First week, multiple creatures

Lovely Vacation in the Boston Harbor

Summer was off to a late start during the year of 2018. What felt like the longest winter ever, finally came to the end as the week of July 4th welcomed the Boston Harbor with warm winds and sunshine. Save the Harbor is back into action and the team this year has got plenty of tricks up their sleeves to give the youth what they need to have a fun summer. 

My first day back went smoothly over at Piers Park. We started the day with a game of "The west wind blows" where we learned each other's names. Next we played Indian Chief, which to my surprise, the kids were fairly slick enough to go unnoticed by the guesser throughout multiple rounds. Before we headed down the dock we went over simple, but pretty important rules, then our day began. I spent a good time fishing with this one boy, Ismael. For an 8 year old, he sure did know a lot about NASA and our solar system. When I asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up, he told me, "I want to work for NASA". He seemed to have his heart set on creating rovers and spacecrafts for them. It all started when I told him about how the tide comes in and out about every six hours. Ismael immediately began to tell me about the creation of the moon which led to more.

After a few minutes of fishing, Nieomi asked me to join her and Wesley on a kayak ride. In the water we paddled around the dock to see what all the fuss was about, another set of kids on a kayak were going crazy trying to catch a moon jelly from under the bridge. As we paddled under we spotted another and they grew happier to the sound of TWO jellyfish! Luckily, the jellies eventually made it around the dock in time for Garret to pick them up and show them to the kids. We spent the hot morning and afternoon session fishing and kayaking. What better way to spend my first day back?

Fishing

Proper Technique

Day two and three, we join Kharliyah on All Access Boston Harbor to George's island for the hottest Tuesday yet. The sun rose early and the rays shined bright on this day. We greeted about 200 camps and families at the pavilion each day who were all eager to ride the boat over to the island. Tuesday I met a wonderful pair of best friends who had never been to the island before. I asked them if they were planning to go into the dark tunnel and they insisted they would even if the black lady spooked them a bit. I informed them of our fishing lessons that would be on dock after lunch if they wanted to stop by and learn. I met them later that day at exactly 12:30pm on the dock and they told me about their adventure into the tunnel as well as the Island. They were most excited about the tunnel and being able to try fishing because these were things they never done before. I felt proud and helpful to be able to give them a good experience. These girls were not at all intimidated by the claws of the crabs or by the heat of the sun. They were good listeners and very patient when it came to fishing. Although we did not catch any fish, we enjoyed observing the crabs and talking about what kinds of fish they could pull out of the harbor. 

Fishing = Patience

Thursday was another incredibly hot day and I met a lovely family from the UK who had just moved into Boston. They were most intrigued and interested in fishing more than the island. When they saw the amount of crabs we had in our touch tank that morning they went wild. Most surprised about the different types of crabs we had in our tank, they wanted to touch them all and hold one of each. We caught a few giant Jonah Crabs that morning and a few, slightly small red rock crabs, along with some feisty green ones.

Fairly new to Boston, I informed them about a few must visit places like Prudential center and tower as well as the Children's Museum. They told me they really enjoyed our trip so I encouraged them to sign up for one of our Spectacle Island trips! The kids liked the sound of that and I let them know they could sign up online if they google-d Save the Harbor All Access Boston. The family was sure they would aim to return in August. I ended my week where I started, at Piers Park on Friday. We led an environmental lesson on the salinity of water that morning after kayaking and fishing by the dock. I helped Meaghan at station 1, where we used refractometers and learned about how salt gets into our oceans. One of the kids, Ferdinand knew lots about Estuaries. They were in amazement at the lack of salt we found was in our harbor compared to filtered water with sea salt we added. They measured the buoyancy of water with eggs and understood why it was necessary for marine life. 

18 crabs and counting

Will it bite me?

Learning something new everyday,

Kharliyah

Staff Day at Spectacle Island

Hi everyone,

Today was my first time out at Spectacle Island for staff day! In the morning, we all met at the pier and boarded the ferry to get out to the Harbor Islands. From there, we disembarked at Spectacle Island. I had learned a few things about the island before I arrived, like that it used to be a landfill and that the trash on the island burned for ten years before Spectacle was transformed into a park. I have to say, after seeing how beautiful the island was on that day, it's hard to believe that it was once covered in trash!

The staff on the pier before we got on the boat

After we arrived, I went on a hike with Jessie, another SHE, around the island. It was great to see all the spectacular views of Boston and the other islands during the hike. When we returned from the hike, we had the chance to go kayaking in the ocean off the island. I had never been sea kayaking before, and it was a lot of fun! The water looked fairly calm from the shore, but there were actually more waves than I expected once we got out there. I was slightly afraid of flipping over, but I ended up staying afloat! After kayaking, we went back to eat lunch and stick our feet in the refreshing water. Overall, it was a fun day, and I hope I get to go back to Spectacle Island again soon!

A great view of Boston from our hike around the island

Until next time,
Grace

A beautiful day to explore

Hi everyone!

Yesterday we all had the pleasure of taking a break from our normal routine, and participating in the annual Staff Day. We ventured out to Spectacle Island, which is merely a short hop skip and jump away from Boston. The island itself has been through a lot throughout the years (see: Spectacle Island history via Google), but its past has made it into the beautiful treasure it is today. There are two large hills (called North and South Drumlin), connected by a skinnier portion. 

I had visited the island once before, but I hadn't gotten the chance to explore much. So, my coworker, Grace, and I set of to see as much of the island as we could before lunch. We wandered around the winding path that goes around the base of the North Drumlin, and came to the flatter area that connects the two drumlins. Being on a time crunch, we decided to venture to the South Drumlin summit, which was at a slightly smaller elevation than the North Drumlin. After capturing a few pictures, we ended our time exploring, and moved on to a new activity. 

Grace and I had been lucky enough to snag the last two spots available for a free kayaking venture. I had been kayaking before, but never in a sit-in kayak, and never with a view as beautiful as the one we had. 

After kayaking, we enjoyed some lunch and stuck our feet in the sand for a quick minute before catching the ferry back to Long Wharf. It was a beautiful day full of new experiences, and I was thrilled to have taken part.

Until next time,

Jessie G.

A Great Day At Carson Beach

A Great Day At Carson Beach

Teaching Moment How To Kayak!

  On Thursday June 30th, we went to Carson beach everyone was so tired because it was a early day, But at Carson beach we had a group of team, we had to pick one of the section we wanted to go first, so what we had going on at Carson beach on the orientation is we had kayaking, story about are self, and fish printing. I had a awesome day at Carson beach because when are group went with another group to go kayaking with them we wanted to race with them on the kayak and the best part we had was jumping off the kayak, some people was frighten to jump off the kayak because it was to deep for them and they think they will drown but no they didn't. I and Mauricio told some of them that they will float on the water because they got their life jacket on and they won't go no where when they have there life jacket on. Also, we told them that if they won't jump in the water on a sunny and hot day they will get flipped on the kayak if they didn't get in the water but it was fun jumping in the water and swim it felt so refreshing. When we were at Carson beach one of the little kids knew how to play soccer so I and Preston had a little tournament of soccer some of these kids a very talented on sports but most part I enjoy is soccer because when of the kids are talented on soccer they cross up one of are staff and it's kind of really hilarious. Chris be surprise and shock because he got mix by a little boy. While when i was at Carson Preston and other people was teaching how the rule and games go of frieze "b" i kind of enjoy it playing frieze "b". When i was at Carson Beach one day when i was looking at the kids swimming the boys from the group push his friend into the water it was kinda hilarious and at the same time it wasn't it made my day seeing kids having fun.

Sincerely, Carlos Garcia 

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

Always a blessing to be back on the Harbor

Hi everyone,

 My name is Andrea Lopes. I am 19 years old and a rising junior at Bridgewater State University. I was born in Cape Verde (country on the West Coast of Africa) and moved to the United States 10 years ago. Ever since then, I have been living in Dorchester. This is my third summer with Save the Harbor / Save the Bay and the first summer as a Lead Harbor Explorer. As you all can see, I love this non-profit organization more and more as I keep returning. Being with this organization has helped me develop as a leader and it has also made me realize the type of individual that I am as I have served thousandths of kids now ever since since my first summer. Whenever I am with all of the wonderful Save the Harbor staffs, they never fail to make me feel like I'm not at home. This is a place that I call home away from home in the summer because it is where I spend most of my time. I have been truly blessed to be a part of this organization because not too many teenagers get to experience what I have experienced and continue to experience with the opportunity I have been given. When I first started working here, I did not know anything about the Harbor or the sea creatures. I remember being scared to hold a crab or not knowing how to cast/work with a fishing rod. After the first few days, I can tell you for sure that I became a "fisherman expert" (something Ms. Ryan would call me). Being able to serve all of these thousandths of kids for 3 summers now from different communities and teaching them about the harbor only makes me feel much better.

First week  last summer out on Spectacle Island with All Access Boston Harbor

I had a spectacular week during orientation because this was actually the first time that I was able to attend all 4 days. Being at Georges Island on Wednesday was amazing with a lot of the new summer staffs this year. Being able to teach the other staffs fishing techniques and how to cast a rod as soon as we got off the boat was great because they all learned really quick. Afterwards, David Coffin had a couple of us racing up a stair flight at the Fort to touch a wall but I don't quite remember who was the first person that went. All that I can remember was being the winner and making it up the stairs and touching the wall in 2 seconds beating Sedny as she was leading with 3 seconds. I was shocked because I did not know I would have made it up the stair flight in 2 seconds. The whole day out on Georges on Wednesday was really fun.

Save the Harbor / Save the Bay Summer Staff Orientation 2016

Thursday was another fun day at Carson beach (one of my favorite sites after All Access Boston Harbor). Kayaking with a group of some of the old and new Junior Program Assistants was great and probably the best part of my day at Carson that day. There was about 5 kayaks racing and once we were further out, we all tied our kayaks together and most of us jumped into the water. The water was so cold but once I was in, it felt so good because it was really hot out that day. Overall, orientation was a great way to start off the summer. I can't wait to be back out on the Harbor exploring and serving all of these kids and teaching them new things. 

Until next time,

- Andrea Lopes :)

Last week at Piers Park.......

                                                        LAST WEEK AT PIERS PARK

Luke and Zack

      Hey everybody! It's me Carlos again, I just want to talk about my last week at Piers Park not sure if am going back but it was a great week for me and I had fun working at the site at Piers Park Sailing Center. I love working at Piers Park because I never heard about this park in East Boston. It was the cleanest park I've seen. My favorite part of my job at Piers Park was working on the kayaks and sailing with the kids, some of the kids I go with on sailing are loud but some of them are calm and couple of them are funny too. If you guys and ladies don't know what sailing is I got a picture of sail boat on Photo Bucket. I'll post a picture of a sail boat the day I had fun with the kids. On the sail boat is our captain named Zack. He is our number one captain, the kids love going with him on the sail boat because he does lot's of trick on the sail boat that other don't know. Zack been working at Piers Park for 11 years I think, I can't remember but he is better than the other people at Piers Park. I went after Luke on sailing. 

Zack teaching about safety on sailing

      The kayak was going great, kids love going with me because I go fast and we be saying jokes that entertained us on the kayak. Also, we had a water fight on the kayaks, the kids and I would saying we are the battleship, it's time to attack our enemies on the other kayak. We all out wet and was like wait our eyes are burning, so we stop for a break and started the war again. I still remember that couple of us was falling of the dock, the first person that fell in the dock was Mauricio because he was sitting on the edge and something happened but let me say it was funny. The second person that fell was a kid, we told them one at a time and the kayak was moving but the kids were in a rush and she fell in. The third person was a boy and he was in a rush too and jump down to sit on the kayak and fell in the water it was funny but at the same time he was laughing to but we had to make sure that everybody don't make the same mistake. So the next day we sat down as a group and play little game about sailing and that game was brain storming about what we should and should not do when using the kayaks and sail boats.

I helping and Need a haircut LOL!

       At the end of the day at Piers Park we were making a net that they could catch Plankton. During that kids were dancing so we told them once we finish building the nets they could have the dancing tournament. The kids were dancing crazy. The music they wanted to  dance to was "Watch me whip Watch me nay-nay" by Silento. It was going great for me but to my next site for Save The Harbor Save The Bay.
To Be CONTINUED..........


Sincerely, Carlos Garcia

Birthday Well Spent At Carson

This past sunny and hot Friday was nothing but fun. It was my birthday and I couldn't have spent it better anywhere else but Carson beach with the BASE kids. The morning started with some arts and crafts, soccer, and football. I was doing arts and crafts with a few girls from the BASE camp. They were pretty engaging and really smart young girls.

              Preston and Cynthia 

As they sat next to me coloring and drawing the different types of sea animals, Cynthia and I got engaged in a conversation. We became best friends for the entire day. So Cynthia and I started talking about birthdays and she was telling me how her birthday was July 26th and I told her that my birthday was July 31st. As a gift from me to her, I colored a striped Bass and decorated the entire sheet for her. 

          My gift from Me to Cynthia

As we move on to a massive game of soccer, Cynthia wanted to be on my team so I couldn't resist not having her play with me. She did a pretty good job being the goal keeper even though we lost. After the soccer game, she told me that she wanted to go kayaking with me but she couldn't because she had to go get lunch with her group. I went kayaking by myself after teaching the YMCA kids how to cast a rod. As I was returning from kayaking, guess who I see? Well it was Cynthia! She was kayaking with her friend and she told me to go stay next to them to help push them because the pedals were too big and she was so tiny.

Spending the day with Cynthia and Carson doing different types of activities really made my birthday worth spending it there. She is a really bright little girl who acts and talks much like a grown up. If I could replay Friday with her, I definitely would. 

Hoping to see you soon,

- Andrea Lopes

An Incredible End of the Week at Carson

This last Thursday and Friday was the largest amount of kids Carson Beach has hosted this summer. Thankfully, we were prepared with many activities and events for all the kids to make lasting memories. Thursday morning started with soccer with America SCORES and swim lessons with the Dorchester YMCA. Everyone in the water was happy to escape the heat and everyone playing soccer made sure to hydrate and wear sunscreen. The highlight of the day was Norah Dooley coming and telling her story of Mary the Pirate. All the kids loved listening to her fantastic storytelling. At the end of her story she tested the kids wits with riddles and true or false questions.

On Friday the main activities were fishing, kayaking, and more swimming, The BASE kids had a great time kayaking for the first time on Carson. All the kids were also excited to try out casting a fishing pole for the first time. The kids also got to work with DCR. The women from DCR led an activity with a sand net to try and capture any marine organisms. Luckily Joe our photographer was there to capture all the wonderful moments.  Until next time! Nora

Paddle Boarding on a Windy Day

Kayaks fighting the wind

This Friday I learned that paddle boarding and a strong head wind do not mix well. I am relatively new at paddle boarding and got a little too ambitious. I set my goal to reach JFK Library from Carson because it would have been the farthest I've gone out on a paddle board. The water seemed rather calm from the beach so I did not think I would have any difficulties. Lindsey and Kristen also decided to take paddle boards out while everyone else took out kayaks. Getting out to JFK library was easy, the wind pushed me out so I had to do a minimum amount of work. Once I reached JFK, I knew I was in trouble. The water was very choppy and I was having to balance myself m
ore than usual. Everyone else was also having difficulty moving in the wind. We all turned around to head back but any time we advanced, a large gust of wind blew us back to our starting points. We battled our way against the wind, giving it our all. The kayaks got in first, but Lindsey, Kristen, and I took longer. We found it easier to sit or kneel on our boards than to stand, making everything more balanced. We finally made our way back to the beach and were happy to be on dry land. We all definitely got a good work out in! I might stick to kayaks next week!!

Talk to you again next week!

Nora

Great Day at Carson

Friday was a lot of fun at Carson Beach! We started off the day with a little volleyball game while we waited for the children to arrive. It was very exciting playing volleyball, it was my first time and it was a lot of fun! It was very competitive with Dex and Preston on my team vs Lindsay, Richard, Antonio and D. We lost some games and won a few but I think my team can take on anybody in a volleyball match because of how competitive we played. It's always good trying something different and learning something new. We all went kayaking and had a blast on the water. We splashed and we raced each other,  and my arms were dead when we got back to the beach. I didn't know how much of a workout kayaking was!

-Andy

Introducing Fishing at Carson Beach

Horseshoe crab selfie!

The Carson Beach site is in it's second week, and everyday gets better and better! This week we introduced fishing to many of the youth groups on the beach. I had a limited knowledge of fishing before this week, and now I feel ready to go out everyday and fish! Since some of the kids we work with are very young or have no fishing experience, we have been giving casting lessons. Every kid is extremely enthused to try out the fish pole and always ask for more than one try. Though we were looking not to catch anything, our lures attracted a horseshoe crab! It was the first horseshoe crab we've seen this summer, horseshoe crabs are amazing creatures and I hope to see more at Carson!

Lining up for fishing lessons!

It seems like a tradition to end a week at Carson with a nice paddle around in a kayak. This Friday, we all took double kayaks out, which was a nice bonding experience for all the staff at Carson. We all went out far and got a good work out in.

Til next week!

Nora

Fridays at Carson Beach

     Spending the beautiful day at Carson Beach was fun and exciting. From getting everyone involved in a traditional game of four sqaure to playing volleyball on the summer sand. A friendly game of four square began off of my initiative skills to get the staff involved and awake early. I don't bow down from competition so as the game began to get more amped up and serious, the more I started flow with it... As well as everyone else. After the game(s), we had a photo-shoot for Bruce- which consisted of an amazing sand sculpture created along the shore of Carson Beach.

Once the shoot was over, boy did I feel like a ESPN model! But that was thes slightest of my good times. Teams were created (Lindsay & Richard VS Me & Andy) and the volleyball rivalry began.. As athletic as I am I found out that volleyball is actually harder than it looks,Ii struggled but my team got a few wins. Later Preston joined our team and D and Antonio joined the other side. It was now a game of 3 against 4. Confidence was built as we won a game! We felt invincible but then lost the next 2. Playing volleyball was a great experience for me not only because I played with my friends and had fun but because I learned something new and tried something different, which is always exciting. 

     On the other end of the beach, where the girls played soccer with kids, we were more concerned with Ruth's leg power to not drill the ball too hard. I mean... It is kids we're playing with! Another group of kids looked for people to go out and kayak with them. "Indeed I'll go" said I to the kids. We clipped up our life jackets and off into the Harbor we went. 

     Once out in the water we raced and splashed and raced and splashed!! The kids really enjoyed themselves out there and were not afraid of the waves at all.  A group of fearless individuals who enjoyed their friday. I hope to see them again at a different sight or at Carson again. 

Sea you on the Harbor 

-Dex

Exploring Land and Sea......

Hey everyone!
      This week is going great, we had new faces in the program at Piers Park. Every week we get new kids. The first day I went sailing with the kids,  sailing was so much fun. We went exploring in the harbor. When I went with the kids sailing, they were so excited to go on because they wanted to learn what part of the ocean we were on and what places we would pass through in the harbor.
       I go on the kayak everyday because its' so much fun and exciting. It's a lot of work but the kids enjoy it. One thing they enjoy about the kayaks is when the wave go up and down from the boats that we pass but mostly they enjoy going on the kayaks because they love catching some jelly fishes. They enjoy going with me because they feel safe with me and I go fast on the kayaks.

Until next time, Carlos 

Fishing, Soccer, and Kayak racing

Hey everyone, Thursday and Friday have been great at Carson. Thursday the kids from the YMCA were so excited to see fishing rods and knowing that they would great the chance to catch a fish. They wanted to get so many turns at the rod and were a bit down when all they were catching seaweed, but they were happy that they caught something.

Friday morning was filled with an intense game of soccer with a different YMCA group who were so jubilant to see a soccer ball at the beach. So many smiling faces from both staff and campers, and great laughs from all. The afternoon was filled with double kayak races. The paddling was intense in the arms and burn in the legs it was still fun. The view from far out in the water looking back to the beach was incredible. Well that is all for this blog post, until next time!


-Ary

A Little Bit of Poetry, A Whole Lot of Kayaking

Nothing is better than finishing up soccer and getting a little bit of poetry into your day. America SCORES also specializes in poetry along with soccer! After we were done playing soccer, we grabbed our pens and clip boards to write a poem. It was nothing but smiles as all the young kids and staff members wrote a poem. As I shared my poem out loud to the kids, there were nothing but smiles as they loved my poem "Bridget's Balloon".


 Kayaking never gets old with Save The Harbor. Due to last years mishap with my kayak capsizing, I have been on a year long boycott from kayaking. But that year long ban has been lifted at Carson Beach.  Most of the children have never been kayaking before and had a blast on their first trip! After watching the first group of kids kayak, I had to go out an give it another try. It just looked too fun to pass up in the summer heat. After kayaking for about 30 minutes I loved it! It was one of the best moments so far in the summer.

-Preston

Awesome first week

This week was pretty great! Getting back into the hang of things didn't take too long and there was a different cool and funny thing that happened every day. Usually at Piers Park we only really catch green crabs but towards the end of the week we decently sized spider crab. It did creep out some of the kids so they didn't want to hold her but she did get all of the kids attention. We've caught so many that the kids started to get into the habit of naming them as well as anything else that we may catch. 

Two of my favorite things that happened this week would have to be going out on a sail boat with the kids and bringing the kids to the park after lunch. The kids have so much that they need to say even if some of what they say doesn't make the most sense it is nice to see their excitement when they are telling me a story or some facts that they know. Being on the sail boat with them gave them plenty of time to say a lot. Although we go to the park for a little over a half hour every day and most of them run through the sprinkler everyday is so different making it so much fun. Being chased by them all is pretty exhausting but its still really funny

and getting splashed is pretty refreshing after running. I cant wait to see what next week has in store for us at Piers Park.



Until next time,
Esmeralda

Kayaking is Deceiving

     Kayaking is definitley a lot harder than it looks! It was my first time going to the Charles River and to top it off, I kayaked. I was definitely nervous as I walked down the dock and Kelly and Luke told me I have to at least try kayaking. But it was a great experience; and it taught me to always try new things and face your fears. I had no clue what I was doing from the moment Luke pushed the kayak in the river. With the assistance of Ruth as well as the rest of the children in the community boating program, I started to gain some confidence and get the hang of it... Of course with time, trials, and tribulations, but the important part is everyone had a good time.  By the time we returned to the dock it looked like I had jumped in the river instead of boating.

                       

     Courageous Sailing earlier that morning was also very exciting as I added to my list of things I had never done. Including pulling up lobster traps, which are very heavy by the way, seeing a sea squirt and actually getting squirted in the face, and seeing a live lobster. Through the fortune of the Save the Harbor program I have been able to experience all of these wonderful things. Guess what? It's only the first week and there's a ton of new activities left to be conquered. 

-Dexter Andrews

Second Day at Carson

Today at Carson was pretty interesting. A group of young girls found an oyster on the shore while they were clamming. It's pretty awesome considering that you normally neither get to see nor catch oysters in this area of Massachusetts. They were so enthused about it that they asked if they could keep it. Sadly, we had to tell them no because they would be taking it away from its home. They were so happy to find something different on the shores of Carson.

All of us kayaking together this week

Although it was a bit on the chilly side today, Carolyn and Abdi still manage to get themselves out in the kayaks and set out into the waters. Yesterday was a great day to go kayaking. Everyone went out on the water yesterday. For some people in the group it was their first time. Although the arm work was tedious, the view around the shore and seeing different sights in the distance was glorious. Kayaking is definitely something I would love to do again!


-Ary

Piers Park!

The first two days at Piers Park Sailing Center have been amazing! I can truly say that it's going to be an awesome summer, filled with fishing, kayaking, sailing, learning about all the creatures that live in our harbor as well as tons of smiles and laughs! From what I've seen so far, our staff and kids are going to learn so much from each other and make friends and memories that will last a life time! 

Dropping down our lobster trap!

Holding a Green Crab!

Some of our kids have never been out in our harbor, so being able to see them go kayaking for the first time and going sailing for the first time was amazing. All the excitement seen in their smiles were contagious. Off our docks we even have crab and lobster traps. For some of our kids, it was their goal to be able to pick one up without being afraid and by the end of the day they were able to do so. On top of that, they were also able to identify that they were Green Crabs and whether they were female or male. 

The summer has just begun here at Piers Park and there is going to be so much to tell! And I believe pictures can always say a lot more than words can and together they will truly tell you our story at Piers Park!

- Nikita Cayabyab :)