Constitution Beach

 Heyy everyone,

    My group and I were at Constitution Beach in Eastie this week. We worked hard to put together our video which included a game we called Invasive vs. Native to have the kids try and figure out whether a species is invasive or not. We did some sand raking and made some cool cartoon characters, used a net to catch some small fish, went swimming, played some fun games, and learned about Eastie . Overall the week was really fun and I'm going to miss that beach, the temperature was pretty perfect out there this week, and we got to see planes taking off and landing pretty close up which was really cool. 

 

         Aang The Last Airbender                                       Timmy Turner

    This week, the topic we've been discussing is water quality, which not only affects the ecosystem, but has an impact on us as well, through the food we eat, water we drink, clothes we wear and so much more, that's why it's so important to monitor it. In Boston Harbor, some challenges to maintaining that water quality is the fact that climate change brings more extreme weather and storms that reduce the quality quite a bit. According to Save The Harbor / Save the Bay the water quality of Boston beaches over all dropped from 94% to 88% because of the excessive rainfall from summer storms in 2019. Rainwater can be a carrier of bacteria, parasites, and viruses and is a big reason for the spread of some diseases, so it makes sense if there was a lot of rainfall that year that the water quality was lowered. In the same article, apparently the 2 cleanest Boston are both in South Boston (Pleasure Bay & M street), while the least clean beaches are King's Beach in Lynn and Tenean Beach in Dorchester. This may be because those beaches are still working on improving their water quality by fixing pipes and such that could be a long process that covid 19 has probably made even longer.

    There are many tests that can be taken to see the quality of water, and one of the most common ones is the pH test which measures the acidity of the water. Another common test is the nitrate and phosphate test which is a good indicator of strong plant life, but artificial nitrate and phosphate from fertilizer or sewage can be harmful. A bacteria that can be common after a large rainstorm is E. coli which is a bacterium, and when there is a high consistency of them they can indicate that the water quality is bad. They may not be harmful themselves but when there is a lot it is probable that other dangerous pathogens are also present in the water so beaches could be unsafe for swimming. There are ecosystems that can purify their own water though like forests and wetlands that can remove sediments from runoff, as well as certain animals like caddisflies that build nets that filter the water and black flies who filter with their antenna.

    I asked my dad if he remembers what Boston Harbor used to look like and though he didn't go to the beach much he does remember how dirty it was and I remember when I would ask him if we were allowed to swim in the Harbor and he said he didn't think so because of it. Compared to today, obviously we are allowed to swim there and it is a low cleaner now as the reports of water quality show. I'd post pictures of the beaches and let everyone know how great they are and tell them to go to one near them to enjoy it as much as I am.

Sea you out there,

-Jane

Citations

“Water Testing Laboratory: Water Quality Tests & Analysis.” ADE, 23 June 2019, ade.group/laboratory-analysis-water-testing/.

“E. Coli and Beach Pathogens.” Clean Lakes Alliance, 5 Sept. 2019, www.cleanlakesalliance.org/e-coli/.

Firth, Penny. “Ecosystem Services - Water Purification.” Science NetLinks, AAAS, sciencenetlinks.com/lessons/ecosystem-services-water-purification/#:~:text=Wetlands%20and%20streamside%20(riparian)%20forests,bottom%20or%20are%20filtered%20out.&text=There%20are%20many%20other%20stream%20animals%20that%20help%20filter%20the%20water.

Arts & Crafts & The Great Outdoors

Everyone loves Fridays; it's the end of the work week, and the weekend lies ahead with all its promises of sleeping in and a new episode of Game of Thrones and not having any real responsibilities for two whole days. For me, I look forward to Fridays because it means I get to spend another amazing afternoon with the kids from the South Boston Neighborhood House out on Carson Beach!

Getting ready to paint...before discovering the magic of fingerpaint

Last week the kids started working on a long-term project of giving a rowboat an artistic makeover. After taking a nice long dip in the water, the kids came up under the gazebo to work on the boat. Paintbrushes in hand, they set to putting their ideas to paper. The idea was that we would take what they painted, cut it out, and decoupage it onto the boat. Maybe my bias is showing a bit, but these kids have a lot of talent! The rowboat is going to look incredible when it's finished.

Naturally, when you have kids, paint, and not enough brushes to go around, paint is going to end up more places than just the paper it was intended for. Once kids figured out that fingers make an excellent substitute for a paint brush, just about everyone in a six hundred foot radius ended up covered in paint. Luckily the paint came right off with a little bit of water and elbow grease. The boat project is off to a great start, and I can't wait to see how we progress next week!

Another day another fish print!

After my afternoon at Carson Beach,  I took my art skills over to Constitution Beach to spend the evening fish printing with kids at the East Boston YMCA's Family Fun Night. We were joined by one of our pirate story tellers, Tony Toledo, and Stephanie, a trainer from the YMCA who was teaching a family fitness class! Tony got down to business right away, telling the kids some incredible stories and helping us build a crowd while Stephanie got her class started.

That night we met some really fun and incredible kids and families, and made some really beautiful fish prints! Due to some strong winds and my own two clumsy hands, I ended up covered in the ink used for the prints. I headed back home drenched in ink, paint, sand, and fish, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

Black and white and red and blue and green and pink all over,
Melissa

Raking of the sand part 2

Onward to Sunday! as well as part 2 of the raking of the sand. Now part 2 takes place in constitution beach in East Boston which was near Orient Heights on the blue line, but enough of that onto the actual event itself. Now in this event there were more staff as well as a bunch of sand rakes and people who wanted to participate despite it feeling like my skin is melting off, it was fun. (INSERT PHOTO OF SAND RAKE PICTURE HERE)
Though It was still very hot and wearing two shirts at the same time was not the best idea, but that's just me being the lazy blob of sweat and heat that I was in that moment. There was a snack bar-like place that served slush, which I got blue raspberry but the slush was arguing with the black coffee and the huge amount of ice that I consumed, and the result of that little war inside my stomach I felt incapacitated. There was also another big project that the big man artist guy wanted to do however... It was hotter than the sun and the tan lines I have before are getting slowly worse. So we were given the option to leave and unfortunately I wanted to leave but I wanted to stay for the sand rake as well.

Andres Amador at Constitution Beach

Hi everyone!

This past weekend I had the pleasure of participating in a community art project in East Boston. Sand raking artist Andres Amador lead a quick workshop on how to use the sand rakes we provided, and he gave us a few henna-type flower design templates to model our creations after. The idea was at the end of the day, from far above, the whole beach would look like one giant garden full of beautiful flowers.

My prior experience sand raking involved drawing a basic flower and maybe my name at Carson Beach. It wasn't until this day that my eyes were opened to the potential beauty waiting to be created by a simple garden tool attached to a broom handle. And so, I took off to create my first true piece of sand raking art, and I was very pleased with the result!

My flower!

Just a small bit of all the artwork - I'm only so tall!

Despite this being one of the hottest days I have experienced while in Boston (keep in mind, I'm from Alabama and I'm used to heat!), this day and this experience was a true treasure. While sand in itself is an art, I was so impressed to see a hint of what could be further created with sand.

Until next time,
Jessie G.

Sand Raking Prt. 2

Today at Constitution Beach there was sand raking. I was shocked to see how many people came to the beach because they heard about out event in the news or saw it in the newspaper. Luckily, the tide was low for a while, so the artwork could really be seen clearly While everyone was making flowers as their first designs, I wanted to be different and make a symbol. I made the yin yang symbol. In my opinion, it came out pretty good. I have never done anything like that. I usually just stick with making easy flowers, but I stepped out of my comfort zone today.

Once I saw how well the yin yang came out, I decided to be more adventurous with my designs. I then made a lady bug and an anchor. I did not think that they came out that great, so I did not take a picture of them. I then decided to make a ghost. While I was in the middle of making the ghost, I looked over to Sam and asked her if she could make Pacman. She said, "Sure". While I was finishing the ghost, Sam was done with Pacman and it looks really good. This was an awesome team effort to make something really creative on the beach. Even though when the tide came in, it would be all washed away, but it was still pretty cool.

'Til next time

-Ary

East Boston Beach Event!

Hello again, Explorers!

I am so excited to share stories about the Constitution Beach event last week- a campfire with our partners at the YMCA! ¡Nuestro evento en la playa la semana pasada nos fue super bien, fue muy divertido y  además, fue un placer conocer a la comunidad de East Boston!

I have two left feet!

One of the highlights of the evening was, of course, the dancing. Everyone enjoyed our D.J., Damien, and he played songs that the kids could line-dance too! Our JPAs got involved, bringing their smiles and their sweet moves to the dance floor! We even had some Bachata lessons, it turns out we have some real talent on our team!

Finding clams and answering questions!

Thankfully, identifying bivalves, chatting in Spanish, and getting people to the beach are easier for me than Bachata! To get started, my fellow SHE, Nikita, and I,  ran up to the mic and made a quick announcement about going to the beach. We figured out that we had both hard-shell and soft-shell clams down in the low-tide sand, and we took advantage of that opportunity! Soon, we had kids running up to us from all over the beach saying "look what I found!". We found an oyster, some quahogs, tons of soft clams, hermit crabs, and snails! Our JPAs made sure that all of the clams got safely back into the ground, and helped get the kids excited about finding critters!

 Some really great questions were asked at this event, sometimes between chews of marshmallow, (free from the YMCA!). Some of these included: "how to clams make their shells? Do they shed them, like crabs do?" and "why is the snail coming out of its shell, but the (quahog) clam is not?" I have a little experience in teaching ESL, and though I love exploring languages, they hardly ever stick their necks out or squirt water at you- which is why working with clams keeps me happily on my feet!

I can't wait for more fun in the sand, bring your questions and your towel and come see us at our next Better Beaches event!

Until next time!
Carolyn

New Experiences

I had a pretty interesting past two days. Although yesterday there was some ugly weather, we made the best of it. At McDonough there were very few kids to fish with so as Kelly took some of the kids on a beach walk we took turns kayaking. I've never gone kayaking before so it was really exciting and a bit scary. I can't swim too well so I was a little scared of falling into the water even though I was wearing a life jacket. Jazeel made me feel a bit better when he said he'd save me if I fell in. After a few minutes I got the hang of it and was going pretty fast and could control where I was going. I hope I get to go kayaking again some time in the near future!

Me and Jazeel on the kayaks! 

Today I was at a different site in the morning which was pretty cool. Instead of being at Piers Park I was at Constitution Beach which just so happens to be right next to my house. It was really different from Piers Park; I went in very curious about what I was going to be doing and wondering if we'd be catching anything and how that would happen. We didn't do any fishing or anything remotely related to what I do at Piers Park. Most of the kids from the YMCA went for a swim, the boys who didn't want to swim played soccer with Carlos and the girls who didn't want to do that did some sand art and walked on the beaching looking for shells. They were very calm and cute, it was definitely a nice change of what I am used to and it was great to see what is done at other sites, I wouldn't mind being placed at other locations so I can experience more new things! 

Esmeralda Mendez

Howdy!

Hello Blog World,

My name is Iris Ayala, and I will be a Senior Marine Educator with Save the Harbor, Save the Bay this summer. I'm originally from San Antonio, Texas, and I studied English and Secondary Education at Univsersity of the Incarnate Word. I moved to East Boston last July for work, and I was so lucky to live across the street from Constitution Beach, one of the sites that Save the Harbor, Save the Bay will be at this summer.

For the past two years, I have worked with City Year as a full-time volunteer. This past year I was a project leader with Care Force, a sector of City Year that travels the country engaging corporate sponsors to deliver high impact community service events. I developed skills and knowledge in carpentry, painting, and landscaping. For my last event I worked in Richmond, Virginia with the Friends Association where I led 25 corporate volunteers from Aramark to construct a water heater fence, storage shelves, and install play turf into their outdoor area. As my time with City Year came to a close, I wondered how I would spend my summer in Boston, and I started the long process of applying for a job.

I discovered that I loved working outside and learning more about the natural environment around me. I remember spending sweltering Texas summers in Corpus Christi, Port Aransas, and South Padre Island where I fished, camped, and swam with my family. When I was a kid, the Corpus Christi Aquarium was my favorite place to visit, because I was able to touch live sting rays, learn about the communication methods of dolphins, and identify types of sea shells. I came across a listing for the Senior Marine Educator position at Save the Harbor, Save the Bay on Idealist, and I knew it was the job for me. Although the Boston Harbor is a little different than the Gulf of Mexico (the water is so cold!), I am really excited to explore the beaches and learn from all of the talented staff at Save the Harbor, Save the Bay.

Have a wonderful 4th of July, and see y'all by the water,
Iris Ayala

 

Warming Up For Summer

A little yoga warm-up in East Boston

Greetings from Sarah Bailey!

Save the Harbor/Save the Bay's Senior Marine Educators think that there is no better way to celebrate a beautiful, rain free day then visiting some fantastic beaches in East Boston!
After spending some time working in the office the Senior Marine Educators and All Access staffers enjoyed a site visit to East Boston by stretching out and doing some yoga to greet the sun and gear up for summer.

 After meeting the fantastic crew at Piers Park Sailing Center, we headed on down to Constitution Beach! A fun day was had by all as we excitedly talked about what the summer would offer! From meeting new kids and teaching the importance of the conservation of Boston Harbor, it was clear to us that we had quite a summer in front of us. As the training week comes to a close we are all giddy with anticipation for our first day out on the job with the kids! We hope to see you (as well as the sun!) out there with us this summer, learning, exploring, and most importantly, having fun!

See you soon - on a beach, an island or a dock near you!

Sarah Bailey

East Boston YMCA Summer Kick Off at Constitution Beach

It was a beautiful day to be on Constitution Beach.

On Monday, Save the Harbor/Save the Bay headed out to Constitution Beach in East Boston for the East Boston YMCA Summer Kick Off. Boston students had a free day for Bunker Hill Day and many kids took advantage of their day off to soak up the sun, play in the waves, dance around and learn about the beach. It was a beautiful day to be outside. 

Save the Harbor/Save the Bay not only sponsored the event but had a strong presence, bringing their touch tank full of clams, mussels and oysters. The kids loved it! Some of them had eaten clams before, but a lot of kids hadn't, and many of them had never seen the inside of a mussel before. SHSB staff members Will and Carolyn were experts at showing the kids how to break open the mussel shells. Some of the kids loved the shells while others were more interested in the insides. They couldn't believe inside those shells were actual animals!

Along with SHSB's touch tank, there were other games for the kids and a DJ who did a great job getting the kids moving. There was freeze dancing with prizes and lots of line dancing--even the SHSB staff joined in! We did the Cotton Eyed Joe, the Cha Cha slides, the Wobble and the Cupid Shuffle. We had lots of fun and it was great to see the kids outside, enjoying the sun and the beach. We hope to see them there throughout the summer!

--Rachel Frenkil

Communication and Events Summer Intern

East Boston YMCA Summer Kick Off

Touch Tank provided by Save the Harbor / Save the Bay

This year's East Boston YMCA Summer Kick Off was a great event filled with smiles everywhere you looked. The kick off took place at Constitution Beach with a great view of Boston, Logan Airport and Boston Harbor. The kids were able to enjoy many games on the beach, swim and experience a touch tank full of bivalves brought by Save the Harbor /  Save the Bay. I couldn't wait to show the kids what we had brought because everything we had was harmless and some of the best seafood's in my opinion. The touch tank marine life consisted of mussels, little neck clams, cherry stones, Quahog clams and oysters. The kids were very eager to touch all of the marine life that we had and learn what they are. There were a few kids who already knew what some of the bivalves were since their parent had given them seafood before. It was great to see that the bivalves were not completely foreign to the kids.

Throughout the day we had fun participating in the dance events with kids. The DJ of the event did a great job and really kept the kids enthused with different dance games and songs that had choreography in the music such as the "Cha Cha Slide" and "Cupid Shuffle." Being able to have fun with the kids and make their experience on the beach as fun as possible is something I love to do. Smashing opening a mussel so that that kids can see the inside is definitely something that gets them engaged just as much as dancing in a game of freeze dance.

A Game of Freeze Dance

It was a great experience for me to be at the event and I would like to thank East Boston YMCA for letting us be a part of such a great event.

-Will Clark

Fun in East Boston!!

Two years ago, I lived in the Orient Heights neighborhood of East Boston, right across from the big blue bridge that leads to Constitution Beach. I honestly never visited the beach there very much, but loved the views when I did decide to visit. After all, how many people can brag about the fact that their beach is less than a mile from an airport runway? Especially at night, watching the planes take off under the stars is quite a site -- factor in the moonlit water, and you have yourself in a spectacular place. Last night, this wasn't the only amazing occurrence happening on Constitution. The East Boston YMCA, along with the DCR and Save the Harbor/Save the Bay held another DJs and Dancing night on the beach, where families from East Boston gathered for savory smores, dancing, a lobster touch tank and more fun! Myself, along with Delilah and Andrew had a seriously fun night, and watching the kids check out the lobster and bucket full of treasures (seaglass, shells, crab shells, etc) made my night -- and hopefully the kids' nights too!

The kids that stopped by our station were adorable -- and very impressive with their existing knowledge about shells, crabs and marine life in general! One girl proudly told me the difference between boy and girl crabs, while another boy pointed at each item in the treasures bucket, telling me exactly what he was looking at. In addition, several adults commented on how great it was to have Save the Harbor at the event, and I couldn't agree more. East Boston is such a vibrant community, and watching the kids (and adults!) have fun dancing and toasting smores was quite the site to see. I am proud to say that I once lived across from this fantastic beach, and hope to have the chance to attend these very events in the future!

Excited explorers investigating trash vs. treasure!

Roasting marshmallows on the beach!

-Ashley Wakefield, Senior Harbor Educator at Boston Children's Museum and Community Boating

Dancing at the Beach!

For those who love music and dancing, you all would have loved to be at Constitution Beach this weekend. Friday, July  20, Save the Harbor made an appearance with a lobster. We had a lot of fun with the lobster and everybody seemed to enjoy seeing it. After talking with many people, it seems that one of the most commonly asked questions is centered around the size of lobster. Many wouldn't believe it but lobsters get upwards of three feet long, especially if they live in protected areas.

It was great seeing everybody from the YMCA who goes to so many of our events. Everyone was so upbeat and happy to be there. I look forward to spending more time with the children of the East Boston YMCA and other groups that we do beach events with. 

Our Adventures Continue!

Hello again to my fellow explorers!

During the week, my team and I usually spend our mornings helping out with All Access Dockside, helping to make sure everyone gets aboard the Provincetown II safely. On Friday mornings, however, I have the  opportunity to hang out on Constitution Beach with some very special kids from the East Boston YMCA.

Beautiful morning at Constitution!

Going along with the theme of the week (check out my other posts!), I decided to bring one of our Southie lobsters on a field trip to Constitution to show the kids. Before they were able to see the lobster, I started by handing out a picture that I drew the night before. The East Boston YMCA is pretty sharp and they all knew immediately what the drawn creature was. We went on to talk about some lobster facts, while the kids colored in their new pictures. Speaking of lobster facts, did you know a lobster's teeth are located in its stomach? How about this: Its brain is located in its throat! After spending a bit of time learning about their new friend, dubbed Luigi, we played a modified game of lobster tag in which the kids had two claws - just like a lobster - and had to "pinch" the other kids' claws off to win. Of course there was one round in which the kids were all allowed to "regenerate" their claws, just like real lobsters, but we had to have a winner in the end... Our victorious lobster tag victor, was allowed to pet and hold Luigi first.

Sensing a theme here?

Luigi was so nice to allow the kids to learn about him and pet him, that we all decided to let him free into the water at the end of our morning. I waded into the chilly waters of Constitution, with the kids clapping behind me, as we let Luigi the lobster return to his home. Thanks for a great morning, East Boston YMCA!

Later in the afternoon, my team and I headed back to McDonough Sailing Center to hang out with the campers. The day had gotten cloudy and many of the kids were back home with their families, but there were some faithfuls there, as always, so we headed over to the pier for some fishing. We couldn't catch too much more than green and red rock crabs on our lines, but we'll try again and experiment with some new bait next week. Cant wait!

Madison & Anna fishing off the pier on Castle Island.

Talk to you all soon!

-Mary

Kicking Off the Summer on Constitution Beach!

This last Monday, the East Boston YMCA got the summer rolling on Constitution Beach with their YMCA Summer Kick Off! It was a bright sunny day with a cool breeze and tons of beach games. On one side of the beach there was sand hockey and soccer matches kicking up sand and laughter.  And on the other, there was sand castle building, bean bag tosses, and frisbee golf. There was even an intense kids against staff tug-of-war! By the end of the day the score was undoubtedly kids 3-0.

In addition to all the fun games there was a special friend who joined in on the fun in the sun, his name was Larry the Lobster! He greeted everyone who walked by and even let the kids hold him. 


To finish the day off with a bang there was a giant flash mob! Everyone on the beach joined in and danced together to many different songs that included the cupid shuffle and the infamous YMCA song. It was a cool sight to see and a wonderful way to celebrate our beautiful clean beaches!

This is the first of many Better Beaches events that Save the Harbor has helped to fund this summer, and we know that our friends at the Y have given us an amazing preview of the exciting summer ahead on all of our beaches. I'm so excited to attend all the other beach parties, concerts, campfires, and sandsculpting competitions from Nahant to Nantasket this year, and I hope you are too!

See you out on the Harbor this summer! 


Liz Allen
~Events/Communications Intern

Good Weather. Good Fun. Great Day!

Today, the amazing staff and I were invited to enjoy a beautiful day on Constituion Beach in East Boston. We were invited by the East Boston YMCA to their Summer kick off event. It was an excellent day to hold the event due to the weather since it was not too hot and not too cold. There were tons of activites on the beach for kids. We were able to be one of the numerous activities for the kids to enjoy during their day on the beach.

The Save the Harbor team had our friend Larry the lobster with us today, so that he could say hello to all the kids in East Boston. Some kids were afraid to even get close to him while others were completely fearless. The fearless children held Larry the lobster by his back in order to make sure they did not get pinched. Even though Larry may seem nice at times, I noticed that he could be a little be fiesty if you get too close to his claws or provoke him. However, today Larry did not pinch or hurt anyone and one of our staff members noticed he was missing a leg. He probably did not want to lose another leg, so I guess that is why he did not pinch anyone.

Overall, today at Constitution Beach with the East Boston YMCA was a great day that Save the Harbor enjoyed contributing to. The Flash Mob dance was definitely fun to participate in and watch. Also, tug of war was very interesting and exciting even though my side lost. That was fine with me though because the kids were very happy to beat people that were bigger than them. I had an amazing day in East Boston and cannot wait to go back there when Save the Harbor's summer programming officially starts.

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

Last Week

After the fantastic day we had last Friday with all the groups we have been working with though the summer, it only made sense that they would think it was our last day. So today when we showed up for another fun day at Constitution beach, we found that the group had not arrived. They thought Friday was our last day and didn't show up. After waiting for a while, Sheuli made a phone call and eventually the East Boston Y was informed that we were holding program. And so, even though they were only going to have about a half hour of programing by the time they got there, they still decided to make the trip to the beach. And to me, that just shows how well we have done with them this summer and how much they all enjoy spending the day with us. With the limited time we had, we were able to separate them into two smaller groups, one consisting of members that wanted to go exploring, and the others playing games. It ended up being a fun day; a great way to end the summer with the East Boston Y.

~wilshere

Working with YMCA Children

On the Constitution Beach, the kids had found a crabs skeleton. I have never seen one before and it was amazing to see. I thought the crab was dead at first but I realized that there was not anything inside the shell. It was dry and hard. Then Annie told me that the skeleton is like how a snake would shed its skin when they get bigger overtime. What was interesting that I learned about crabs was when it gets bigger, it would break its shell, and then grow another shell over its entire body. For some reason, I thought they would have to search for another shell just like hermit crabs. I guess you learn something new everyday. While at the beach, the staff helped us bury some of the kids under the sand. There was one kid that wanted me to draw his figure to make him look like a mermaid. After, the other kids wanted to get buried, so we buried at least 5 kids legs under the sand. I figured since they could not move I draw Save the Harbor Save the Bay in the sand. Then at the top write the YMCA kids. It was a great day.

-LaToya

Becoming better fishers

While at the Children's Museum, there were so many children that came through to go fishing. They were so happy to fish and for some it was their very first time. We did not catch any fish, but they still kept trying and never gave up. There was a group of kids with special needs that were encouraged to fish because of the others. I never worked with kids that had special needs and I thought it would be difficult to teach them. I worked with a girl that really wanted to learn how to fish. I took my time with her and became very helpful at the same time. She told me that she had gone fishing before so I encouraged her to catch her first fish. She was awesome. She learned how to fish faster than the other kids. She knew exactly what to do right after I showed her the first time. In the afternoon at community boating, there was a kid named David that was a much better fisher than I am. He caught over eight fish through the day. I was so jealous. I told him that he should become a fisherman. I was amazed of how experienced he was at such a young age. There was a girl named Safier who had complications with catching a fish. I told her to keep trying and to not be impatient because fishing takes time and lots of patience. Today I was so happy for her because she caught her first fish while working with us.

-LaToya