Red Sox 3rd Baseman Mike Lowell meets Save the Harbor!

On Friday, July 22nd, due to the heat we set up a touch tank in the Children's Museum as opposed to fishing and crabbing outside. There were many youth groups in the museum who came up to our touch tank and learned about lobsters. However, not all of the kids we taught were from youth groups, some were just from families who came to visit the museum. One of these families was Mike Lowell, the former Red Sox 3rd baseman, World Series Champ etc. As Sheuli taught his kids about lobsters, I stood behind her trying to figure out whether or not this was actually Mike Lowell. Despite being an avid Red Sox fan, I was very confused about whether or not this was Mike Lowell for many reasons. First, I knew that he had retired and no longer lived in Boston. Second, he looks a lot bigger in person than he does on the field. Yet, my notions were confirmed later in the day when I heard two ladies pondering why Mike Lowell had been at the Children's Museum. Later that night Jerry Remy announced that Mike Lowell was visiting his old teammates, which erased any doubt in my mind. Although the we were not aware of it at the time, we had taught Mike Lowell's kids and broadened their experience about the Harbor.

-Grant Baker

The End of a Great Week at Courageous!

Hey Everybody! Last Thursday, July 15th, the kids at the Courageous Saling Center were pulling up lobster traps. All week we had caught many crabs and Sea Stars in the traps, but, ironically, we had not trapped any lobsters. It was lunchtime and the kids were pulling up the second trap. When the trap came out of the water, there was a large lobster. We didn't have a scale but we approximated that it was one and three quarters or two pounds. The kids were very excited about the lobster. However, a lot of the kids were very hesitant when it came to touching the lobster. These were the kids who had already overcame their fear of picking up crabs, but for some reason the lobster scared them a lot more. The lobster was a female and we taught the kids how to tell the difference. The lobster excited the kids in a way that I hadn't seen all week. Once the instant excitement had worn off, a couple go-getters walked over to the next trap. They quickly pulled it up and there was an even bigger lobster. This new lobster got the kids even more excited, which made it one of my favorite days at Courageous.

-Grant Baker

The Art of Fishing

Watching kids fish at Pier's Park was definitely one of the highlights of my week. Fishing can usually make even the most energetic kids a bit calmer. Despite the fact that nobody caught anything, the kids were enthralled throughout the week. This was particularly evident on the Monday when two of the kids who had been slightly rambunctious during the earlier part of the day were able to fish for hours. Watching the kids fish showed me how exciting it truly was. Although they didn't catch anything, they would continuously convince themselves that they had a bite. Although this seemed childish at first I realized that fishing is all about tricking, whether you are tricking the fish or yourself.

Grant

Start of an exciting Summer!

My name is Grant Baker and I am a rising junior at Cambridge Rindge and Latin Highschool in Cambridge, MA. I'm 16 years of age and look forward to a great summer with the Save the Harbor, Save the Bay team. Last Wednesday, the start of orientation, I was a bit nervous because I didn't know any of the kids. However, all of the returning staffers were very nice, which made the STHSTB community seem more welcoming. My favorite part of the day was when we went out to Spectacle Island in Boston Harbor. We got to look at all of the junk and we figured out where some of the stuff came from. It was interesting that a beach so close to Boston had so many hidden treasures. My favorite item I found was a piece of a bowl and cup that looked as though they had come from the same set. This was interesting to me because it showed how they had stood the test of time. Hopefully, this summer will be full of hidden treasures and one that I remember forever.\

Grant