spends lot of her free time with Maddie, they enjoy doing things together like crabbing and fishing. We agreed to help Maddie on her search for the items on the scavenger hunt. While walking along the beach searching for a feather, Patti told me that in all her time living here she had yet to have the opportunity to check out Spectacle Island. She thought it was great that Save the Harbor / Save the Bay was giving her and Maddie the opportunity to explore the island.

Maddie finds sea glass 

As we diligently assisted Maddie on her search for other items on the scavenger hunt list- some sea glass (and boy is there a lot of it!), seaweed, and a whole shell among others; we also managed to do some good for this state treasure, collecting a shopping bags worth of trash from the shoreline. It’s amazing the things that can find their way down drains and across the harbor. We collected candy wrappers, a water bottle, and some small plastic trinkets. It should really make people think twice about what they toss on the ground or in the water.

Treasure hunting is best with friends!

  



The call came through the speakers letting us all know that it was time to board the boat again. We brought our sea glass and other relics into the ranger’s desk, you can’t take those treasures with you, they belong to the people. As the boat pulled away, leaving beautiful Spectacle Island behind, we all agreed that we would be back to this special spot just 4 miles, yet seemingly a world away from the hustle and bustle of downtown Boston.

- Camilla

Camilla Fitzpatrick

Communications and Development Intern

Save the Harbor / Save the Bay