Goodbye for now!

Climbing structure at Camp Harbor View, on Long Island

Hello and goodbye, friends of Save the Harbor!

I cannot believe that the summer has come to a close. I hope you are all taking advantage of this beautiful weather- keep getting to the beach, it will ease the back-to-school blues!

I wanted to start off with a photo from Camp Harbor View because it represents one of the greatest parts of working with Save the Harbor- there are always new adventures to be had. I did not work at CHV until the end of the summer, but it really made an impact- the staff is incredibly motivated, the campers are fun and engaging, and Long Island is stunning. This is the climbing structure that I was itching to get on (maybe some other time!) I am excited that CHV is making climbing a part of the camp because for me, rock climbing is stress relief, fun, and over-all upkeep. I am happier and healthier now that I rock climb, and I'm glad to see that kids in Boston are learning about this amazing sport!

Jaimie with a crab!

Sisters Jaimie and Julia with their mud-man!

I think I left a piece of me with all of the smiling friends we made at Blacks Creek this year. I'm going to hold on to these memories forever! Blacks Creek was the site I spent the most time at- thanks to our partners at Quincy Recreation, we enjoyed a great summer with the sailing center!  From finding crabs and eels to making sculptures and mudballs during our rare low-tide days, I'll have a lot to miss from this site!

Abdi at Blacks Creek with Jaimie and Jordan!

Alex and Jayda!

One of the most beautiful parts of this summer was seeing our JPAs take up leadership role. Here's Abdi with some of our kids at Blacks Creek. Abdi is the youngest in his family, but he took up leadership like a natural. From teaching the kids how to play "Taps" to taking over all of the responsibility that comes with being King of the Crab Trap, Abdi was an asset to our team this summer. He has a great time with the kids, and they are always smiling when he is teaching them.

Norah Dooley, Patty Foley,  and some of our guests at the Beach Bash! 

Ahmed, Ketchup King, at the Beach Bash!

Similarly, I found myself learning from our JPAs! Jayda, above, is one of the most organized and motivated people I have ever met. We arrived at Nautical Day at Blacks Creek and she immediately caught us an eel for the touch tank. Jayda's unbeatable and energetic smile and disposition were inspirations for me this summer. Thanks for teaching me so much,  to all of my brilliant JPAs!

As I reflect on the rest of the summer, what I remember most are smiles and sunshine. I'll always be grateful to Save the Harbor for giving me this amazing opportunity. For letting me work with Ahmed, our expert LHE, when I was nervous on my first day; for having an on-call pirate and a president who enjoys listening to sea tales with kids; for Bridget Ryan, our incredible Head Teacher.

Thanks for an amazing summer, Boston!

 Carolyn House

As The Summer Comes To An End

This has been an amazing second year working with Save the Harbor and it's unfortunate that it's coming to an end. This summer I had the opportunity to experience many new things that I did not do last year. This year was really different from last year, but it was a good type of different. This year I feel that the JPA's were all closer than we were last year. This year I had the opportunity to make a lot of great new friends like Esmeralda, my brother Andy, Somtoo, Carlos, Edward and Abdi. These were the people that I had a change to work with and we became close after a couple of hours of work. I also caught my first fish ever which was really cool because I brought it home and we had the fish for dinner and it was the best fish I've ever had. One of the coolest changes this year was having Sam around to lend some of his art talents to us. I had an awesome time learning how to make fishing prints and the fish mural that we mad was just amazing.

The Squad

Fish Printing With Sam

The Fishing Tournament

It is really hard saying goodbye to not just the staff but saying bye to the kids. I really enjoy working with these kids even though at times it maybe be tough. You can learn a lot from the kids if you pay attention closely to what they say and do. They are all intelligent kids and when a challenge is posted in front of them they always find a way to solve the problem and that's really impressive. These kids that I've been working with for the last two years have really grown on me and it really stinks that I won't be seeing them for a long time. To all the staff it was really great working with all you guys, I had a terrific summer and I'm really looking forward to carving up with some of you guys to hear about how your year is going. To Bruce, Patty and Bridget thank you for an amazing summer.

Jazeel Mendes and this is the me signing out- Chao