Family Fun Night!

Family fun night was hosted on Carson Beach located in South Boston. It was definitely an awsome night for me, I had an amazing time with the kids. There was a ton of Disney songs playing such as Tarzan, Lilo and stich, Beauty and the Beast, and many more! There were also hot dogs, slushies, and of course popcorn for storytime!

When we arrived we had a little problem because we had no water for our touch tank. We tried to go out to get some water from the beach, but it was low tide and it was quite difficult to walk through the mud. But we did manage to grab some seaweed and a little water for the sea friends in the touch tank. We brought Larry and Lareta (the 2 lobsters), 2 spider crabs, many green crabs, and some snails. For once the center of attention of our touch tank this time wasn't the lobsters, but the spider crabs! We got many questions about them and the plankton on the seaweed, which was quite intresting. Another thing that was the center attention of the Family Fun Night was the blue marbles for the raffle for the Jet Blue round trip ticket, that got alot of attention. Some of our Save the Harbor staff went to hide the marbles. The kids went wild looking for those blue marbles! From windows, to sand, even to flower pots, the kids looked everwhere they could! It was entertaining watching them scouring the whole Carson beach searching for the marbles.

Overall, I had an amazing time and it looked like many other people that attended would agree. I'm most definitely looking forward to other events like this.

Well, I'll catch you later,

Nhu

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




A starfish! At McDonough?!

First starfish at McDonough

At the McDonough Sailing Center this week we actually had a starfish in our touch tank- which I find quite exciting because we never caught any here before! One of the staff members from McDonough took some of the kids out to search for some starfish, and came back with one starfish, a few hermit crabs and many Asian shore crabs! Making our mini touch tank complete, we made it more lively by adding a few pieces of seaweed, muscles with a few tiny shrimp, and a small sculpin fish! All of the kids were intrigued because for the first time our touch tank had something other than green crabs.

Our mini touch tank!

Fishing and crabbing seems to never get old for the kids here at McDonough. They get equally excited everyday when my team and I arrive to the site. They run towards us and start asking "whats for bait for today?" and grab the rods and start fishing right away! They sure make my job much easier and fun, and for that I feel pretty lucky. 

Well till next time!

I'll catch you guys later,

Nhu

Summer with Save the Habor

This summer has been a great time for me here at Save the Harbor. This was my first job I'd ever had and I loved it. I learned a lot here. I learned how to fish and how to put a hook on correctly. Everyone there are great and fun. All the events were fun and everybody always had a good time. The sites I've been working at are awesome; the kids are great, respectful and fun. This summer I caught so many fish and crabs and I got a chance to bring home three lobsters to eat for dinner. Overall, it was a great summer here at Save the Harbor. Everyone was great and I hope I can come back next year.

                                                                                 -Andy Gomez

Kick Ball 13-1 !

Today at Blacks Creek the kickball game seemed to be fair when teams were being picked. Even number of counselors on each team, equal amount of kids and all -- atleast thats how it seemed. We were out in the field at first and the other team looked as ready as can be. First kick became an out and then the second kick became the second out and yup you guessed it , the third also became an out. It was our time to shine and we were certainly ready. After the first kick became a double run I knew this game was in the bag. By the third kicker we had two runs to zip and one on third base. Kick after kick became a run and next thing we knew the score was 8-0 with one out. My team was beat from kicking but we were still pushing, -or kicking for that matter. The ball was flying over the opposing teams heads, through their arms and out of their grasps. It looked like a miracle was happening. By the time we had three outs we had 13 points. The other team kicked and had two outs. It was not until one of the kids dodged every ball being thrown to get them one point. We were still satisfied with our victory and ended the game with high fives and bottles of refreshing water. Everyone still had fun despite the lopsided scores.

- Chemar David

Fishies at Piers Park!

Recently, at Piers Park we have been catching little fish in our crab traps! Probably because the temperature of the water has been getting warmer. The kids got really excited when we actually caught our first fish. It was the first fish we caught this summer at piers park, so it was pretty exciting. I'm hoping that we will actually be able to catch a fish on a rod by the end of this summer at Piers Park. We've been trying all sorts of ways, but so far still no fish. The kids are still very determined that they will be able to catch a fish everyday that they come, and I'm hoping they will. That would definitely be an unforgettable summer memory.

After fishing, the activity the kids seem to enjoy the most is the crab race! They get very competitive and come up with all these funny team names. It's surprising how fun it is to watch them cheer and encourage their crabs to walk faster. The best part is watching thier satisfaction when their team and crab wins.

Catch you later,

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

Little visitors!

At McDonough Sailing Center Save the Harbor has been getting new little visitors. Some of the kids at McDonough having been going home and telling their siblings how much they have fun hanging out with us, that they invited their parents and siblings to come and join in on the fun! The best part about it is, that they have actually returned and their mom told me that her kids were so eager to come to McDonough to pick up their siblings so they could see the crabs and lobsters. It automatically puts a smile on my face when I see how happy and excited they look when they get to actually touch and hold one. They enjoy it so much to the point where they ask their mom to stay.

 It makes it even better when I encourage a kid to try something new. Such as being to scared to hold a crab, I actually never expect or force the kids to do it, but they somehow always have enough courage to hold them. The new little visitors would definitely have to be one of my highlights this week.


Catch you later,
Nhu

George For...Ahmed ?

Occassionally, you would not trust a person like me on a grill. To be honest, I thought I was going to burn myself, and honestly it was one of the best experiences of my life. I need to fix up my act, and understand that black is not cooked, BUT, it was a good time. To feed champs, like, our staff, we need cooked not tossed food!

Despite the sudden rampage in this blog, I really enjoyed our day out on spectacle. Most would ask, Ahmed aren't you on All Access? Spectacle shouldn't be that special. But, that's what a "No Access" as we call them say. It was great having the opportunity to spend time with more than just my daily crew on the harbor islands. The kickball game was good. I left a few minutes early, but my team, Team All Access, Won! We knew the outcome before we faced our opponents, but it was all love and everyone showed up and played well.


Before I log off, I would like to give my superiors, Bruce, Patty, and Bridgett alongside all the SHE's a shoutout. You guys are really amazing, and a special shoutout to Iris Ayala, simply because, YOU LOST! It was a great day guys and you will all be hearing from me more, this week, until a later day in the week, peace!

-Ahmed Hassan

Warmer Water, More Surprises!

Hello,

It's week 4 at the Boston Children's Museum, and we are having a blast. It's hard to believe that it's August already, and summer will be coming to a close in a few weeks. But until then the Fort Point Channel is bustling, and we are catching numerous animals.

According to the National Oceanic Date Center, the waters of the Boston Harbor will be the warmest of the season during the month of August with a projected low of 66 and a high of 68. Depending on the species of animal, the optimum water temperature range is 55 to 64 degrees Fahrenheit. Although warmer waters can make sea animals more susceptible to predators and parasites, it can also mean that there will be plenty of movement and excitement in the waters right below where we fish and crab each day.

For the first time, we caught a salt water eel that we believe was an American Eel. He was dark in color and about 2 feet long. After we showed the eel, to a group of kids and parents, we set him free back into the water, so that he could be more comfortable.

Each day at the Children's Museum is an adventure, and you never know what you could catch.

See you on the Pier,

Iris Ayala

Fun in the Sun

Blacks Creek is filled with exciting , energetic and intellectual children. These three attributes were certainly worked out on a hot day here at the Creek. The kids there decided that they would do things by the beach today instead of the field. They were creating huge sand castles and using their imagination to create different but very unique styles of different parts of the sand castles. Some kids decided to create a big four square in the sand and play. That was pretty fun to join in on considering they were really good at the game! They even knew a few tricks I had no idea about. Learning is always fun after all.  A few kids and I created a crab arena in which they were supposed to fight. We had about 10 huge crabs inside of this pit looking hole in the sand, but instead of fighting they just walked all over each other. It was still fun to make some pretty cool and interesting things in the sand.

- Chemar D

Having fun at Boston Children's Museum!

       Hello everyone,

         This week is my first week to work at Boston Children's Museum. I am having a lot of fun with the kids. Also we caught green crabs  and a spider crab. I never seen spider crab before but this week at Boston Children's Museum I had a chance to see spider crab. Also I learned how to hold the spider crab and show the kids. It is fun spending my time with the kids because it makes me really happy. Some kids are really brave to hold and to touch the crabs but some of the kids are very scared.

the kids are holding the crab and trying to picked up using the net!

      All the kids likes to fish. Also all the kids want to learn how to fish and they like to learn about the crabs. It is the best thing to spent time with kids this makes me happy because I have younger brother and I like to play with him. Kids love to ask a question because they like to learn and to know every thing.



fishing!

See you in the water,

 Filmawit 

An Amazing First Week

Hello,

My name is Marco and I've had an amazing first week. We have caught spider crabs, green crabs and fish. This week I got to spend time outside the Children's Museum getting to show and teach  little kids and families about all the underwater life. This week was very hot, but also very fun. I met a lot of kids who were interested in the crabs and fish. Some of them liked to touch the animals, and other didn't. In the end, everyone seemed to be intrigued by what we creatures we caught.

This week was the first time I have ever caught and seen a spider crab up close. Getting to feel the crabs was pretty cool. We also got to go fishing right off the dock which is pretty cool. This summer I look forward to catching many more different sea creatures.

This summer has been great so far. I look forward to being able to catch a striped bass. While at the Children's Museum, we have several fishing rods and two crab traps. Each fishing rod is equipped with bait. We help teach the kids how to put bait on the rod, and we also teach them how to use the crab traps. A few kids have caught crabs using the fishing rods. I can't wait for the rest of the summer to come, because I know it will be a lot of fun.

green crabs in our touch tank

See you at the Children's Museum,

Marco Savage

An amazing fishing trip

Hey it's Marco and this week has been the best week!  This week started off with catching  a stripe bass at the children's museum. As well as  catching green crabs and spider crabs. This past Thursday started off really early. I met every one at fan pier and then we all had breakfast together. Then later that morning we all went off on to the fishing boats, some of us stayed near the shore and others closer to the ocean. That day was a lot of fun in the end I never thought I would be one of the people to win one of the contests. I was able to bring some fish home to my family. The next night we had a cook out in our yard we grilled some of the fish I brought home. It was delicious.  Then on Friday the mlk staff had a meeting at BU. It was pretty cool. I will continue to say this but I am having a great summer and I can't wait to keep having fun the rest of the summer and enjoy spending time and having fun with people.

Holding the winning fish

Bringing my fish to the judge!

See you all on the harbor!

-Marco

MLK Scholars Are Making Change

Hello guys and girls,

My dreams and aspirations to become an Olympic Swimmer

Have you ever sat down and thought about every stereotype that you've seen, heard and made? It's a little daunting isn't it, how we easily categorize people based on such small assumptions about ethnicity, sexual preference, religion, class and gender. There is the average stereotype: that people in lower classes try less than higher class, that people from the East (Asia, India and neighboring islands) are naturally good at math etc. But there are others that we make unconsciously that hinder any change from happening. Have you ever looked at a homeless person and assumed that they were homeless because they spent all they're money on drugs and alcohol? Or that they were simply faking being homeless for some easy cash? The first meeting of the scholars was today and our first topic was changing the world by stopping the ideologies and stereotypes that stop change. I've made a deal with myself that when I see someone, anyone, I will neither assume or think anything negative about them. I challenge you all to do the same. When you are on the train and you see someone with clothes outside the norm, or someone with a disability don't assume anything. Smile and move on because life is to short to assume the worst in the people around you. Even in my first trip I opened my eyes to the injustices that I created with my assumptions. We need improvement but we stop ourselves with our own thoughts.

Martin Luther King Jr.

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. 
Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."
~Martin Luther King Jr.

Stay positive,

Ruth Scott

The ART of Fishing

Last Wednesday I took my first trip of the summer out to Spectacle Island with the All Access Boston Harbor crew!  We couldn't have asked for a nicer day, especially when you happen to also be celebrating your birthday!  After cupcakes, David Coffin’s sing-a-longs, and seeing old students as lifeguards, I was ready to tackle to fishing and art team with Sam.

After lunch I joined Team Sam on the pier for some fishing and crabbing.  Sam had brought paint and rice paper with him in case we caught a fish and could make a print for our future mural.  Shortly after baiting the crab trap and getting the rods ready, about 30 second graders from the East Boston YMCA joined us on the pier.  Some were eager to fish while others were in awe of the frozen herring we used as bait!

We pulled the crab trap up multiple times and ended catching five green crabs which amazed the seven year olds.  The girls were brave and opted to hold the crabs while a couple of boys backed away and returned to there fishing rods.  As a way to include art into fishing 101 at Spectacle, Sam dipped the crabs' legs in red paint and we watched them walk (or attempt) all over the paper.  Sam was curious to see if there was a pattern to the wear crabs moved.  Unfortunately, the crabs were not very cooperative and instead of a cool design we ended up with smudged, stray mark.  But have no fear, our real art project for the day was just arriving.

One of the little boys yelled for Sam that he had caught a fish.  Little did we know, he had actually caught a skate -  a fish in the Ray family, often mistaken for a stingray.  As they reeled the skate in the East Boston second graders kept cheering and couldn't wait to see what was caught!  Most had never seen a skate, nor understand what type of fish it was.  Sam explained what they had caught and allowed some kids to touch the skate.  Minutes later the skate was covered in red paint and we carefully put the rice paper over its skin.  What prevailed was a marvelous image of a skate.

If we continue taking prints of different marine life found in the Harbor, we are going to have one awesome mural but the end of the summer!  I cannot wait to see what prints will be taken this week!

See you on the harbor!

Bridget

A Striper Surprise

As we were setting up at the Children's Museum today I had a feeling that it was going to be a long day. The sun was right on top of us. I didn't expect that it would be so hot today. But I enjoyed teaching the kids how to use the fishing pole and helping them put bait on the hook. Also, today we caught a lot of green crabs, two spider crabs, and a moon jelly fish.

As I was educating the kids about the green crabs, the other half of the Save the Harbor team started to reel in a big fish. They couldn't just pull out the fish with the fishing pole. They needed the help of a net to get the fish out the water. The fish was big with many teeth.

                                                           

We put the fish in the bucket with water, so it could stay cool. Also, kids and parents could see the fish that we caught. Everyone who walked by was interested in the big fish. The excitement over the fish changed my mood for today. It actually gave the team and myself the confidence to catch more fish!

See you on the pier,

Edward

Fan Pier Fishing Tournament

Save the Harbor/Save the Bay's Fan Pier fishing tournament was today. We started the day with breakfast. The breakfast was very good. After breakfast they passed us a white Save the Harbor/Save the Bay fishing shirt that we all had to put on. Next, Bruce divided the Junior Program Assistants and paired us with kids from the Boys and Girls Club. Then, we all got on different boats.

Boats Docked at Fan Pier

                           
As we left the dock, we picked up the bait that we were given to catch the winning fish. On our way to one of the destinations, I saw a lot of lobster traps and an island that has a lot of rocks filled with birds. We used defrosted clams and blood worms as bait to catch the fish. We also used different fishing poles.

Hours had passed and we still hadn't caught a single fish. We did get stopped by the Coast Guard to do a routine check, but it was fun being on a boat in the middle of the Boston Harbor. When we came back to the dock, there were only two teams who were able to catch a the winning fish.

See you on the Harbor,

Edward

Back Again on the Harbor!

Hello Everyone!                   

                                             
My name is Candido Barros and this is my 3rd year with Save the Harbor/Save the Bay. I'm taking on a new role as a Lead Harbor Explorer, and I would like to tell you a little bit about myself. 

I have lived in Jamaica Plain for the past few years. I first discovered that I enjoyed fishing when I would go to Jamaica Pond every other weekend. I studied carpentry in Madison Park High School in the use of basic carpentry hand tools, hand-held power tools, and design to complete projects such as building a picture frame, coat rack, and picnic table. In the fall, I will be continuing a vocation in carpentry and will be using the skills I learned in high school.

I'm looking forward to this summer and hope everyone has a great learning experience!

See You Soon,

Candido

A Day at the Children's Museum

Hello,

Today at Save the Harbor/Save the Bay, the group and I were in front of the Children's Museum. We set-up the two crab traps and filled up the touch tank. We used ocean water for the touch tank so anything that we catch wouldn't need a change of water. Also, I started to cut up the bait for the crab trap which was fish that we cut up into pieces. Then, we put the fishing poles in their places against the railing so the children and parents who wanted to fish could.

As parents and their kids start to show up, we educate them on the Save the Harbor/Save the Bay is about. We talked about the types of crabs we caught and how you can tell if the crab is a male or female. We also explained how you can tell the age of the crab by its barnacles. Even though we hadn't caught any fish, the kids and their parents were interested in all we had to say about the crabs.

See you on the pier, 

Edward