Last Day at Blacks Creek

This week was the last day at Blacks Creek. Now that the site is officially over I already miss it. I was able to relate to each kid who came to Blacks Creek. Usually when we start the day we start off at the water. The kids love catching sea creatures! And also freshwater creatures, since it is a brackish environment. There were days when we didn't catch any crabs, but when we did it would be in between five to seven of them. The largest crab the kids caught they called "Bob." At times the kids liked working together in groups to collect and explore things.

Sometimes dogs like to run down when they see the kids. The dogs get too excited when they see the kids down at the lake. One of the kids, a little girl, got chased by a big black dog. I ran after them, and the girl was crying because she was scared. The two big dogs chasing after her ended up being controlled by their owner. Another time a dog came down to the water with a tennis ball and the kids had a blast playing fetch while the owner looked on.

Later on in the day the kids decided they wanted to play games at the up the hill from the water, like usual. We had games like Gaga ball, kick ball, dodgeball and Uncle Sam. I personally think every game is a fun activity to be part of. I had a great summer at this site! Everything I was expecting was seen here at this site. This summer I had so much fun that I wish I could do all this again starting off at day one.

-Edward Calderon

Events: Family Fun Night at Carson and the Seafood Festival at the Fish Pier

Today there was an event at Carson Beach. Almost everyone around the neighborhood came and joined us for the night. They were giving out hot dogs and icy slush. Me and the Save the Harbor group were on the sand playing with a giant volleyball. Some of the kids were getting knocked down because of how hard the ball was being pushed. Even though it was tiring I was still having fun! Other kids would just make sand castles or go swim in the water. I decided to go for a swim and play football in the water with kids who didn't want to do the other activities.

A few days later, over the weekend, I staffed an event called the Seafood Festival at the Boston Fish Pier. There were a lot of people trying out the different plates of sea food that they had. I wasn't able to try the higher class of food, but I was able to try the clam chowder which smelled and tasted like tuna. I enjoyed getting fake tattoos, and also doing fancy fish prints with kids and the grown ups. They also including clam painting. I started to notice how every one was painting a drawing on the clams, which was a very cool craft!

-Edward Calderon

Courageous Sailing

This Tuesday was our last day at Courageous Sailing.Sometimes we have long days there or the days end really fast, but today the day actually ended smoothly. As Daynaja, Kent and Sedny were setting up the fishing rods, I took four kids down to the dock. Pulling up the crab track is exciting: As you're pulling it through the water you never know what might be in the trap. Me and the team caught a large starfish and giant red rock crabs. I brought them up to the other group on the pier so they could see what we caught.

The kid were so amazed to see all the sea creatures, especially when they saw the mini lobster we caught on our last day. Later on that day I started cutting up the bait for the kids. The bait looked interesting, but I wasn't able to identify what kind of fish is was. Barely anyone needed help with the rods. Most of them already knew how to cast the line and handle the reel. Still, until this day we still haven't caught anything off the rods but green crabs. The kids love it when we visit Courageous. They enjoy the variety of activities we engage them with. Sometimes when the kids are done fishing we take breaks to color sea animal coloring pages, and even educate one another with fun and interesting facts about the creatures pictured. Not only are the kids are having fun and enjoy the heat, but am as well: I enjoy sharing a piece of the wild with the kids.


-Edward Calderon

The good and the bait

over the few days I've spent my time in blacks creek and courageous sailing. Over at blacks creek the crab traps we had set up caught a few crabs as well as the kids catching very small minnows and hermit crabs, here's a picture of Edward trying to find some minnows and crabs with the kids.

next up we have courageous unfortunately I do not have pictures from courageous, but fortunately you guys don't have to see the fish I was decimating with a dull knife. We had fishing rods set up and we had the kids using the rods to hopefully catch something and we did! We caught a crab using a smaller fish that was caught from a trap we had set up. After the fish I was decimating was all used up we resorted to using the crabs as bait and fortunately I don't have any pictures of that either. At the end of the day my hands were stained in the smell of fish and crab innards. I hope the rest of you guys are having a better day than I was... 

See What's Under The River

In Save the Harbor / Save the Bay we were at Community Boating. the group and me caught an black eel with two small perch, which we put in the touch tank to use it as bait. At Charles river you are able to go on small boats. Also go down and fish on the deck. Also the fish that we've caught is different from the fish that my other group caught in the Children Museum.

Next the group and me start heading to Courageous were there we caught a lot of green crabs with three cool sea star. As I put the sea star onto my skin you can feel the sea star tiny legs attaching to your skin. At the site that I was at today the children seemed like they were enjoying fishing and touching the animals.

As bait we were using corn, bread and fish to try and catch anything that's in the harbor ocean. The children seem more interested in the  eel and the sea star and a baby green crab that we had in the touch tank.

bait time

                                                                                                              -Edward Calderon

A Striper Surprise

As we were setting up at the Children's Museum today I had a feeling that it was going to be a long day. The sun was right on top of us. I didn't expect that it would be so hot today. But I enjoyed teaching the kids how to use the fishing pole and helping them put bait on the hook. Also, today we caught a lot of green crabs, two spider crabs, and a moon jelly fish.

As I was educating the kids about the green crabs, the other half of the Save the Harbor team started to reel in a big fish. They couldn't just pull out the fish with the fishing pole. They needed the help of a net to get the fish out the water. The fish was big with many teeth.

                                                           

We put the fish in the bucket with water, so it could stay cool. Also, kids and parents could see the fish that we caught. Everyone who walked by was interested in the big fish. The excitement over the fish changed my mood for today. It actually gave the team and myself the confidence to catch more fish!

See you on the pier,

Edward

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

A Day at the Children's Museum

Hello,

Today at Save the Harbor/Save the Bay, the group and I were in front of the Children's Museum. We set-up the two crab traps and filled up the touch tank. We used ocean water for the touch tank so anything that we catch wouldn't need a change of water. Also, I started to cut up the bait for the crab trap which was fish that we cut up into pieces. Then, we put the fishing poles in their places against the railing so the children and parents who wanted to fish could.

As parents and their kids start to show up, we educate them on the Save the Harbor/Save the Bay is about. We talked about the types of crabs we caught and how you can tell if the crab is a male or female. We also explained how you can tell the age of the crab by its barnacles. Even though we hadn't caught any fish, the kids and their parents were interested in all we had to say about the crabs.

See you on the pier, 

Edward

New Start for the Summer

Hello,

My name is Edward Calderon Casimil, and I am a seventeen year old Hispanic. I was born in Puerto Rico, and I moved to the United States when I was two years old. Now, I live in Mission Hill right near the Ruggles T Station. I am in the eleventh grade.

I attend Madison Park High, a technical vocational school. It is a school with eighteen different vocational classes that you can choose from like electricity and plumbing.

I am excited to be working with Save the Harbor/Save the Bay this summer, because I want to gain new working skills that I haven't learned yet. Since I am working for Save the Harbor/Save the Bay can open new doors in the future. I will be able to meet new people during the summer, and visit places that I haven't gone to.

Something new that I am excited about is experiencing different outdoors and indoors activities. I am also excited to meet new people and work with others. I also want to learn more Save the Harbor.

Until Next Time,

Edward