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

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

Andres Amador at Constitution Beach

Hi everyone!

This past weekend I had the pleasure of participating in a community art project in East Boston. Sand raking artist Andres Amador lead a quick workshop on how to use the sand rakes we provided, and he gave us a few henna-type flower design templates to model our creations after. The idea was at the end of the day, from far above, the whole beach would look like one giant garden full of beautiful flowers.

My prior experience sand raking involved drawing a basic flower and maybe my name at Carson Beach. It wasn't until this day that my eyes were opened to the potential beauty waiting to be created by a simple garden tool attached to a broom handle. And so, I took off to create my first true piece of sand raking art, and I was very pleased with the result!

My flower!

Just a small bit of all the artwork - I'm only so tall!

Despite this being one of the hottest days I have experienced while in Boston (keep in mind, I'm from Alabama and I'm used to heat!), this day and this experience was a true treasure. While sand in itself is an art, I was so impressed to see a hint of what could be further created with sand.

Until next time,
Jessie G.

Sand Raking Prt. 2

Today at Constitution Beach there was sand raking. I was shocked to see how many people came to the beach because they heard about out event in the news or saw it in the newspaper. Luckily, the tide was low for a while, so the artwork could really be seen clearly While everyone was making flowers as their first designs, I wanted to be different and make a symbol. I made the yin yang symbol. In my opinion, it came out pretty good. I have never done anything like that. I usually just stick with making easy flowers, but I stepped out of my comfort zone today.

Once I saw how well the yin yang came out, I decided to be more adventurous with my designs. I then made a lady bug and an anchor. I did not think that they came out that great, so I did not take a picture of them. I then decided to make a ghost. While I was in the middle of making the ghost, I looked over to Sam and asked her if she could make Pacman. She said, "Sure". While I was finishing the ghost, Sam was done with Pacman and it looks really good. This was an awesome team effort to make something really creative on the beach. Even though when the tide came in, it would be all washed away, but it was still pretty cool.

'Til next time

-Ary

Andres Amador at Carson

Hey guys!

So on Friday, Andres Amador made a special visit to Carson Beach. He is an amazing and well known sand raking artist. He came to do a little tutorial for the harbor explorers and also for a group of kids. We had about twenty children come down to the beach that day for the sand raking activity. First, he gave us each a proper demonstration of how to use the sand rake. Then each of us picked a design from a stack of papers and followed the instructions to create beautiful flowers. You can see the flower I created here. When I began, I was uncertain of how well the flower would come out. But after I finished and saw the documentation, I was really proud of my work!

Once we all had practiced properly sand raking, we worked with kids from the South Boston Neighborhood House who were around seven and eight years old. They each had picked a design too, and we helped them create those pictures along with unique and spontaneous creations. I was so impressed by the work these children did! They were all so focused, and they really took their time in the hot hot sun to make these designs great. I could tell their counselors were proud, and so were we! It was really a team effort to create such work on the long stretch of beach, and the final product really was phenomenal. One of my favorite things was taking the pictures, because I loved comparing the size of the artwork with the size of the person who created it. The difference was drastic, and it was really like making art that was larger than life! Here is Ryan with his flower. Didn't he do a great job?

After the children were done, we worked with Andres and each other to create a mandala-type piece as one team. It took a lot of work and time, but we pushed through. We had to be meticulous with our work and really pay attention to what we were each responsible for. If one person did not complete their task properly, the whole piece could have turned out completely different. And on such a large scale design, it was really difficult at first to envision what it would and should look like by the end. But when I saw the aerial view of our completed mandala, my jaw dropped. It looked AMAZING. I am even more proud of my team for working so hard in the grueling heat to make something so spectacular. It was a team bonding experience and I am really glad I was a part of it.

Happy week everyone!

Bridget M

Sand Raking is Life

Recently at Carson, it was low tide and the sand looked like it would be amazing to do some sand raking on. So we brought out the four sand rakes, and I ended up participating with the children. I enjoyed making the mushroom from Mario and I also added a stick figure body to him. Here's a photo of me lying next to my mushroom head, proud of my creation.

While I was making my artwork, one of the rakes broke (not me, a child did it). And then another was  getting loose, which was an easy fix. Then the kids started using the rakes to dig a little pond and a pathway down to the ocean. They were seeing if they could put more water in and watch it go from the "pond" back into the ocean. Here's a picture of Joe and one of the kids digging a hole with the sand rakes.

Sand raking is life - Kent

Exploring Carson Beach

Hi everyone,

The past week, I’ve had a lot of fun working at the Carson Beach site for a few days. Before I started working for Save the Harbor, I had only been to Carson Beach once. I went with a friend, and we spent the day reading and relaxing on the beach. Now, as a harbor educator, I get to help campers explore all that the beach has to offer.

At orientation, I had the chance to go stand-up paddle boarding and kayaking in the ocean. I also learned how to do sand-raking and fish-printing at the beach. The first day I worked at Carson, it was very cold and windy, so we didn’t have too many groups come out. However, we got to play some games with one group of kids. My favorite part was getting to do sand-raking with a few of the campers. I made a turtle in the sand and then let the kids destroy it.

The turtle I made at Carson Beach with the sand rake

The following week, the weather was a lot warmer, and we got to play near the water with some campers. We played soccer and Frisbee, built awesome sandcastles, and searched for hermit crabs and periwinkles at low tide. All of the campers seemed to enjoy spending the day at the beach, and I saw the same group the following day at the Children’s Museum! I also got to go kayaking again at the beach, which allowed me to get a great view of downtown Boston and a few of the Harbor Islands.

Hunting for hermit crabs at the beach

Overall, I’ve enjoyed working at Carson Beach, and I’m hoping that next time I’m there I'll have a chance to go paddle boarding and catch a few more hermit crabs!

Until next time,

Grace

Black's Beach & Carson Creek :)

This past week, I have been at both Black's Creek and Carson beach, While at black's creek, we caught hermit crabs, snails and other types of crabs with the kids. Of course we released them back to their habitat at the end of each day. We then played some games with the kids, and even though it wasn't the best weather, the day was still fun.

Moving on to Carson Beach! At Carson Beach, I got the chance to kayak for the first time. Despite the fact I was far behind the others, I had fun. I was also the only one who took out a kayak on my own. Afterwards, I tried to do some sand raking with some of the kids in the afternoon, which was fun to do. At the end of the day, we actually lost a part of one of the sand rakes .. Oops! Despite that, I had fun interacting with the kids and joining them in few of the many activities that were going on at both Carson Beach and Blacks Creek.

Until next time, Kent

Sand Raking Sea Turtles

        

During the week, we had a group of energetic campers arrive at Carson Beach after a long and slow morning. When they arrived, I was wicked happy to see the empty beach spring to life. When I got over to where they were, I asked if any of them wanted to do some sand raking. Many of them had no idea what sand raking was, and yet almost all of their hands sprang up into the air with enthusiasm. They each took a sand rake, and together we found a clear spot for our artwork to be. They made a portrait of summer. They made a whole stretch of beach into a portrait dedicated to summer. The entire time, they talked, laughed, and worked together to make suns, lemonade stands, and many other signs of summer.

They also made animals like this sea turtle. They had so much fun. I can't wait to see what they create next. The rakes have been a hit all week and I don't see the kids putting them down anytime soon. I suspect we will see a lot more happy suns and other signs of summer in the weeks to come. The kids love sand raking and will keep making these wonderful pieces of art on the sand. 

More fun to come!

-Joe Sheehan

At the Seashore

Hi Everybody!

           My name is Samantha (most people call me Sam) and this is my second year with Save The Harbor, Save the Bay. Last year I had the privilege of working at Camp Harbor View for the first half of the summer. I had the opportunity to go on fishing trips with the kids and see their excitement when the reeled up a fish; whether it was a skate or a flounder, their amazement was contagious. One of my favorite parts of working at Camp Harbor View were the hikes to the old fort. The kids loved exploring the onerous old fort and jumping out in an attempt to scare their friends. They even scared me once or twice! 

         For the second part of the summer I was at Carson Beach. Here I got to play soccer with America Scores, which I absolutely loved! I’ve played soccer for the past five years at the O’Bryant where I also play softball for Ms. Ryan. Being at Carson was great because we also had the chance to go kayaking and paddle boarding. The kids there loved to play four square and catch. Teaching the kids to clam was an interesting task. The highlight of the summer at Carson Beach was sand raking! The beauty of the beach covered in art was indescribable. I’m excited for yet another year of adventure, education and surprises! 

Going with the Flow of the Rake

Hello again fellow adventurers!

Today at Carson Beach we were honored by the presence of professional artist, Andres Amador. When you first think of the word "artist" you most likely think of a painter, or perhaps a sand sculpting artist. However, Andres possesses a unique artistic ability that can turn beaches into magnificent works of art! The technique is called sand raking, and no, it is nothing like raking leaves in your back yard. Andres can spend hours, days, or weeks preparing certain patterns that look "natural" and flow perfectly with the beach terrain. The final result of this tenuous planning are some absolutely amazing works of art that cover large beach expanses.

The key to Andres's technique is utilizing the malleable darker sands that emerge from the ocean's grasp at low tides. In the few hours that low tide is present, Andres goes to work quickly and efficiently. Armed with sometimes a single rake, the designs he can create are quite awe-inspiring sights to see. From something as simple as intersecting straight lines to varying sized atoms scattered all over the beach, Andres's masterpieces are something that should be appreciated by everyone across the world.

After a quick introduction to his craft and a few different techniques he's learned over the years, Andres passed out rakes to each of us and told us to tap into our imaginations and create our own sand rake artwork! With a rake grasped tightly in my hand, I stepped out onto the damp Carson Beach sand, not knowing what exactly to expect. Although Andres stressed that there is no such thing as a bad design, I was a little nervous about my own artistic ability. With hundreds of ideas swirling in my head I began simply with a wavy line. Before long my inadequate wavy line had become something I can only describe as some form of "modern art" but I was very pleased with the result.

I call it...ART!

From there my fellow Harbor Explorers and I came together to create a massive mural that spread far along the sandy shores of Carson. At the end of the workshop, we rushed to complete a Save the Harbor Save the Bay mural for a time lapse video that Andres's assistant shot on their drone camera. Even with 17 of us creating our own designs, the mural flowed together perfectly, which met Andres's personal standards to the fullest. I could not have been more happy with what we accomplished as a group, and it was an amazing opportunity to learn a form of art that is not well known throughout the world. I would love to continue doing sand raking in my own time, and maybe one day I could create a mural as breathtaking as those that Andres Amador creates on a regular basis.

Until next time, keep on exploring!
-Luke

Sand Raking at Carson

Friday, August 7, I tried my hand at sand raking. My artistic abilities weren't exactly magnificent but it was an AMAZING experience. The intricate designs we all managed to get together were not what I was expecting. I thought, at first, that our designs were too individual to come together as one piece. I thought they were chaotic, not artistic. That was until we began to connect to one another's. The final piece was amazing and imppressive! It spanned a huge portion of the beach and was drawing quite the attention. Tomorrow's piece should be just as impressive, if not more.

Stay Creative!
     Sam