Holy Lobster!!

Everyone was so excited!

Alright, everyone, you're never going to believe what happened last week! I mean really, if I did not have pictures to prove it, you would think this whole blog is a lie. Have you ever heard of a lobster that was too big to keep?! I have heard of lobsters being too small and of course, we let them go every time but I didn't know a lobster being too big was even a possibility!

Our day started with some programming at Atlantic Wharf. We welcomed the South Boston Neighborhood House and through various activities, we taught them about Boston Harbor. We spent the day fishing, drawing a giant sea life mural, setting crab traps, singing sea shanties, and creating fish prints for children to take home. Our day was going great, we could not have imagined it getting any better.

As we wrapped up our activities Boloco delivered lunch for all the children and staff. What a better way than to end your day with free burritos, right?! As we began eating I mentioned the two traps that were still in the water and how we need to remember to pull them up before we leave. Sam exclaimed, "I'll go pull them up now!", and thank goodness she did. 

The claw was almost as big as my head!

She pulled up the crab trap to find nothing in it. We thought, "it is so low tide it is no surprise we did not catch much today". She pulled up the second trap, a circle trap with a net attached to it. The net needs to be pulled up at the right time to trap creatures inside or they will crawl out. As soon as the trap reached the surface Sam was screaming, "You need to get over here right now!". From far away I saw that it was a lobster and was very excited but as I got closer I noticed that it was HUGE! Everyone said the only place they have ever seen a lobster that size was in the aquarium. We measured the lobster and were unfortunately told that from its eye to the beginning of the tail had to be 5 inches. Ours was almost 6! Although it was very sad that we could not keep the lobster it was still amazing to have seen something like that. That day is one that I will remember forever!

This was not our lobster but this is how to correctly measure a lobster.
Unfortunately, this one is not large enough to keep.

Well, I'm off to find a lobster I can cook this time!

Catch ya later!

Briana

It's a Photo Finish!

Hey Everyone!

It's Senior Harbor Educator, Briana, with the scoop on our first week of programming!

Eric leading our Crab Chat

This week has been an eventful one at Blacks Creek in Quincy. We had a huge turn out for the races, a total of 28 crabs were caught in one day! We began our crabbing curriculum by teaching our Harbor Explorers about crab traps and how they work. We buckled our life jackets up and headed over to the dock. We allowed our explorers to pull the trap out of the water and onto the dock, revealing the numerous crabs we caught. After placing each crab into a bucket we brought them to the touch tank on the beach and circled the kids up for a Crab Chat. During our chat we taught our explorers all about crabs; the difference between a boy and girl crab, how to hold a crab without getting pinched, and even about the moulting cycle of a crab. We also discussed why some crabs may have fewer legs or claws than others.

"And they're off!"

After our Crab Chat it was time to get our creatures that we learned so much about back to their habitat. One of our favorite pastimes at Save The Harbor/Save The Bay is crab racing. We started out by drawing a line in the sand and grouping explorers into pairs. Each pair got one crab and was able to properly hold it until we were ready.

"On your mark, get set, go!!" Group 2 came out of the gates quick but was the first to hit a wall. It was a photo finish for two groups and ultimately it came down to a rigorous game of  Rock, Paper, Scissors to make the final decision. In the end, the girls from group 3 were victorious.

Eric commentating the final competitors

At the end of the day we all celebrated our valiant efforts in the races and our 100 degree exploring with some Gaga Ball in the shade. Despite the exhaustion from the heat, spirits were anything but low. Both Harbor Explorers and staff members were playing and enjoying the game. Everyone had a great time, even when someone got out they stood on the side lines and cheered on the remaining players.

It was a blast!!

Now, I'm off to the races! See ya next time!
Briana

Diving Into My Second Summer

Holding a Moon Jelly 

Hey there, I'm Briana Scata and I'm excited to be diving into my second year of programming with Save The Harbor/ Save The Bay as a Senior Harbor Educator!

My first fish of Summer 2017

During the fall and winter months, I taught physical education in an elementary school and was able to make lots of connections between STH/STB summer programs and our school! My students participated in many activities and games that I learned over the summer. I also spent my afternoons coaching field hockey in the fall and track and field in the winter and spring. This spring I participated in my first Shamrock Splash and got a taste of working with everyone at Save The Harbor/ Save The Bay again, I knew I needed to be back. After an incredible summer last year it was an easy decision to get on board for Summer of 2018.

Showing our staff and youth what the underside of a skate looks like

I cannot wait to continue to learn about Boston Harbor and see what else I can incorporate into teaching children during the school year. Working for Save The Harbor/ Save The Bay has truly given me a new perspective. 

Over and out for now!
Briana

Roger That

Monday was a day for the books at Piers Park! Recently, we have been accomplishing things even the Sailing Center's oldest staff have never seen at their site. After almost landing a Striped Bass fishing from the docks we thought we could not do much else that folks have yet to see until Monday.

Carefully transporting from lobster trap to water

We began our dock time like any other day by pulling the crab traps first. Crab traps are our first activity because they are light, easy for kids to get out of the water, and usually are loaded with things for them to look at. When a few kids look like they're not interested in the crabs, tunicates, and mussels that usually come up with the crab trap we ask if they want to pull the lobster trap, I've never had anyone tell me no!

We have the Harbor Explorers take turns because it is so heavy, they usually pull until they need a break and a friend will step in to help. As it rose to the surface I heard screams, not just from the kids but from the staff too. I thought to myself, we must have so many lobsters! As I took a good look at the trap I realized we did not have any lobsters, just one large creature that looked tangled and gasping for air. We realized we pulled up a skate in our lobster trap!

He was definitely waving to us.

We quickly tried to think of what to do. We knew we had a skate, we knew it was tangled in the trap, but we had no idea how to get it out or what we were going to put it into. Thinking it would be best for the animal to be in water we lowered the trap to buy ourselves some time. We looked for gloves, I've been told to watch out for a skate's tail but I wasn't sure how dangerous it may or may not have been. Finally, we found some thick gloves. I put them on and we pulled up the trap. We had a large plastic wheelbarrow filled with water ready to put the creature in to be able to examine it.

I surprised myself with how willing I was to stick my hands in to untangle this creature that could potentially have hurt me in the process but I knew I had to get the skate out. Finally it was able to curl itself into a ball making it easy for me to pick it up. When we finally got it into the water my team felt so successful, the kids and the Piers Park staff were amazed. We could not stop gawking over the amazing animal in front of us. The kids decided to name him and listened intently as we taught them all about skates. We watched him swim around and it looked like he was waving his pectoral fin at us. He must have been a Jolly Roger because he got out of that trap!

Over and out,
Briana

Comparing the anatomy of a skate to a flounder with our Harbor Explorers