Fun at Carson Beach

Hi everyone,

This week I went to Carson Beach on Wednesday, and we worked with a group of kids from MassStart. Before lunch, the two groups of kids rotated between playing volleyball and frisbee. We taught the first group some basic volleyball moves and tried to get a game going, but the sand was very hot, so we ended up moving our game into the ocean to cool off our feet. It was fun watching the kids learn how to play and get into it!

Going over the volleyball basics with the group

Trying to hit the ball!

After the groups played volleyball and frisbee, we had a break for lunch and then went down to the water again to build sandcastles and search for hermit crabs. The tide was very high at this point, so it was challenging to find the hermit crabs and periwinkles. Sometimes, when the tide is low, you can find a ton of creatures just by looking down into the water. Fortunately, we did find one hermit crab, and the kids were really excited to see it and build it a sandcastle home. When it was time to leave, we returned the crab to the ocean and packed up all the sand rakes, buckets, and shovels.

Playing near the ocean

Overall, it was a fun day, and I hope the group comes back to Carson Beach again!

Until next time,
Grace

Exploring Carson Beach

Hi everyone,

The past week, I’ve had a lot of fun working at the Carson Beach site for a few days. Before I started working for Save the Harbor, I had only been to Carson Beach once. I went with a friend, and we spent the day reading and relaxing on the beach. Now, as a harbor educator, I get to help campers explore all that the beach has to offer.

At orientation, I had the chance to go stand-up paddle boarding and kayaking in the ocean. I also learned how to do sand-raking and fish-printing at the beach. The first day I worked at Carson, it was very cold and windy, so we didn’t have too many groups come out. However, we got to play some games with one group of kids. My favorite part was getting to do sand-raking with a few of the campers. I made a turtle in the sand and then let the kids destroy it.

The turtle I made at Carson Beach with the sand rake

The following week, the weather was a lot warmer, and we got to play near the water with some campers. We played soccer and Frisbee, built awesome sandcastles, and searched for hermit crabs and periwinkles at low tide. All of the campers seemed to enjoy spending the day at the beach, and I saw the same group the following day at the Children’s Museum! I also got to go kayaking again at the beach, which allowed me to get a great view of downtown Boston and a few of the Harbor Islands.

Hunting for hermit crabs at the beach

Overall, I’ve enjoyed working at Carson Beach, and I’m hoping that next time I’m there I'll have a chance to go paddle boarding and catch a few more hermit crabs!

Until next time,

Grace

Kids Concert!

On Saturday, Tom, Maxwell, and I went to the Friends of Lynn and Nahant Beach Children's Concert at Red Rock Park. It was a really fun way to spend part of my Saturday.

We had three monster-sized lobsters that we trapped in the harbor, so to get more animals for the younger kids to hold and learn about we went tide-pooling! Right at Red Rock Park we got about 20 hermit crabs, a handful or periwinkles, 2 green crabs, and seaweed aplenty.

We talked to tons of kids and their parents about the creatures we had, about the beach and the harbor, and how much fun they were having at this awesome event. There was face-painting, balloon animals, a really funny kids band called Toe Jam Puppet Band, and to top it off, it was a beautiful day.

 

The event was very well organized and everyone, including the Save the Harbor staff had a great time!


Keep on jammin,
Sej

Early Bird Catches The.. Oysters?

Last Friday was an exceptional day for exploration at Camp Harbor View. A strong low tide led to the exposure of a large gravel bank, which nearly doubled the size of the eastern most portion of Shell Beach. Additionally, the area was dotted with a number of tide pools- a treasure trove for the beach explorers at CHV. I only hoped that the gulls had not pillaged all that the area had to offer.

Watching the tide roll in on the expanded beach.

Fortunately for us we were able to find plenty of awesome stuff to discuss. The entirety of the exposed area was covered in periwinkles. A few steps on the rocky shoal also revealed the presence of countless soft shell clams, which made themselves known by spraying water out of their feeding holes. The kids loved getting the clams to spray each other. A quick dig and we had quite a large one in our hands.

The tide pools also contained plenty of hermit crabs and slipper shells- many stacked in large piles on top of one another. A walk further into the water revealed a few European oysters. The campers enjoyed these immensely and thought heavily on the potential for pearls.

A camper with some tide pool treasure.

It is only on these very low tides that these types of creatures can be captured at Camp Harbor View and I am sure that there are many that reside on this exposed area that the explorers at CHV have yet to find.  Unfortunately the gulls wait for no one, and are much more synchronized with the tide cycles than myself. As a result our beach combing groups are often late to the party. The evidence of this laid bare on previous expeditions when we have found the gull-torn remains of other species, including sea urchins.

A rather menacing gull.

Hopefully the next group that gets to go out on this fantastic piece of ocean floor will have even more luck, and beat the impeccable timing of the gulls.

- Tom Rebula

No lobster, but we got HERMIT CRABS

          Southie is notorious to us Save the Harbor workers because we always catch lobster there. The kids get upset when we don't catch enough lobster. George and Abby where eager to walk on the beach because every time I go to Southie I usually take the kids there and I wasn't at McDonough a lot this summer. We caught comb jellyfish, a few hermit crabs, and a lot of Asian shore crabs.

The Comb jellies really fascinated the kids because we didn't see any jellyfish this year they were replaced by striped bass and lobster. This was a great year but the kids didn't get a chance to pick up the dead jellyfish although they can sting you when dead.

-Ahmed Hassan

A Day In Southie!

For the second time this summer, I got to experience a different site from the one I'm used to. To wrap up our last week of summer programming, I was given the opportunity to spend my Monday afternoon down in Southie on Castle Island, meeting new kids over at the McDonough Sailing Center! Not only was it a ton of fun, but I also got to watch the kids catch creatures that I normally do not see on a typical day. After fishing for a bit off the dock, we all decided to take a walk down the beach with a small pail in case anything was caught! After about 30 minutes, the kids admired their findings. The favorites included comb jellies and hermit crabs -- they found well over 10! Another very noticeable aspect of that afternoon was how high the tide was. The director at the sailing center remarked that he had never seen it so high before -- in fact, we couldn't even spot the buoy signaling the lobster pot in Pleasure Bay! Overall, the kids made this afternoon a great one. What truly stood out to me was just how outgoing the kids were at this particular site. They definitely were not afraid to be loud and say exactly what was on their minds, but this was what made the experience so great. On our walk back down the beach to the sailing center, a couple girls and I immersed ourselves into an intense sea glass hunt. We found beautiful green, clear, and aqua pieces, but also an unexpected purple gem that the girls loved. By that time, everyone else had already gone home for the day. Although we could have used more time, we were all happy to end the day on an exciting note!

Fishing isn't the only activity at McDonough!

Fishing!

 

 

-Ashley Wakefield, Senior Harbor Educator at the Boston Children's Museum

Hordes of Hermit Crabs!

Today at Constitution Beach, we had a blast collecting hermit crabs. Our awesome hermit hunters from East Boston YMCA collected hundreds of hermits and piled them into our touch tank.

It was interesting to hold so many hermit crabs in your hands at once. Some of the YMCA explorers giggled and shouted at the hermits when their tiny claws tickled their palms.

At the end of the collection, we said our farewells and watched as hundreds of hermits crawled back to their homes!