Count Down Begins

                    

As the summer is winding down I finally caught my first fish! And guess what? It was the second biggest fish in the tournament. To be honest I was expecting to catch anything; maybe one skate if I was lucky.  But not a huge Striped Bass! Well this just shows you, "don't under estimate yourself, always expect big things for yourself". I know that's a cliché, but who cares? I went from being a quiet kid to "didn't you win the fishing tournament?!"  That just gives me a reason to be known, and more confidence to continue doing bigger and better things in life. Thank you Bruce for all the advice, I was beginning to give up on myself.

 

I'm not a very social person, but Lindsay Phenix was probably the first friend I made at Save the Harbor/Save the Bay. She helped me become more social, and that's very important since everyday on the boat David tells us to "DISPERSE!!" and talk to all the kids. As Bruce's favorite rapper said, "started from the bottom now I'm here", here is where I am with my All Access family. Couldn't ask for a better person than Lindsay and the rest of the AA team to show me that this is the best summer job to have. Honestly, at only 17 years old, I don't think I will ever have a better job. Save the Harbor/Save the Bay isn't just my job, everyone whose a part of it is my family, and I love every single person who is a part of it.

Only two more weeks left!
Looking forward to my last days on the islands this summer!

-Antonio

Another unforgettable summer...

Remember how I mentioned in one of my blogs that hopefully by the end of summer at Piers Park we will catch a fish? Well... We did! Ironically, it happened on the very last day of camp! Also, It wasn't just no ordinary fish, but it was a squid! Which has never been caught here before. What a great memory, definitely one that will stick with me and the kids for a very longtime.

"I caught a squid!"

Its crazy and sad to realize that this summer is actually coming to an end and to know that this will be my last blog. Honestly, Save the Harbor Save the Bay has made another unforgettable summer for me. This summer, I got to met a group of funny, awesome, and amazing people. I also got a chance to grow many close friendships with the kids that will be apart of my memory. I will remember having tons of fun with the kids and my team playing a competitive game of capture the flag, fishing and crabbing, and of course all the laughs we had together. I had a fantastic summer and hopefully you all did too.

Besides all the fun, I also learned many things and developed many skills from working here, and most definitely will be using them in the future. Which makes me very grateful for having the honor and opportunity to be able to work for Save the Harbor Save the bay.
Very soon, I will be heading to college and there will be many changes in my life. I don't know what path college will take me and where it will lead me to. Whatever happens, I hope I will see you guys again someday. Till then, I wish you all the best and good luck.


Day one: When we all met each other for the first time.

Farewell,
I miss you guys already!
Nhu




Summer2014 Beach Bash: Get ready to be SPLASHED!

Prepared to be SPLASHED!

Last weekend, Save the Harbor hosted a beach bash and splash on M St. Beach. There were many stations such as swimming, face painting, sand castle building, and a touch tank filled with lobsters, green crabs, hermit crabs and even snails! There were also sports; volleyball, T-ball, and Frisbee. On top of that we were accompanied by 104.1 radio station for music. Over 600 kids were scattered all over at the event, and everyone looked like they were having an awesome time. I was working at the touch tank station and all the kids that came by were excited. There were many screams and laughter, we were all having a blast.

The Touch Tank Station

Chef!

Of course after all that fun everyone was hungry, and there were more than enough hot dogs for everyone. There were 2000 hot dogs being cooked and tons of hot dog buns being stacked in the trays and separated! I know that sounds like a lot of hot dogs, but they were gone every time I looked back. We had a whole system going and it was very organized, and fast.





At the end of the event, at the count of three all the kids ran into the water for a splash, and some of the Save the Harbor staff also decide to join. I honestly had an amazing time, and it looked like many other people could agree. Overall, I thought it was a sucessful event.


Looking forward to another!

Catch you later,
Nhu

The CBI Return

During our first week of work, my second site I visited was the one and only CBI. CBI is one of my favorite sites and for many reasons and I really enjoyed being the LHE at this site Friday. Our day was a fun-filled one and we did something new with Sej, our SHE.

Sej taught one of the children we worked with about a new type of bait. It was fun to make too! The bait consisted of dough, water, and sugar. Sounds kind of like a doughnut, right?

The creation was a sticky sweet treat, and as predicted by the kids, the fish would like it, and it was a success!

My time at CBI was great and I learned a lot from the children. We caught tons of eel, many small crabs and fish, and had a blast! Definitely can't wait to hit the water with these kids again, it was a great time, peace!

- Ahmed Hassan

Glad To Be Back.

Hello, Sea Sand and Sky readers. Some of you may remember me from last year but for those who do not my name is Thomas Rebula.

Bon Bini Aruba

Let me first start by saying that I am thrilled to be returning to Save The Harbor Save The Bay this summer. Last year was fun filled and provided me with countless opportunities to learn and grow.

Additionally, working at Save the Harbor afforded me the opportunity to share the things that I love with the greater Boston community, and I had a blast doing it. From fishing with the campers at Camp Harbor View to exploring the estuarine waters of Blacks Creek, each day was filled with opportunity to ignite the spark of stewardship and a passion for the natural world that has guided my life. I truly cannot wait to get back out onto beautiful Boston Harbor and to help the kids explore and appreciate the natural environment that surrounds them.

Eels from last summer.

See you on the water,
Tom Rebula

It's So Hard To Say Goodbye

      Hello everyone, hope everybody had a great summer.  I'm a returnee for the Save The Harbor Save The Bay so it was great for me to come back another year and work. I met a lot of new staff and connected with a few people this summer. I enjoyed my summer working here. Also, I learned how to fish, give educational talks on marine life and Boston beaches to children and families all over Boston. I enjoyed working at various work sites this summer also. I experienced a lot this year, and holding a 3 pounder lobster was really cool! He would be yummy for dinner! Haha!  Overall, I had a blast working with STHSB once again. Thanks for everything. Farewell my readers.

  

My first time holding a 3 pounded lobster!

It's not bye, it's see ya later!

Capturing moments

Bye!
-Juelle Benjamin 

Farewell. Till next time!

I remember it like it was just yesterday when I came for training week. I was excited, but at the same time, clueless and nervous because I had no idea if I was going to be able to handle the kids. But I finally did it, this summer I've worked with probably over a hundred kids. Working with the kids helped me build leadership and more confidence in public speaking than I was before. Working with Save The Harbor/Save The Bay has also helped me become more patient.

Day 1 with Save The Harbor/Save The Bay: Training Week :)

It's official, summer is finally coming to an end and so are the programs at our sites. I know, its sad isn't it? But there's always next summer! Even though I just met many of my co-workers this summer, by having a chance to work with them has created a bond that made me feel close to them already. I had a great summer and I hope many of you also did. It was a fun and exciting experience. I had fun with all my Save The Harbor/Save The Bay co-workers and the kids I worked with on all the sites, and I hope to see you all again next summer.

Piers Park: Emma forcing me to take a picture with her.

Till next summer!
Take care,
Nhu

It was nice while it lasted

Wow, so many exciting things happened this week! For example, this week, for the first time, I went kayaking and I can honestly say it was awesome! But, I have to admit I was kind of scared and nervous because the tides were kind of high that day, plus it was a bit windy. While paddling the kayak me and Abby (one of the McDonough kids) noticed that the waves were pushing us out further and further which made me even more nervous than I already was. Finally, we got the kayak to turn around towards the dock and finally reached land. Reaching the dock was an indescribable feeling, kind of like that relieved feeling after getting off a scary roller coaster ride and just being happy to be back on the ground, yea that feeling. Too bad I couldn't get pictures to post and share about this great and unforgettable experience.

That's not the only exciting thing that happened this week! Also, for the first time, I witnessed an ice cream topping fight! It was crazy! It sounded kind of like a war was going on right out on the dock at McDonough. Chocolate syrup flying from left to right, hitting people in the eye, hair, everywhere! Everyone looked like they were having a blast. Most definitely I am looking forward to another great summer with these guys next summer, no doubt!

A chocolate mess! (halfway through the ice cream topping fight at McDonough)

At Piers Park this week, we discovered a ton of small jellyfish. We caught at least 10 jellyfish everyday this week. It was strange because there were no jellyfish spotted before ever since this summer started, so that was kind of interesting to see.

One of the many jelly fish spotted at Piers Park.

What a Day!

Finally got their attention.

This week Thursday was like no other. All the Save the Harbor staff came to work at 8 AM and started working to get the "2013 Beach Bash and Slash" ready for the kids. We carried out tables, set up the tents, and got the stations ready. Right when it hit 10 AM it was game on! A swam of kids came in and charged at every station they saw. We had face painting, sports and kites, swimming, and a touch tank, which is where I was at. My two goals for the day were: (1) to entertain the kids, and (2) to try to keep the lobsters alive, which was kind of difficult because it was really hot outside. We had to change the water every 45 min, and place some ice bags in the tank to keep the lobsters cool. We actually managed to keep the lobsters alive till the end (thumbs up).

Everyone going in for a swim!

I have never seen so many kids in one place at once, nor have I ever seen so many hot dogs in my life! This event was awesome and it looked like everyone had a great time. Music, sports, free hot dogs, drinks, fruits, and other activities - come on, how could you not have a blast?! All I could say at the end of the event was "What a day!"

We caught a fish!

Hey everyone,

Guess what?! This week at Piers Park the kids finally caught fish! Not one, but two! Two fish in two days in a row! I have to admit that I was really surprised because we usually never catch a fish with the hooks we usually use. The hooks we use are actually a bit too big compared to the fish that that we see. But some how the kids managed to catch a fish! Its crazy because both the hook and the bate looked big to fit in the fish's mouth. I know it might not be anything surprising for other sites because they probably catch at least one fish everyday but here at Piers Park this was the first time. So its official, I finally witnessed a fish being caught here!

Piers Park: First catch of the week!

Just having fun..

Besides the fish, what made this week even more unforgettable were the kids I met. Since I've been at Piers Park I have met many kids, but I have not met a group of kids with as much energy as this one. Even on a wet, gloomy, rainy day they could brighten the day up with their personalities. I don't think I have laughed at Piers Park as much as I did this week. Of course, I did form a close a bond with some of the kids. It actually makes me kind of sad to know that I only have one week left with my little Harbor Explorers. But, there's always next year. I can't wait!

John's pose for "Say cheese!"

Best day ever!!!!

Hey readers! Yesterday I had the great pleasure of manning the touch tank at our annual Beach Bash. It was so much fun. In my tank I had a very large lobster, some green crabs, and a few red rock crabs. Now as some of you may know, I only held a crab once this summer when I was at Family Reading Night. Well, yesterday I picked up so many crabs, I couldn't even count how many. I even held a lobster! Pretty brave, huh? I thought so.

I felt so good about myself after holding the lobster that I even picked it up lots of times throughout the Beach Bash. Needless to say I was feeling pretty accomplished! Since this week was low tide, the beach seemed huge. There were so many people that joined us to celebrate the end of the summer and it was great! 

My favorite part of the event (aside from lunch) was when we all ran into the water at the same time. Our plan was for Bridget to count to 3 and all run in at 3. It was so funny seeing the kids try to run in before Bridget got to 3 on the countdown! It took a few tries but we got it done, all in good fun. My foot got a little cut up but I'm a trooper! I can honestly say that it was close to the most fun I'd ever had. Talk about a dream job!

Storming the beach!

As always - Rebel, be a leader, and stay golden,

Kiauna Peete

We were stuck on an island!

Staff day was a very eventful day for us at Save the Harbor/Save the Bay. I think there were numerous "first-time" occurrences for many of us. I know for me this was my first staff day. I just want to say that I really enjoyed the staff day before you read what happened that day and believe other wise. It was a great morning, the birds chirping, the sun shining and the clouds were scarce. With the morning like this nothing could go wrong, right? Well you are in for a great surprise. We all met up at the ferry docks by the aquarium at 9:45AM with the weather still perfect as can be. We all board our ferry and began our journey to the island but wait! as we are leaving the docks we look at to see a very distraught Bridgett Ryan who was not on the boat! We all look out as we go farther and farther away and Bridgett remains at the dock by the aquarium (No worries, Bridgett made it to the island on a water taxi with the very on time Myriam). This is a great start to staff day don't you think?

Bridgett's water taxi

We finally arrived at beautiful, clean Spectacle island (with everyone present) and we all set off for the hills! At the top of the hill was a wide open feild of grass perfect for extracurricular activities. We set up camp here, layed our belongings on the grass next to a nice tree and commenced our activities. At first we started to play wiffle ball but as batter after batter struggled to make anything happen, Sarah Bailey brought the great idea for us to just start playing kick ball. Shout out to her because it sparked one of the greatest games of kick ball I have ever played since elementary school. The teams were set and what we soon came to find out was that we had created the dream team of kick ball! The dream team consisted of me, Sarah Bailey, Will Conroy, Chris, Hung, Manny, Bridgett Foley and Jennifer. We dominated and I do not use that term loosely. I think the score ended with 26 to 9. I know it was all fun and games but winning was really awesome!

Cy Young Award winning pitcher

After this game, we made our way back to the docks where Bruce and Patty were waiting for us on their boat with food and drinks perfectly set up next to it. There were chips and cookies and of course, you have to have the veggies! Then the hot dogs came out and those went faster then the pizza did the day of the fishing derby. We all enjoyed our food and had great conversations with one another. We were all laughing and talking like nothing ever happened out on that kick ball field. It was great and definitely the highlight of Staff day. We were all like family out on that dock, eating and having a great time. I have only known most of them since the first day of work this summer but it feels like its been forever. The Save the Harbor team is more than just a group of co-workers, we are a family helping the city we love.

The Save the Harbor FAMILY!

After our great lunch, we all charged back up the hill for another epic game of kick ball. This time, the other team wanted to disband the Dream Team so they demanded a re-pick. The Captains ended up being me and kiauna. As I chose my team, I tried to slowly reassemble my dream team but my most important player was stolen from me. Sarah Bailey went over to the dark side and left my team. She was filled with revenge for not choosing her first (Friendly revenge) and was aiming for my head (literally). Kiauana seemed to have cooked up a little dream team herself with big foot, Davis and Tom as her top kickers. My team managed to trail by one until we finally shot out into the lead. The runs were getting intense and on one of my turns I blasted one out to center field over Davis and ran my bases. As I was approaching third, I felt like I could make it all the way (I was like "I got this!") but little did I know Davis got the throw in to Sarah Bailey. I rounded third base and aimed for home and that was when I saw Sarah Bailey charging towards me with the green ball in her hands. I ran and I ran and tried to slide in for the point and that was when Sarah Bailey clocked me in the face with a big green kick ball. Staff day is splendid! Well no worries because once again my team came out on top!

The winning team (All-star Team)

Our games were finally over and it was about that time to wrap up the fun on Spectacle Island. We all made our way back down towards the docks where we met the rest of the staff that were not a part of our epic games of kick ball. This is the best part. When we were ready to take what we thought was a 2:55PM ferry back to Boston, we come to find out that our boat had already left half an hour ago. We looked at our ticket and it read 2:25PM ferry back to Boston. We were all shocked and to make matters so much more delightful, the sun kicked it in to high gear, blaring down on us as if to tease us. This was when our survival skills kicked in. We were all looking for comfort away from the sun, laying down with shirts and towels over our faces and water in our hands. The next ferry was due to arrive at 3:55PM and we were not even certain to be admitted on that boat. It was like Gilligan's Island by that time as I constructed a hat that would cover my head from the burning fire ball in the sky. The next ferry arrived and we were all informed that we would be able to take this back home. The relief on our faces was indescribable. We all looked like we were stranded in the desert for 10 days when it was literally an hour that we were stuck on a civilized island. My staff day was amazing!

Davis and Sarah trying to survive

Tom trying to survive

Me and Will Conroy trying to survive

Doing Some Community Service

This week, Wednesday was weird because instead of going straight to Piers Park, I had to go to George's Island to pick up trash with Blue Cross Blue Shield. It was a day where I felt like I was really taking an extra step towards helping the environment become healthier and cleaner. It was weird seeing trash on this Island because on Spectacle Island there was not a single piece of trash to be seen. When we arrived at George's Island, we had a mini meeting to discuss the goals of the day, then we were given some trash bags and rubber gloves. After that we got straight to work. I picked up many cigarette butts, plastic, and surprisingly, lots of Styrofoam. There was more trash on this Island than I had expected.  

Looking for trash.

After gathering all the trash we found, we left it in one pile and went to have lunch. Our boss, Bruce, was generous enough to pay for our lunch. After we had our delicious lunch we took a little trip to the tunnels. I was really excited because I haven't been there since training week, it was good to be back.  

A Day with Just the Save the Harbor/Save the Bay Crew

Mini party on the dock at Spectacle Island

Week 5:

Nothing's better than waking up on a Monday work day knowing that you will be on an island, relaxing and just having fun. That's how we at the Save the Harbor/Save the Bay crew spent our Monday this week. We played a competitive game of kickball! It wasn't too hot when we arrived so it was perfect weather to play. After that we went on the dock and, for the first time, I got to see Bruce and Patty's boat. They grilled up some hot dogs, passed out fresh and sweet grapes, some chips, and also drinks. We were having a mini party on the dock. The seagulls looked jealous while landing to watch us eat.

Best Monday ever! I definitely had fun and it looked like everyone else did too. This was a very nice treat and break for us. Hard work really does pay off. I left Spectacle Island feeling great, and that's weird because I'm never this happy on a Monday.

Wow, I can't believe that it has already been five weeks since I started working with Save the Harbor. Time really does fly by fast!

A good game of kickball

Are you ready for Carson Beach?

     
    Thursday afternoon we went to family fun night at Carson Beach. Amazing things happened. A lot of family brought their kids to Carson Beach to play games, meet new staff, learn more about sea critters, and also dance with the Zumba staff. The Save the Harbor/Save the Bay's Staff brought Larry the lobster, sea stars, and different types of Crabs, like the Spider Crab. Scary right?

holding my old friend

There were 200 marbles released on Carson Beach and the kids were really more interested in finding marbles then anything else. Larry the lobster and his family were in the cooler taking a break. Larry likes it when I hold him, and he puts his antenna in the middle of my hand to show me love. Zumba is my favorite way to get exercise; the Save the Harbor/Save the Bay's staffs were dancing with the kids. I loved it.

   

they have found 2 marbles

   The next day we went back to Community Boating at the Charles River. We had one kid this morning and we went fishing and guess what? All the fish are gone. No fish are left at Charles river so we switched to another spot we could not hear any sounds of nature. There were no birds singing, no waves coming, nothing, which was scary. Anyways, we had a good time at Community Boating.

quiet place

If you want to go fish and explore the river with the Save the Harbor/Save the Bay's Staffs just make a call or visit our site at www.Savetheharbor.org or also you can visit our office at the Pier 212 Northern Ave. Boston, MA.

Gimme some love.

                                   Myriam Annie Desir.                
                                                                                           Peace!

Thank You, Mother Nature!

Week 4.

Hey everyone, it's Nhu.

This is my second week back with Piers Park and what can I say? I am incredibly happy! What made me even happier about this week was not only getting a chance to be back at Piers Park and seeing the kids, but also the weather this week has been beautiful. Beautiful weather means more crabs, and more crabs means more fun for the kids! What I like about this site is that I begin to form bonds with the kids. It's crazy what one week can do, which is why I get so ecstatic and cheerful when I know a camper is coming back. 

This week at Piers Park we caught two lobsters and a full bucket of crabs. I'm just hoping that by the end of this summer I will get to witness a fish being caught here at Piers Park. It makes me so happy seeing how excited and jumpy the kids get when they catch one crab. I wonder how they will react when they actually catch a fish! I don't know, but I sure know that it will be one of the moments they will never be able to forget.

Piers Park: Dolphin, Dolphin, Whale

As much as I love Piers Park I still have to show some love for the kids at the McDonough Sailing Center. At McDonough, I am now apparently known to some as July (long story). I've formed a really good bond with many of the kids there. I've been with them since Day 1 till now which has been about 4 weeks now. I know that's a short period of time but in just those four weeks we got to experience many things together such as; catching crabs, getting pinched by crabs, fishing (actually catching a fish), scavenger hunts, oh yea! and of course keeping an eye out for "Bucket Hat Man" and much more! The kids are really friendly, cool, they always are full of energy and ready to go fishing and crabbing when I see them. Which always gives me an awesome feeling and it never gets old.

Talking to the kids at McDough :)

Fishing and Crabbing at the Children's Museum

Getting crabs

Yesterday, we worked at Children's Museum. We started to work at 10 am. We put bait in two traps. We threw two traps into the ocean. Ten minutes later, we pulled up a trap. We caught twelve crabs and two little flounder fish. I caught a little crab with the fishing rod. We showed children the crabs, and we had children hold a crab. We taught children how to use the fishing rod. We caught all green crabs. We told the children where the crab came from and how to tell which one is male and which one is female. We threw all the crabs and two fishes back into the ocean. Then, we went home.






  See you guys next time, Hung.

Saving the harbor one bag at a time!

It began with a normal day at Courageous Sailing Center in Charlestown with the sun blazing its UV rays down on the energetic children eager to get the day started from swimming at the Y to fishing down by the pier with us! We were joined by fellow fisherman who shared their captures with us and allowed the kids to play with the cool crabs they managed to pull out of the sea. As we got started in the afternoon, the tide was lower than usual which came as a surprise to many of the children. The low tide still did not affect their drive to catch their first fish and for some their second or even third! As the the day went on, the tide slowly rose. The children began to notice trash washing up by the pier. It was a sad sight to see this trash floating in our harbor. It takes 500 years for a trash bag to biodegrade in the ocean. If it takes that long for just one bag, imagine two or maybe ten bags! That is 5000 years!

One less bag in our beautiful harbor!

After I caught the first bag, I set off on a mission to snatch as much trash out of the water as I could. Soon my co-workers joined me in my efforts to clean the bay the only way our tools would allow us. We found ourselves fishing for trash utilizing what little we had for the fight against polluted waters. I have to admit saving the harbor was loads of fun. This mission put our casting skills to the test and I do not mean to brag but I caught that bag my first try (Quick flex), no big deal. Fun Fact: it takes an apple core 3 months to biodegrade in salt-water. Go ahead, let that sink in, I was just as surprised.

Cast-away!

The children patiently waiting for their bite

Fishing never fails to be the number one attraction, whether were standing on the Charles River or out on the pier at Courageous Sailing by the Charlestown Navy Yard. Despite the constant upset of a false tug on the line or the close catch as the fish steals its lunch, the children are eager to cast their lines back in and try again. Their patience for fishing is admirable and awe-inspiring as the eagerly await the bite of an unsuspecting fish. It is amazing to watch these children as they cast their lines with everlasting hopes to catch even the smallest of fish. The children have so much fun that they do not realize that fishing is a profession and a skill. This comes so naturally to them, they do not see it as challenge. They love to fish and they have a great time doing it and that is all that matters to these young and bright children. The highlight of my week was when the kids competed to see who could cast their lines the farthest. They challenged each other and brought out the best of one another as they threw their lines into the vast ocean.

Sarah Bailey and the champion herself holding one of her four fish

It is a shining moment when a child catches a fish, even for the kids still waiting for their lucky break. I believe the kids are just happy to know that it is possible to reel in a sea dweller and they are not hopelessly casting a line into the darkness below the surface. Catching a fish is a goal on every child's mind as their bait is place on their hook. They look out at the giant blue mass we call an ocean and say to themselves "I want to catch a fish." On some days, one lucky fisherman is able to catch 2 fish sometimes even 3! We even had a day where all of the four fish that were caught, were caught by the same little explorer. The joy on her face as she caught fish after fish in a matter of minutes! I would say she would likely return next summer if she wants to keep her record!

Fishing Tournament

Delilah and I on the boat cooling off while we wait for the fish



This is the rear view of our boat, us leaving the dock to go find some fish

This event was a first time thing for me. I have never really went fishing. I have been around people that fish but I never really learned how to fish until I came to this event. I was excited to do this event because I was going to learn how to fish but also I was with someone I am not usually paired with. I was paired with Delilah and Ahmed. We really had a great time on our speed boat. I dont remember the name of the boat but our boat looked like it had a jucuzzi behind the driver seat. Delilah and I were on the chairs that turn and are facing toward the water and Ahmed was facing the front of the boat on this long bench. He said he was getting soaked on the bench but Delilah and I were feeling majority of the motions of the boat going over the waves. It didnt hit me until after we settled down that the littlest boats feel the most motion. I never felt "sea sick" until I got on that speed boat. We went so far out that we passed Spectacle Island, Long Island, and Thompson Island. We even passed the Long Island Bridge and went to the Hull Peninsula. It was an event that I had never done before so it was a new experience that I enjoyed a lot. After this event I plan to go fishing with my mom's boyfriend more often.                                                                         

                                                                                                     By: Brianna Charles



Our boat in full speed action with the city behind us