5 years Swimming with STH

By the Sea

Happy Summer! A warm welcome back to another summer on the Boston Harbor, only, this one's gonna look a little different than what we're used to. This has been a hectic year but that is not going to stop us from enjoying our summer. Each month has brought a new change to the way we perceive "normal" life. As it turns out, life is not so "normal". Therefore, what I look forward to the most this summer is what it will bring given the circumstances. I know everything feels uncertain at the moment, with uncertainty comes doubts, concerns, and suspicion. Instead of worrying about what our future might look like, try to focus on what is going on right now. This is the perfect time to sit with your thoughts, unwind, and heal. Summer is all about enjoying the warm weather, hanging out with loved ones, and relaxing by the water. 

For my fifth summer on the harbor, I want to achieve these 5 things before the summer is over;

1. Swim in the Harbor
2. Find a Seastar
3. Catch a stripped bass
4. Create a sea glass mural
5. Build a bond with my crew

A little bit about me; I am a rising senior at Mass College of Liberal Arts where I study Chemistry and Psychology. I love all things science, when I was younger I aspired to become a marine biologist. Although I no longer want to be a marine biologist, STH is the closest I will get to experiencing it. Since my first summer with STH, I have learned more than I ever expected about my local community and the Boston Harbor. I have become more familiar with the beaches, Boston harbor islands, and our different sites around the city. I got comfortable with being uncomfortable, whether that meant picking up crabs or hooking a seaworm to go fishing, I tried it. I did things I never thought I could do which is the best thing about this job. STH has pushed and challenged me, thus shaping the person I have become today. Each summer I feel like I have improved myself and my skills. 

I sang Haul Away Joe in the playground at George's Island. I created some cool chalk art on the boardwalk outside of the Children's Museum. I've gone kayaking in the lagoon near the esplanade, paddle boarding at CHV, and kayaking in the Charles. I've made lots of friends of all ages through our programming. My favorite thing is when someone returns and remembers me, my heart warms at their excitement. To sum it up, I am ready for whatever summer 2020 is going to throw at me. Cheers to my favorite season! 

Swimming Off

-Kharliyah

Kharliyah & Bridget 2017

Seaweed Scarf - CHV 2019 

                  

 

New Things

Captain Khar

Welcome back to our blog! The special scoop for this week was all about seeing and doing new things.  We started the week off by visiting the USS Constitution Museum and the Coast Guard with special tours lead by their staff. At the Museum we learned what it was like to be on board a giant sail ship and what life was like in the 1400's. Luckily enough we already know how important it is to HAUL AWAY TOGETHER, so we were able to work together quickly and accurately to prep for a "battle". My favorite had to be the Coast Guard. They had a large building for their base located in the North End. Their boats were a lot cooler and equipped with  more (or even any) special technology than any boat I have ever been on. Their vessels had radars, bunkers, and even a siren that we were allowed to enter. It was fun, but now I know how serious they take their job, not only are they out there to patrol the water but they are also out there to save lives, help animals, and help clean the harbor. 

A STINGRAY!?

 Speaking of the various vessels we've boarded, over at CHV were see lots of boat traffic passing by the island coming in and out the harbor. Not only do we see the ferries from different islands but we also got a visit from a giant cruise ship. It had to be the biggest boat I've ever seen, and that includes the cargo ships that have passed by. There are multiple activities that take place on and off the dock of CHV. You can catch us fishing off the dock and pulling up crabs, skates, or fish. Or you can hang with us when it is low tide by the tide pools searching for asian short crabs, hermit crabs, and periwinkles. It always a friendly competition to see who can find the most of the evasive species. And on days when we run out of bait, we quickly come up with solutions to still run our program. Whether that means tide pooling or using hotdogs, we will always find a way to stay connected to the harbor. We find many critters at low tide. It amazes me how they are all hidden when its high tide. I also enjoy seeing the transformation from kids who're too afraid to hold a crab to bringing them right up to our touch tank.
Over at CHV, the fun does not end. Our energy always positively matches that of the campers. What makes CHV one of the best sites is not only due to our staff but the way we run our program. Everything is organized, we have a game plan about the day ahead and plan accordingly with the weather. We receive the schedule and we have everything set up for our groups and clubs before they arrive. I love how cooperative both my staff and campers are. We are patient with each other and work well together to bring them the ultimate fishing experience.

Unknown Organisms

Hoping to Avoid Turtle Disaster

The Best of the Best

Whale, whale, whale, what do we have here? What an interesting week I have had here on CHV with Save the Harbor. This week's events were controlled by the rainy weather Boston received. A windy and stormy day led us to stay inside with a touch tank full of crabs. The building stood tall and strong against both the activity inside and outside of it. The wind hitting the windows as hard as the screams and voices of the campers playing board games, creating art/bracelets, and sticking their hands into the touch tank. There was an energy of fear mixed with excitement around the table for the crabs. The campers were interested yet quite observant, filled to the brim with all kinds of questions about what was inside the tank. We were able to get some kids to break out of their own shell to touch and be able to eventually hold a crab. 

Black Sea Bass

 As the next day rolled around, we were cleared to go on our weekly fishing trip for the morning. We went around the boat to round our fishing club kids up and set out for Quincy on the Belle. The morning was quite but the waters were full of movement from a school of fish just below the boat. Next thing you know, we have at least 3-4 campers screaming with joy about their first, second, or third catch of the day. It was a slight competition to see who would be able to catch the most. One camper even went so far as 6 fish for the day. 

Rock On

While others were not as lucky, they were just as satisfied and excited for their companions. They kept their energy up all throughout the day and carried it down to the shore on Camp Harbor View's beach for tide pooling in the afternoon. They got a kick out of flipping over the rocks on the shore to catch the evasive short crabs and collect a few hermit crabs. All in all, we did not allow the weather to stop us from having as much fun as we could. Weather it was inside keeping away from the storm or outside in the cold morning fishing, we found a way to make it work.

   

As you probably know, things do not always go as expected. Even when everything is planned out, when the day comes you must go with the flow of things. At Andres Amador on Friday, we got to get creative on and off the shore. If you weren't busy with Vanessa making cute little fish out of water bottles you were down by the beach decorating the sand with any fin that came to mind. Patrice and I decided to take someone's unfinished artwork and turn it into the classic rainbow fish. Although it lacked color, her scales were brilliantly shinning. The artwork stretched across the bottom of the beach and showed off our teamwork. It was proof that if you are given the chance to be creative, you can leave your mark on the community. 

 The highlights of my week were the impressions I was able to leave on my campers at fishing club and the YMCA. I've had kids tell me that when they get older they would like to work for STH and be able to fish everyday. I've also had returning campers remember me from years ago when I first began working here and tell me about their adventures since then. It is beyond rewarding to see how I can affect the lives of others in positive ways with just one interaction by asking, "Would you like to try fishing?". It brings me great joy to give out that type of happiness.

Boomerang!

Thanks for tuning in, Sea you next week!

Kharliyah

Sea Shanties

Haul away JOE

Fishing in Boston

What's up guys, this week was all about stepping outside of my comfort zone. Now this is a really scary thing to do, yet I am proud to say I survived! It's like you do all this overthinking about what could possibly go wrong but then the experience was not even as bad as you thought it would be. Now, if I can do it then certainly everyone is capable of taking that big step forward.

We began by meeting the BCYF Jackson Mann and YES programs at the Pop Up Museum in the North End. It was a quiet, cloudy morning that felt like the rain would be coming any minute now. Anyone who'd have taken a look inside the museum could see how alive and

Fish Printing!

boisterous it was. David taught the youth a lesson about the famous tale of the lady in black. Signaling us by beginning to switch the subject to the importance of team work and leading us to sing a sea shanty for them. And so we sang, "WAY HAUL AWAY, WE'LL HAUL AWAY TOGETHER, WAY HAUL AWAY WE'LL HAUL AWAY JOE!" as we went around the circle and sang a different verse I could feel my anxiety rising as all eyes would be casted upon me. I cleared my mind and just sang along. As insignificant as it may seem, singing (when you can't sing) in front of a group of people you just met, makes one feel quite vulnerable or even embarrassed. Rather than shy away I pushed myself to embrace the attention in a different way, a positive one. Yes I may not have been on key but I made a few small people (including myself) giggle. I also encouraged them to sing along and they did. A young man was singing to the top of his lungs and together we spared a few happy moments for each other.

That was my second time singing to a group of kids I just met. To point out my first time earlier that week at Georges where we sang our favorite sea shanty, Haul Away Joe, at the park. If you recognize Georges you'll notice the small playground they have next to the cafe. Well, my staff and I climbed up the mini Fort Warren all the way to the top to sing Haul Away Joe. Being my first time, I was surprised at how quickly I jumped in to sing a verse, since no one else was really willing to. I would call it the most valuable thing I've done so far this summer. These times that I felt afraid or just embarrassed to be singing in front of strangers, I did not quit or try to opt out. It was way outside my comfort zone but I was able to learn from it. Instead of dwelling on the what-ifs, I went straight into it. I wouldn't say that now I am prepared to sing in front of a crowd or anything crazy like that but it showed me that some things are not as bad as they seem.

Touch Tank x Atlantic Wharf

Crab Week

Fog

This week was crab week at All Access Boston Harbor and I couldn't have been happier. It is only our third week of programming and the amount of crabs we caught this week was incredible. There wasn't a day that went by where we did not have a single crab in our touch tank. The best part of it all was that most of our crabs were caught while fishing! Do you understand how happy it makes someone to catch something while patiently waiting for a bite? It's as happy as winning a special prize. My prize was seeing the kids' faces light up with surprise and joy.

GIANTS

It all started on George's Island. It was a cool summer day, fog greeted the edges of the island in every direction you looked. There was nothing within eyesight anywhere except the precipitation looming in the air. Fishing was off to a quiet start; the kids sat there patiently waiting for a bite. "AHHHHH", a loud scream interrupts the silence as everyone hops onto their feet to see what all the commotion was about.  And there it was, at the end of the hook grasping on for dear life was a crab. But not just any crab, it was a green crab. Fans of AABH themselves, they often pay us a visit on our sites. The young boy who caught it was still screaming and the crab was still hanging. My co-worker, Patrice picked up the crab and placed it in the tank to hang with us for a bit.

A crowd swarmed over to the tank, including me, to observe the little green guy. There he was, with his pinchers raised ready for battle. I picked him up so everyone would be able to get a closer look and feel for him. Indeed it was a male after all, a few kids speculated and I confirmed it was true after seeing his light, triangle shaped belly. Hands reached from all angles to get a feel of his hard exoskeleton. I began telling the children fun facts about green crabs. Not too long after our first catch, we heard another shout of excitement and as I turned my head to the left I spotted another crab holding onto the line! The cycle began and for the rest of the week we were flooded with crabs on each line.

Over at CHV, dark clouds gathered in the distance. The air was warm but all was still, we could tell there was a storm coming on. Jules and Eric walked up the dock with two giant crabs in their hands. I was amazed, I never knew how potentially large these crabs could get. They took up all the space in the touch tank, just these two creatures. I peeked inside and there they were, two ginormous crabs: a spider crab and a red rock crab. I could not believe how big their pinchers were, it 

was almost intimidating. But I could not help myself, I was desperate to hold it. And that I did! I picked up the spider crab and its limbs just dangling there. "Lol", I thought to myself I recognized this trick. The crab thought he could fool me by playing dead. A real vet, like myself, knew it was a trick so I placed him back into our tank.

Our first day at Spectacle was similar to George's. Everyone was fishing, there was not a sign of any bites yet so we waited and waited until someone shouted, "I caught a crab!". Imani helped the group of girls rail the rod in and on the end of the line was yet another small green crab. The girl walked over with the crab and added it to the tank. It was the first crab we caught and as the groups swapped in and out, we received more. I made sure everyone was able to pet the crab at least once and/or hold it. Before we knew it time flew by and it was the end of our fishing session so we prepared for our favorite game, crab races! I carried the tank over to the yellow line and slowly poured the water out until the crabs were the only things left. I lined them up and out they went, moving quickly with all their legs eager to return to the ocean. I cannot wait to see what other creatures we'll be catching this summer.

                                                   Ready for more, Kharliyah Ortiz, Summer 18

Thunderstorm

Crab Lessons

Exploring

Good morning and welcome back to Piers Park! This Monday morning I spent time kayaking in the Harbor with 3 explorers: Allison, Ken, and Aden. They paddled their way towards the bridge because it was low tide and they wanted to know what kind of life was lurking in the seaweed on the rocks. Motivated by the findings of moon jellies, they were really excited to find something. The waters were calm this morning so it was easy for us to wade around and find sea snails camouflaged amongst the rocks. We were able to find plenty, but we could only reach so far, so we ended with just 3 sea snails along with a side of seaweed and a moon jelly. They were ecstatic to bring it back to the touch tank to share with everyone. The touch tank became a mini aquarium within minutes. We had seaweed, green crabs, baby fish, barnacles, moon jellies, and sea snails! It was so cool to create a tiny environment, the kids insisted it would help give the marine organisms a home-away-from-home feeling. By the end of the day we were all satisfied with our findings and ourselves.

Wonder Ball

Tuesday, I visited Blacks creek for the first time this summer. It was another one of those really hot days but that didn't stop us from beating the heat. We began the day with a game of netball! This wasn't just any regular game of catch, it was trickier. The rules of the game were simple, catch the ball with your net and avoid dropping it into the water. As simple as it sounds, things became a little competitive. We started out with four people, Ariagnna and myself accompanied by Sal and Vanessa. The ball was high up in the air one moment and we raced to catch it the next. It was exciting and fun, which welcomed more people to join us. Eric joined Ariagnna and I had young Zoey join my team. We were all focused on the game that time flew by and before we knew it, it was time to say our goodbyes.

During our second group, we did not have as much people so we spent a little time playing netball but more time invested in our crab trap and touch tank. The kids were a little intimidated by the amount of crabs they were seeing all at once but so excited to see them race against each other. I helped give out a few crabs before they lined up and began the race. There was lots of encouragement coming from the tiny crowd to help the crabs get a move on. My favorite part of the day had to be towards the end when we played wonder ball. If you have ever played it, you know how serious it becomes when there is a small amount of people left. It was like another game of netball but much closer and fast paced. We sang, "The Wonder Ball goes round and round..." and as the tempo picked up it got a little more intense. Then again, before we were able to get to a final round we had to pack up and leave. All in all, this hot day did not go to waste. 

Netball

Sand Castle Building Station

I met up with my little friend, Zoey again, who helped my build a sand castle! It was a quiet and cool morning at Blacks Creek. Far too cool to go into the water so the children decided on playing in the sand. With a mini pail, shovel, and rake in hand I picked a spot in the sand to begin building. Zoey walked over and asked if she could join me, she came up with the idea of decorating the castle and the ground around it to make it stand out. We built one main castle and 7 mini ones around it. Zoey added windows and a drawbridge then I added rocks for a finishing touch.  We then joined everyone to make our way up to play a few games of Gaga ball. We played about 5 rounds before it was time to go and each round became more fun than the previous one. Colin explained the rules as everyone surrounded the pit and they all nodded their heads in unison, indicating they understood and were ready for the challenge to begin. Little Zoey was a little shy, but excited, she was a great sport even when she was tagged out. When the final round came around all the kids had a determined look on their face to win but Colin stood his ground and was the champ by the end.

Zoey & K's Castle

 On All Access,we had the opportunity to bring out and serve 430 people to George's Island. I spent the day fishing with different groups of kids but the one's who stood out to me were two kids named Aliana and Yamil. They reminded me of my younger siblings. It was their first time on George's and their very first time fishing. For 7-year olds they were quite patient for their first time. They listened carefully when I told them about the types of creatures they could catch. They helped me pull up the crab trap and counted all the green, spider. and red rock crabs we had. They took turns fishing, if Aliana was fishing then Yamil would be at the touch tank and vice versa.

Hey it's me, Kharliyah Ortiz: Live and in Stereo

Welcome back to Save the Harbor!

Special catch from 2017

P&K reporting for Duty 2017 Spectacle Island

It's Kharliyah and I am welcoming summer 2018 with nothing but positivity and good vibes. I am really looking forward to another summer with Save the Harbor. This summer seems like it'll be a hot one, I will enjoy catching this tan and having fun in the Boston Harbor. 

This will be my third year working with Save the Harbor, I can't wait for our beach events. I am all about trying new things this summer. For the past two summers I have always enjoyed working in the Youth program with STH because I love kids. I am surrounded by kids at home and everywhere I go, I connect with them on a special level. The amount of potential I see in these kids has inspired me to add a minor to my studies at MCLA of child and family services. Through Save the Harbor, I was able to help feel like I am giving back to my community and able to be a positive influence in the youth's lives. Seeing how happy they are when they come fishing with us at our different sites puts warmth in my heart.

This year, I return as an LHE with a little more sense of responsibility to deliver these kids what can be an amazing time. We know how important it is for children to stimulate their minds with new information and fun. This year I intend on doing more than I usually settle for, stepping out of my comfort zone and keeping a hopeful outlook on things. I hope we get to see more come out of the Museum in the North End and get larger numbers of families and camps to come out to the islands this summer. 

See ya on the harbor!

                                                                          -Kharliyah

Sponsored by STH

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

R&K

R&K

I met the most precious 7 year old little girl at Carson Beach this Friday, her name is Raniyah. Which reminds me of my name, Kharliyah. She was a sweet little lady who enjoyed watching Moana and reminded me how much I looked like Moana. We got along swimmingly and stuck together for the time being while we sand raked away singing songs like Shiny as time ticked by. We went through our list of flowers given to us by Andres Amador, and I showed her some techniques to use while sand raking to really help the display of the flowers become visible. We were able to draw most of the flowers and she was a quick learner. She had no problem sharing the rake with me and we took turns creating different parts of each design. For example if I started the flower off with the circle she would draw the petals and vice versa. After each and every flower we drew together she would sign it with a cute, RK to signify that it was done by us.

Khar

 My favorite part of the day with my new friend, Raniyah, was when she drew me in the sand and when we drew the Moana flower together. I showed her how to make a circle using the opposite end of the rake by holding it out and turning around until it was a complete circle then she told me which way to shape the pedals and how many of them to draw. As she drew me I made sure to stay still so she could get a good look and capture my beauty and small details. The results were absolutely fabulous, she was inspired by Rusenny's drawing of Kimberly, and she did a wonderful job. Later throughout the day as the tide pulled back further and further, we went searching for periwinkles and hermit crabs in the mud.

Moana make way

-Khar

Expert Tree Climber

Playing a game of 3 man kickball.

This week the All Access group traveled out to Georges Island for the 2nd time this summer and it was my first time playing sports at the beautiful island. After lunch we headed inside the fort, the "fun way", as my coworker Patrice calls it. We followed her through a small square opening in one of the walls of the ginormous fort and through a series of doors until we exited into the broad daylight of the bridge and into the field. Settling under a large tree near a bench, we plopped our things on the floor and it seemed going up the tree was the plan.

Vince is too strong!

At first it looked like a good, fun idea and so I went along. First up was Patrice, followed by me and Vince was last. It was all fun and games until I got up there, a good 6 ft. if not more off of the ground. Too scared to move I just gripped the large branch I was on. Patrice convinced me to move over to make room for Vince. It was pretty cool after all, but then it was time to get down. I don't know how it came to be me being the first to get down, but I wasn't fully prepared for what was coming next.

You can see the fear on my face!

I was told to go down the way I went up, which I could not quite remember at the moment. Frantically thinking, I crawled onto my belly to get down feet first so that my senior harbor educator Jenn could help lower me onto the bench. As I panicked to get down, Jenn guided me and as I laid sprawled over the bench with my limbs dangling Jenn started panicking! All of a sudden she started yelling, "Oh my God! I can't do it Kharliyah! I'm sorry I can't help you, you have to stay like that!" I couldn't handle it, I was cracking up stuck in the tree slowly slipping. As I got closer to the bench Jenn realized she could help me after all. HOW DARE SHE TRY TO LEAVE ME IN THE TREE!!! I forgive her but I won't rely on getting out of trees through her anymore.

See you next week in All Access
-Khar 

Views from the 617

VIEWS.

What a beautiful day in the neighborhood! It was a lovely Monday morning in Boston along the Charles River. Quiet and bright, the perfect day to go paddle boarding. Upon our 8:30am arrival we received good news from our partner, Molly, over at Community Boating that we could go paddle boarding today. We headed downstairs to sign waivers, get our guest passes, and headed out on the dock. Molly gave us a short demo on how to get into the water, onto the board, and how to paddle then she helped us pick out the proper board to go out on the river with.

VIEWS.

I chose a red board and our senior harbor educator Max kindly helped carry it down to the water for me where I steadily kneeled onto it and gently pushed away. We paddled out towards the river sticking fairly close to the shore. The view exiting the lagoon was so amazing I could have cried. The skyline was breath taking; the sky clear blue without a cloud in sight; the water as calm as ever as if it were untouched; and the ripples from my paddling cylindrical and hypnotizing. I soaked up the sun rays and captured every image in my memories. The views we got from there were everything to me.

I am so grateful to be apart of the All Access team and to be able to travel to different sites such as Community Boating Inc., this is a great job. It was my first time paddle boarding on the Charles and I'm sure it wont be my last, the opportunities are endless here at Save the Harbor and the learning is hands on. I listened as Molly explained what kind of fish and animals you can find in the Charles to some of the CBI students. Along our little journey in the river and the lagoon we saw ducks, geese, loons, and different types of flowers. At some point I am pretty sure the loon was following me. It would dive under for 15 seconds and reappear closer and closer to me and my paddle board, scaring me away rather than I scaring it off. The experience was unforgettable. Wait! Did I mention Max took an unexpected dip in the river? Because that happened!

To more adventures & more breath taking moments

-Khar

Rained out Monday

Rainy views from the Charles.

It was a wet and cloudy Monday morning at Community Boating, but that didn't stop us from going fishing. Instead of using hand made bait like we did on Friday, we went searching for worms. It was hard but possible, we found a couple and hooked them up while the rest of the rods were equipped with lures. It was a quiet morning but the fish were out there somewhere. We had a small morning class so there were enough rods to share with all the children and our staff. I almost had something! The rush of excitement I felt made me eager to continue fishing. For a brief second I felt a tug on my rod but it let go :( boo hoo. We spent a good half hour fishing and wrapped it up to get ready to meet our next class.

Save the Harbor Flat Boat, brought to you
by yours truly: Kharliyah & Henry.

We spent the second half of the day inside making boats, singing sea shanties, talking about the journey of water from our homes to the harbor and learning from each other. First we started off introducing ourselves and sang Haul Away Joe. We played tug of war to symbolize the importance of teamwork on boats and created a verse to sing in Haul Away Joe, which was not easy. The environmental science instructor, Molly, allowed us to create a boat made of clay to see whose could float and whose could hold the most weight. Through our activity and investigation we learned that flat boats could easily hold the most weight. We tested the weight by adding marbles inside; one team got all the way up to 65 marbles to stay inside before the boat sank underwater. Save the Harbor's boat got 22 marbles. Creating boats was personally my favorite activity and I learned a lot from it!

Stay tuned for next time,
Khar

Squeaky Clean Environment

A picture of the moon jelly I spotted
in the channel!

Friday's at the museum are great days to work on your fishing skills and becoming patient. This Friday was a long day at the Children's Museum, filled with fishing and the touch tank filled with green crabs. We had many young children from the ages 7 years and under excited to fish with us on the dock. Every now and then we had them pulling up crabs and adding to our touch tank. They got super creative with me and added beautiful art on the walkway. As we fished I spotted a moon jelly in the water, it was super small and didn't do much but the sight of it was enough to get the kids bubbling.

They also took notice of its small amount of movement, and also oil in the water which lead to me explain to them how important it is to throw away our trash, recycle, and not litter into the harbor.

Our colorful decorations
on the Children's Museum
pier!

Adding to that, this Monday at Community Boating on the Charles we helped clean up trash around the area. Much like our harbor, it has been dramatically changed to help better the environment and provide activities to young children and adults alike to participate in on the river. The river used to be heavily polluted due to dumping in the Charles from the growing city around it. We assisted our site partner, Molly, with her environmental class to test the pH of the water, salt content, visibility and more. Then we walked along the river searching for trash and cleaning it up. On the way we spotted a baby turtle, some fish, and ducks swimming happily in the river. 

All Summer 17

-Khar

Ocean Critters

A squirting sea squirt!

In addition to our lovely catch of crabs, one of the children fishing on the dock with us caught a tunicate! We don't see those very often so a rush of happiness passed through me as I showed them what it can do. They giggled as I squeezed it and the tunicate sprinkled water onto them.

Our first week at Georges Island was a blast, each day we caught

Jonah & Green crabs in our
touch tank.

endless amounts of green crabs. We did have a little diversity, though, and

caught a Jonah crab in our crab trap! It was huge compared to the

tiny green crabs we had. All the kids that came over to fish were

intrigued by it and asked all these awesome questions such

as,"What kind of crabs are these?", "Is it a boy or a girl?", and I

enjoyed teaching them all the knowledge I myself have learned while working at Save the Harbor.

In fact I even used a field guide book with the kids to identify the Jonah crab we had caught.

Very similar looking to the Red Rock Crab, the guide book

indicated that the crab was a Jonah crab due to the black tips on

their legs and claws, whereas a Red Rock crab only has

black tips on its claws.

Petting crabs

Here's to many more adventures!

-Khar

New to Black's Creek

Early morning at Blacks Creek.

This Monday was my first day at Blacks Creek in Quincy and it was super fun. I learned how to play gaga ball and I learned that crabs can molt their shells off.

In our second group of kids, a young girl found a molting crab and placed it in the touch tank. As I watched her trying to pick it up I decided to try to help her to hold it properly. I grabbed the dorsal surface and pulled it out of the water to place it in Molly's net and grabbed the underside and noticed it felt soft to the touch. I quickly pulled my hand away in fear that something was wrong with the crab and called over my senior harbor educator, Zach. After Zach's close observation he told me the crab was molting, in other words it was shedding its old shell because it had out-grown it and was in the process of growing a new one. It felt soft for now and as time passes the shell will harden. I never knew that crabs outgrew their shells and it was an amazing experience to be able to see the transition.

Before

Molting Crab

After

When the groups came we introduced ourselves and role played our favorite sea animals, then got to fishing with dip nets in the creek. We caught plenty of green crabs and Silversides and, if you observe closely in the tank, there was a small shrimp. After fishing we would go up the hill to play games and sports such as dodgeball, kickball, and gaga ball which I learned how to play and it was so fun and exhilarating. I enjoyed being there as much as the children.

Around 11 we ended the program and went on our lunch break and after we returned to Boston's Children's Museum to finish up the day. I got to add some chalk artwork along the walkway for pedestrians and guests to see as they walked by. Overall I had a really good Monday!

It's lit

-Khar