Family Reading Night!

This event only lasted an hour and a half, but it was packed with some of my favorite moments and images from the summer: families started to line up a half hour before the doors opened, as they came the (wonderful:) reading nights volunteers handed out free books and T-shirts. Kids quickly pulled on their shirts (our "better beaches" shirts were very popular!), and took off to make the rounds at all the tables set up in the pavilion--book-mark making station, free pop-corn, chalk-murals, beach-games, and our own touch tank table! Kids flocked to the touch tank, eager learn how to hold to crabs, and sketch sea critters in the tank. Our staff were fantastic, getting so into the event that we actually joined in some of the games ourselves! We closed the night with a story--what a beautiful night...

Father & Daughter show off their Better Beaches Tshirts

Dancin' on the Beech!

First Time Holding a Crab!

Artist at work...

Save the Harbor staff Alex and Tee join in the fun:)

~Emily

Sharing the Treasures of Spectacle Island

Each summer Save the Harbor / Save the Bay's gives thousands of young people from across the region a chance to spend the day in the Boston Harbor Islands National Park.

Since 2002, their free summer youth environmental education and recreation programs have connected nearly 50,000 young people aged from 7-17 – from 130 youth and community groups - to Boston Harbor, the waterfront and the harbor islands. This summer Save the Harbor has added a new twist to the program - a treasure hunt on Spectacle Island.

Spectacle Island served as a dump for municipal and household trash until 1950, and more recently as the disposal site for fill from the "Big Dig" before being transformed into a park. Today Spectacle Island is one of the most popular destinations in the Boston Harbor Islands, with a great swimming beach, walking trails, a visitor center and a terrific new snack bar - run by noted Chef Jasper White.

"There aren't any pirates on Spectacle Island today, but there is lots of buried treasure" says Bruce Berman, spokesman for Save the Harbor / Save the Bay. "If you look carefully you can discover a lot about Boston's history - and have fun looking for sea glass and pottery shards on a beautiful island beach. It is a remarkable window into the past - and a great place to spend the day."

"Who doesn't like to comb the beach and speculate where it all came from?" asked Pleun Bouricius, of Mass Humanities, who helps fund the free program on Spectacle. "What did garbage look like 50 years ago? How did this get here? What will happen to our garbage? Will it look like this 50 years from now? These are important questions for kids to ask and to answer."

Maritime historian David Coffin who leads the island program for Save the Harbor, never tires of for searching for sea glass, pottery and other historic artifacts on the beach at Spectacle. “There is so much sea glass and pottery on that beach that you can actually hear it tinkle in the surf. " says Coffin. "It is a great way to learn about our past - and about our responsibility to protect important archaeological sites like this."

Thi Tran, 16, of Boston who leads beach walks and treasure hunts for kids on Spectacle Island for Save the Harbor says, “It’s so much fun to go on the beach and look around to find sea glass and pottery. The kids and I love to look for pieces with writing on them so we can figure out where they are from or what they were. And when we find something interesting, its fun to share them with other people - before we return them to the beach.”

Save the Harbor / Save the Bay's free "All Access Boston Harbor trips" run three days a week from the Bank of America Pavilion on Boston Harbor, alternating between Spectacle Island and Georges Island in the Boston Harbor Islands National Park.

On Georges, the kids can explore historic Fort Warren and search for the ghost of the Lady in Black. On Spectacle, youth and teens can hike, swim, fly kites, or search for buried treasure while learning about the harbor and our history.

Save the Harbor / Save the Bay's youth programs are made possible by the generous support of: ABCD Summerworks, Arbella Insurance Group Charitable Foundation, Inc., Bank of American Pavilion/Live Nation, Clinton H. & Wilma T. Shattuck Charitable Trust, Connors Family Office, Dolphin Trust, Elizabeth Elser Doolittle Charitable Trusts, Forrest Berkley & Marcie Tyre Berkley, Friedman Family Foundation, GDF SUEZ Gas NA LLC, JetBlue Airways, John Hancock Financial Services, Inc., John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Massachusetts Bay Lines, Mass Humanities, Massachusetts Port Authority, National Grid Foundation, P & G Gillette, State Street Foundation, South Boston Community Development Foundation, William E. & Bertha E. Schrafft Charitable Trust, and Yawkey Foundation II.

Blacks Creek Family Nautical Day!

Greetings from the dwindling days of summer programming... I'm heartbroken to see some of our youth staff's final blog posts already! But despite the fact that I've been carrying a light jacket around this week, our youth programs are still going strong, or, in the case of Blacks Creek in Quincy, ending on very strong notes.


Tuesday afternoon, the staff and families of Blacks Creek gathered together to celebrate a successful summer at the William F. Ryan Boating and Sailing Center , and Save the Harbor / Save the Bay was honored to be a part of it. I was there with Aruna and Shaunae-- the three of us representing our entire staff's love of working there this summer. The event was a great chance for the kids at Blacks Creek to show their parents everything they learned this summer, be it sailing, kayacking, rowing, or all the knowledge they gained about all the critters that live in our Harbor. Plus, my family is very important to me, so I love seeing others in the context of their familes, especially the adorable kids I've been teaching at Blacks Creek! One of my favorite moments of the entire summer thus far was when Maria, one of Blacks Creek's many enthusiastic Harbor Explorers, gathered an audience of several mothers around the green crab in her hand and started explaining, 1. the difference between a male crab and a female crab, 2. how to hold a crab so it won't pinch you, and 3. hold to identify a green crab even if its orange in color. I couldn't have been more proud as she explained, "You have to count these 5 spikes next to its eye. And there are 5 letters in the word "green" so you can spell out G-R-E-E-N!" It was so rewarding not only to see that Maria had absorbed this knowledge, but that she had mastered it enough to pass it along to others and foster even greater Harbor stewardship in Quincy. As cliche as it may sound, I saw a seed of knowledge get planted, grow, and branch out right before my eyes. If I had any doubt before that I want a future in education, I don't anymore!


Thank you to the Blacks Creek families for a great afternoon, and thank you to William F. Ryan Center for an incredible partnership this summer. I kept hearing from parents that their children had a great time in the Harbor Explorers camp, and I know that was a collaborative effort of our entire staff being rotated through all summer. Every one of us had a hand in making the summer a success. I'm extremely happy to have been a part of not only these past 6 weeks in Quincy, but of the afternoon that celebrated them as a community. Thanks again!

Lots of Harbor Love,
Michelle

Harbor Exploring

I was the first of the Save the Harbor staff to arrive at Piers Park Sailing Center this morning. I got there just as the first campers were showing up. After Mark arrived I soon found out that we had to work the whole day without a Senior Marine Educator. At first I was a little bit worried but I knew Mark was up to the challenge so I manned up and got ready. We started off the day with a rousing game of sharks and minnows. Just as we were about to start another game I noticed that the kids were itching to get down to the dock. I grabbed the stuff while Mark led the kids down onto the dock. Although most people would say catching a striped bass from the dock at Piers Park, I beg to differ. Hooking a crab is nearly impossible, for unlike fish, the hook does not actually hook through the crab. The angler must reel in his/her line at an easy, constant rate so the crab does not fall off the hook. We lost multiple crabs today for that very reason.

After putting that disappointment behind us, Mark and I scooted on over to the Courageous Sailing Center at Charlestown. Mark and I set sail on the Green Boat with Kathleen the instructor, Norah, and Naomi, who are both Step 3 sailors. While we explored the Boston Harbor we ran some scientific tests on the water. To start things off we checked the temperature of the water. Our thermometer read 15 degrees Celcius, which, with the help of some speedy calculating on my part, we found out is approximately 49 degrees Fahrenheit. I can tell you earnestly that I had no plans to jump in the water after that. Next we checked the pH level of the harbor water in several different spots. Using simple pH strips, we found that the pH level was between 7 and 8, making it slightly basic. Usually, ocean water is about 8, which fit with our data. After these exhausting scientific experiments we decided to relax a bit and enjoy the breeze.

-Alex

Last Day :(

Today was my last day of work which I spent at Courageous Sailing Center Dorchester.
I spent most of my time playing football with the kids. The only part that wasn't really any fun was getting the ball thrown into the water, but it was eventually retrieved.
I had a great time throughout the summer at many different sites, and I appreciated the help some more experienced staff gave to me. I learned not only about the harbor, but about the kids, which to me is the most important part. Even on my first day I had no trouble fitting in with the staff. Today was my last day of this summer, but I hope I will have the chance to have many more Save the Harbor days!

-Tim Grogan

RED beach glass

Today was another eventful day with All Access.

The staircase on the boat was crowded by small campers eager to explore the island when Bruce called me. I got off the boat running, trying to catch up to Bruce and Patty as they were already walking down the path towards the beach. I slowed to a jog when I neared the group who was listening to Bruce talk about the treasures, breathing hard. Soon after I arrived, we all went down on top of rocks onto the beach with the plentiful beach glass.

We started the fun when we all lined up horizontally (and not holding hands - what a downer...) and had a race as to see who could collect the most interesting sea glass. I was apprehensive when we started walking along the beach. I quickly spotted green and white and brown beach glass, seeing how they were the most common. But I kept walking in a straight line, according to the rules. I picked up a cerulean colored one, a blue one, three green ones, and...... THREE PIECES OF RED BEACH GLASS! Although small, they are considered as the second rarest of all sea glass.

Read beach glass is usually found in car brake lights, the lights on the starboard sides of boats - warning lights, lanterns, and stained glass.

I can't wait to see what I find next week!

Lovingly yours,

Thi

Treasure Island

Hey boys and girls, I'm writing to you about our exploration of Spectacle Island on Staff Day. Our bosses Bruce and Patty brought us out to this Boston Harbor Island to have fun in the sun. After an intense game of capture the flag and a foot race with Cassie, where I destroyed her........by a lot, we all headed down to the beach. I had previous experiences beach combing but this island amazed me. There was just so much history scattered around the shore that we all became fascinated with finding the most unique object strewn on the beach. Bruce issued a challenge that were supposed to fan out and search the beach, yet, we could only carry two pieces at a time. Amongst everyone, we were able to find a wide range of interesting stuff. Due to Spectacle Island's past, it was a dump for Boston's trash for many years and it was the site of a horse rendering factory before that. It was because of this history that we found tons of sea glass, pieces of porcelain, old horse bones, parts of old sinks, perriwinkle shells with wholes punched in by moon snails, a marble, and a tiny plastic shovel. It was crazy that there is such a wide variety of interesting treasures that one can find on the beach, one just simply has to look for it.

Conor Newman

Nautical Day

Yesterday was the last day at Blacks Creek for the summer, and I'm glad I had the opportunity to be there on that day.

Michelle had this awesome plan to get the families at nautical to go on a scavenger hunt for things we have been catching at the site all year long. Unfortunately, we arrived there only to find the tide super high, the highest it has been all summer long. with the beach gone and no where left to search for critters, we had to come up with a new plan. We set up a crab trap on the dock and caught a ton of green crabs in no time with our hot dog bait. With that, we set up a touch-tank and attracted a lot of interested families. A couple of the girls we had been working with since day one, Maria and Rachael stuck around the entire time. We also had a few younger kids, hopefully future campers, that hung around with us for a while. One of then was 4 year old Matty, he was so brave.

It was a great last day at Blacks Creek, a lot of the parents came up to us and thanked us for giving their kids a great summer. The kids were all amazing at blacks creek, and I hope to see them again next summer.

~Cesc

Treasures of Spectacle Island

On staff day we went on a trip to spectacle Island. When we got there, there was a little debate about what game we were going to play. We eventually settled on playing capture the flag, and it proved to be a good choice. We played to games of capture the flag, the first of which only lasted a couple of minute. The second game was a little more fun because it lasted longer and involved a bit more strategic work.

When Patty and Bruce arrived on their boat with food, we made our way quickly to the dock and had a good time. There were lots of hot dogs and steak, as well as a lot of my favorite fruits. After eating and relaxing, Bruce asked us to go on a treasure hunt along the beach. We found a lot of interesting sea glass and pottery. My favorite find was the marble, it was pretty cool, not something thats easy to come across.

~cesc

Save the Harbor/Save the Bay (SH/SB) is a non-profit public-interest environmental advocacy organization whose mission is to restore and protect Boston Harbor, Massachusetts Bay, and the marine environment for everyone to enjoy.

Each year we run two free summer youth programs that combine recreation and hands-on education to bring the Harbor alive for thousands of Boston area young people.

Our "Boston Harbor Explorers" program serves nearly three thousand young people on the docks (and in the boats!) of our city's youth sailing centers in Charlestown, East Boston, South Boston and Dorchester, at Constitution Beach in East Boston, at Wollaston Beach in Quincy,and at Camp Harbor View on Long Island.


Our "All Access Boston Harbor" program departs weekdays from the Bank of America Pavilion in South Boston, and brings 200 kids a day to George's or Spectacle Island in the Boston Harbor Islands National Park. This summer AABH will bring nearly 5,000 young people from 100 community groups to the islands, many for the very first time.

For more information on Save the Harbor/Save the Bay or any of our programs, please visit us at www.savetheharbor.org

If you would like to share the harbor with thousands of deserving kids this summer,
Click Here to Support our Summer Youth Programs!

Treasures Galore!

On the first official day of the Treasures of Spectacle Island on All Access Boston Harbor, right after eating lunch and looking at the rare sea glass that was found by many visitors, such as a fully intact blue bottle, we went to the 'beach' on the right side to look for treasures! David asked one of the rangers for a book about sea glass and off we went with half the campers of the Haverhill YMCA.

The kids were so excited to find a treasure chest that they ran off in search for the chest, stumbling over their own feet. The book had many pictures and descriptions of sea glass and where they came from and how the original looked like.

As I took a picture of David surrounded by kids, who were busy looking at the bright colors shown in the book, I spotted a weird sight by David's white sneaker. It was an ORANGE peice of beach glass! I quickly swooped down and picked it up before it left my eyesight. It wasn't just a light orange, but a deep colored orange. David flipped to the page on orange sea glass, and it said that it was one of the most extremely rare of the sea glass. Orange sea glass was likely to be found in one in ten thousand. They were part of ship lanterns, milk pitchers, and streetlamps.

I also found purple, a cerulean colored one, blue, yellow; it was like a mini-rainbow in my hand!

I hope tomorrow's going to be the same as today!

Thi!

OVO!!

Last week I had the amazing opportunity to go see Cirque de Soleil, Ovo, that took place on the Fort Point Channel by the ICA. I've always wanted to go to one of these shows but never had the opportunity and boy, have I missed out.

First a couple of us went out to a dinner and it was so nice to finally get to talk to some of the staff that I've had limited time to bond with. Each one of the staff is an individual and everyone is so nice and welcoming.

Then we went off to the tents. This one of my favorite shows I've ever seen. The live music was dynamic and intriguing. The tricks, especially the ants with the kiwis were incredible. Even though stuffed from dinner, Thi and I got candy and popcorn for the second act. My favorite part in the second act was the wall, with the trampolines. This was the grasshoppers flipping around and around faster then I've ever seen.

Another really fun night with the Save the Harbor/Save the Bay staff!!

Cassie

"What happens to shells after the animal gets eaten?"

This question lead to a great conversation about the calcium cycle. Calcium is an element (like hydrogen, or oxygen): there's a certain amount of calcium on the planet--you can't really "make" new calcium, but animals can sequester it in different ways. You might know that one of the reasons kids are encouraged to drink their milk is because it contains calcium--which is the element that strengthens bones, especially for growing kids. Bones are a lot like shells--though our bones are on the inside of our body, they're made of similar stuff and serve a similar purpose--they provide "structural support" (which just means they keep us from being blobs:). While people get our calcium from our food, crabs and other animals with shells sequester little particles floating in the water column to build their shells with. Once a crab dies (or molts), the shell will decompose, releasing little calcium particles into the water to be sequestered by some other animal. The kids were fascinated with this cycle--"that's just like recycling!" one of them exclaimed. "I think the crabs are better at it then we are," observed one of the campers, gesturing at a plastic cup left on the beach. "I'm not gonna get beaten by a crab!" her friend replied, snatching the trash off the beach. Walking back, we talked about how different families and neighborhhods practice recyling, and the kids were eager to brainstorm ways to do an even better job--talk about learning from the environment!

~Emily

To learn more visit this link here.

All Access

Today at All Access, Thi, Tim, Emily, and I were getting ready for the school groups. Thi and I went to the grocery store to get apples, oranges, and plums for the boat ride. When we got back to where the boats were, Thi lifted the lobster trap and found a small green crab. When the groups arrived Thi took a group picture holding up the Save the Harbor/ Save the Bay banner. When the crab ws brought over, the kids were so into it. They asked many questions like "where did we find it?" "how was it caugh?" "is it still alive?"Everyone wanted to hold it. They handled the crab with care. No once did I or the other staff have to take the crab away from them, from putting it in danger.

There were big posters drawings of jelly fish, shells, and etc. The kids sat around the bar table to color in the shapes. They worked together, and let someone else join in to color. Two girls were working together and they made a stratergy of coloring the bubble letters with color pencil, and out lining the shape. When they ate their lunches they did not have their trash thrown everywhere. I was surprised because the kids were very young, but so responsible. Some kids would ask the staff where the trash was instead of leaving it on the table. I did not want to leave because I had a great time hanging out with the kids. I wanted to go on the boat with Thi and Tim so bad but couldn't. sad face. Overall it was a great morning and I hope I would have this opportunity once again.

Peace,

LaToya

The Treasures of Spectacle Island

On August 9, we had an all staff day event. I must say it was great team building and a lot of fun. We went to the New England Aquarium to catch the ferry and it brought everyone over to Spectacles Island.

The ride was relaxing even though it was a short ride. When we got there, we sat around for at least 15 minutes trying to figure out where the boundaries were to play capture the flag. The captians Michelle, and Caroline had a hard time picking teams. I ended up with Conor, Tim, and Marc on my team, on the second round. When it was time to hide the flags, my team hid it in the white tube that was very hard to find (thats what we thought). When the game

actually started Conor was no where to be found. He hid in a ditch, on top of the hill, to protect our flag. He told my team that he needed tape to put leaves all over his body for camaflage.

The game started out rough for my team because most of us were in jail. Aruna and Marc were the fastest team mates. We were screaming for Michelle to free us, but Caroline was on her tackle mode. Meanwhile, the rest of us were standing there trying to figure out where Conor went for half of the game. When Tom caught our flag, all the sudden we see Conor jump out next to the jail and said "The game is over" How Hilarious! He started to complain about his feet because he went into thorn bushes beer foot and said he might have poison ivy. Then Thi came out bleeding on the side of her leg from trying to walk in the bushes.

After the game, everyone was up for lunch. I found it interesting that we ate on Bruce's boat. Bruce, Matt, and Patty prepared a good lunch for everyone. There were hot dogs, steak, watermelon, cookies, chips, and snaples. I had a great time on the boat. Everyone laughed and joked around. Conor was serving watermelons, and said it was 10 cents a piece. LOL! Meanwhile, Bj was stealing chips from everyones plate, and there was a big laugh about how Tim was the youngest one out of all of us. Bruce and Patty made a wonderful speech about how appreciated they were to have workers like us. Michelle, I guess, needed a moment to herself there. Tear Tear. Group pictures were taken of the moment we shared with each other. This was a fabulous way to end our lunch time.

LaToya

The Treasures of Spectacle Island Part Two!

Yesterday was a very special day for the entire staff, we all got to go out together for staff day! The day started early at 9:30 at the Long Wharf where we all met to get on the ferry. After a very quick ferry ride, which I have to do again with my friends from school, we arrived at Spectacle Island. It was hot, and the beach looked inviting but we decided to warm up with a game of Capture the Flag.

On my team was Michelle, Tim, Conor, Thi, Marc, Aruna, and LaToya Needless to say, we won in about two minutes. Either Tim/Marc's football skills or the lucky of Michelle's birthday pulled off the great win. The next game after we divided the teams again was a massacre. As Marc, LaToya, Tim and I sat in jail we watched as Tom found the flag hidden in a pole and ran across the line. Then, of course, Conor Newman jumps out from a thorn bush patch right behind us to free us from jail... a little late Conor.

Afterwards we all go to enjoy a huge lunch on Bruce and Patty's boat. After eating two hot dogs, a piece of delicious steak, lots of grapes and strawberries, watermelon, chips, and two cookies needless to say I was stuffed as was everyone else. It was the best I've ate in a while :), thank you!

On to the next treasure of spectacle island we visited my favorite part of the beach, the sea glass. We all tried to find the best sea glass with Matt finding the prettiest colors - not afraid to boast about it!

Then after looking at all the best finds we all ran into the water. Only to realize seconds later that it was beyond freezing. But after swimming to the outer most part of the area with Carolyn, we felt better.

Even after getting off the boat back in Boston some of us went to enjoy some gelato from the North End and walked around Downtown Crossing!

Overall, it was a great staff day and I'm going to miss working with all of you - even though we didn't that much - when the summer ends!

Cassandra

The Treasures of Spectacle!

Today was the oh-so wonderful staff day, a day when all staff, including everyone, ranging from the junior youth staff to the interns to Bruce himself, can relax and enjoy the treasures of Spectacle Island (and of course, all the wonderful food Patty and Bruce provided).

I got to Long Wharf early, at about 9:20, and waited with my fellow co-workers for the rest of the group to arrive. You could tell that we were excited for this staff day from all the laughs and brightly lit grins. We left at 10 o'clock sharp, arriving at the island about 15 minutes later. The day had officially begun. As always, we started off the day with a tiring, but fun, game. Since it was Michelle's birthday, she decided to play Capture the Flag. After choosing teams, we gave it our best, and had many secret gatherings and plans to try to decieve the other team. I ended up with many nicks on my calves due to the sharp grass, but also a big smile on my face.

We then went to Bruce and Patty's boat for a refreshing lunch and bonded even more, talking about various things in our lives. Before we could jump in the water, Bruce had one last assignment for us: to look at the Treasures of Spectacle Island. I walked by the wrack line and found not one, but TWO peices of red beach glass!

I can't to find more treasures on this island for the next two weeks!

Thi

Saying Goodbye to a Great Summer

Friday was my last day of working with kids for the summer. The day turned excited just as we were wrapping up at Piers Park. We caught two fish! The first was a small cunner, but the second was a bass! I couldn't have asked for a better last day. I am off to school at Clemson in just a few days!

Working at Save the Harbor this summer has been amazing. I have had so much fun! Plus I had the privilege of working with a great group of people. I love this job for so many reasons. One of which is how I always seem to end up smiling and laughing most of the days. We have had the perfect blend of employees this summer: from seasoned veterans like Jen and myself, to goofs like Conor and BJ, and rookies like Timmy the Kid. I really have enjoyed working with everyone. I am definitely excited to go back to school but I will also miss everyone. It has been such a successful summer! We have caught so many marine creatures! Thank you to all.

Yours truly,

Tom Regan

Much Needed Lobster

All I want to do is catch a lobster for my new friend Tyree. Tyree is a 10 year old camper at Camp Harbor View who is part of the fishing club. He has been at camp everyday for the 4 weeks I have worked there. The 60 minutes of fishing club are not nearly enough for him. He is always the first one there, making sure we have sufficient bait, not just hot dogs, and ceaselessly pleads to stay extra time. Every once in a while, he will finagle his way into returning later in the afternoon. He will stand out on the pier with his rod hanging out over the railing without a word except to inform me that the fish who has been evading him all day has taken his bait once again.

In my daily interactions with Tyree, I have gotten to know him. I can remember first teaching him how to fish and at that point, it was love at first sight. The dockside crab races and touch tanks did not appeal to Tyree. He quickly entered into a combative relationship with a fish whom he self proclaimed to be 'huge and smart.' "Smart enough to take the bait without being hooked." He would always tell me that this fish was winning the battles but Tyree would win the war. This war would carry on for several days until we finally brought some sea worms and Tyree reeled in his first ever fish.

Although slightly smaller than he had anticipated, he was sure that this was the one who had evaded him. As I have gotten to know him better, Tyree has told me about his home life. He has an older brother who has started his own life working for the mbta in boston. His dad is not around. Tyree lives at home with his mother, who is bed ridden with lung cancer. He will spend his evenings and time at home in bed with her watching tv but she will often succumb to exhaustion and fall asleep. He has articulated to me that all he wants is a big hug from his mom. If you knew Tyree, you would know how genuine he was in saying this. So we devised a plan: He knew that his mom absolutely loves lobster so I told him, that if we pulled up a big enough one in the trap, I would make sure he would get to take it home to her. Now, everyday, Tyree runs up to the pier not first looking to get fishing but to go check the trap with me. To our dismay, only crabs have managed to imprison themselves. However, I believe that in time, a lobster will surely be willing to dedicate its life to this cause. If not, then I think a nice fat lobster roll may be in the cards to bring Tyree for lunch one of these days.

-Dan Kenary

Scavenger Hunts.... and Hunting for Scavengers!

Hello all! My first week at Blacks Creek and Camp Harbor View has been many things so far-- exciting, exhausting, fishy, crabby, sunny, sweltering, rainy, and, best of all... fun.

Starting a new rotation in Week 5 of the summer is really interesting. Everyone around me, including my Junior staff and the Harbor Explorers themselves, have already had the chance to establish themselves at the sites, and here I am, the rookie of the group! While I thought it might be weird or off-putting, it's actually a really great dynamic... the kids are so excited to share with me what they're learned already this summer, my Junior staff is exhibiting the leadership skills I've seen emerging since June, and Emily and Aaron have both laid an amazing path for me to just do what I love-- foster love for the Harbor!

In addition to some good, old-fashioned free-form fishing and exploration, it's been a week of structured games and experiments as well. We took part in our regularly scheduled Wednesday Crab Count on the rocky shore at Camp Harbor View; and our Harbor Explorers at Blacks Creek took got to analyze their environment through exciting and competitive scavenger hunts!

Here's our winning team from Tuesday's scavenger hunt at Blacks Creek! Items included a hermit crab without a shell, a minnow, an Green Crab that is orange in color, and many more interesting Harbor creatures! Great job, you three!

Wednesday brought my first crab count at Camp Harbor view, right as the tide was rapidly coming in on the rocky shore! Groups of six campers created three teams along the shoreline. Each team measured a two meter by two meter square, which one camper standing at each corner. The remaining two campers counted all the crabs they could find within the parameter. Turning over rocks quickly becoming submerged in the rising tide, their hands were soon overflowing with Asian Shore crabs! We recorded the numbers for Dr. Judy and our network of fellow citizen scientists in the Harbor- but I think the kids had the most fun turning over rocks and realizing the little crabs could scuttle across their skin with minimal pinching involved!

That's it from Blacks Creek and Camp Harbor View for now. Where is the summer going?! I'm not okay with this.

Lots of Harbor Love,

Michelle

AABH - Thursday

Hey everyone, this is Thi :)
I just came back from the AABH trip to George's Island today and as usual, had the time of my life!
For the first time, I went to the tunnel with the light coming from gun slits and led a group of thirty kids from the Salvation Army. Many tried to hold my hand but I replied by shaking my head and saying that I had to stay behind to make sure everyone was there. As they all filed down in pairs to the room to the left of the tunnel, I pulled Jerry aside, who was a counselor of that group, and asked him to hide in the "coffin." He energetically jumped in and closed the lid as I ran up behind the kids to talk about the room and what it was used for. Returning back to the only entrance out, I stopped in the room with the coffin, stood on top of it, and told the story of the dead prisoners who were buried on the island. "This is one of the many coffins here on George's Island, but the rangers left this here to show visitors how everything was like back then. Do you guys want to see what it's like in there?" The kids surrounded me and waited for me to open the lid, expecting just an empty, dusty coffin.

"ARRGHHH!" yelled Jerry and then "----." Dead silence.

A multisecond later, the screams pierced through my eardrums as I barely heard the thundering footsteps of a group of very frightened little children. Jerry and I laughed until we were holding our stomachs, tears rolling off our cheeks when the campers timidly walked back to the room. After seeing Jerry, they started jumping on him and giving him a hard time, but he took it good-naturedly, smiling.
We crawled back through the entry way, only to be blocked by kids sitting on the steps, claiming the Lady in Black was in the tunnel.

I had such a great time, and can't wait for the Treasures of Spectacle Island next week!

Thi

Excitment rolls through the Boston Children's Museum Fishing 101

New Endless Summer Website

Greetings: The Endless Summer Waterfront Festival has a new website and is actively seeking new sponsors. This is a unique festival that trys to keep the summer alive for a few more weeks each season. Enjoy our website and contact us if you would like to sponsor this great event.

http://www.endlesssummerhull.com/

Cirque Du Soleil

Yesterday was one of the most funtastic days of my summer so far. It was just awesome!
Ok, so it did not start so brightly as I made a trip to Courageous Dorchester only to find out that the site had been cancelled for the week, and then made another trip back to the office, and eventually to the Boston Children's Museum. That is where the day started being fun; at the museum, I worked with new faces (well faces that I see whenever I am at the office but never have the time to converse with) as well as meeting some great young anglers. We also had luck with fishing, though not at the scale of our exploits on Monday. Still, it was a blast. My team and I then made our way to Castle Island where we also had a blast fishing and exploring. I made my way back home afterwards to prepare for the evening.

I had been looking forward to Cirque Du Soleil eversince our awesome boss, Bruce, announced that he had scored us some tickets. When we finally got there, we had to wait (thanks Tom, BJ & Conor lol). But yeah, we finally got in and prepapred to be amazed. That is exactly what happened, the entire audience was in awe at the talented performers. They were simply amazing. I loved every part of it, but perphaps my favorite performance was the one of the girls (ants) spinning produce on their feet while balancing on each other's feet. It was great stuff!
Oh, and the firefly (guy with the yo yo) was also very cool.

~Cesc

Catch of the Day

As you all may have heard by now, Save the Harbor/ Save the Bay experienced its most bountiful session of fishing ever on Monday. The kids coming in and out of the Children's Museum managed to pull up a whopping 18 fish, all of which were cunner. However, I would like to speak of our time at the Children's Museum on Wednesday instead. We only caught five little cunner yesterday, but I am sure you have heard the phrase "quality, not quantity." One of the young anglers even caught a green crab with his fishing rod, something you don't see every day. We used sea worms to catch all of our sea creatures and even left one of the worms in the touch tank for all to see. This slimy, squirmy little critter sparked just as much interest in the kids as the crab and the fish. Oh, and most importantly I caught my very first fish of the summer, all on my own. Within minutes of the start of the day, I dropped my line down into the Fort Point Channel and immediately reeled in a medium-sized cunner. It is safe to say I am more pleased with Wednesday at Children's than I am with Monday.

-Alex

Success At Georges!

Hey guys!

After another tiring but fun day with All Access at Georges Island, I am proud to report that our third crab count day of the summer went great! Conor and I spent about an hour this afternoon looking for crabs on the beach, with help from many enthusiastic visitors of course.

Today we decided to try something a little different. In the past the sample area was always right on the edge of the water; today, we set up our 60 feet long and 10 feet wide crab zone at the top of the beach, closer to where the sand ended. This certainly seems to have paid off. We caught 6 good-sized crabs and found many more baby ones that we thought were too small to count. Two of the crabs were female: one was 1 centimeter wide and the other was 2 centimeters. The four other remaining crabs were all male, measuring 1/2 centimeter, 2 1/2 centimeters, and 2 centimeters wide-two of the male crabs were 2 centimeters wide.

As happy as I am that I found a bunch of crabs today, I'm just as happy that so many kids were involved in the process. As soon as I mentioned looking for crabs, a group of almost 10 kids jumped up and wanted to help me and Conor. One girl in particular sticks out in my mind-at the beginning of our crab hunt, she shrieked every time she saw one scuttling across the sand and flat-out refused to pick any up. Conor and I tried to explain to her that the crabs wouldn't hurt her if she just held them the right way (by pinching the back of their shell and their stomach with two fingers) but she didn't believe us. Still, we continued to encourage her to at least try to hold one, and just before we had to release the crabs, she picked one up!! Not only that, but she calmly walked to the water with Senor Smoothie (as she named it) and placed him back in the water.

So to sum up, today I was a good citizen scientist who collected a lot of data for the STH/STB crab count and I showed a little girl that sometimes things aren't as scary as they appear. Yay!

-Carolyn

Crabs and More Crabs!

Today on All Access we visited Warren Fort on the historical George's Island. The kids today seemed more energetic then usual and went right through the dark tunnel of the lady in black with ease. I was assigned to look after a group of 5 and 6 year olds, who were almost fearless when it came to the dark, wet passages of the fort. Before we got to the fort I organized a race between my kids. They ran with enthusiasm, and were still smiling even if they placed towards the end. Once at the entrance to the tunnel, the kids ran inside, but were restrained by their group councilors. After the bigger groups emptied from the tunnel, it was our turn. I was surprised when most of our kids went through the tunnel with no hesitation. After the tunnel, we took a stroll around the top of the fort, and back to the beach. Once at the beach kids began skipping stones in the water, but soon joined Conor Newman and I in a search for Asian Shore Crabs. ONce we had over turned dozens of rocks the kids had found hundreds, but some refused to hold the as they quivered in their hands. Once the kids got bored of the miniture crabs we went home, with a smile on every face!

-Tim Grogan

PICTURE COMING SOON

Scientific Illustration at Piers Park!

Last week we brought crayons and markers to Piers Park, to give the kids an opportunity to use their creativity but also to really hone their observational skills. We gathered all the critters we caught and added them to our make-shift touch-tank (a big clear Tupperware filled with sea water!), taking turns catching and drawing. Some were impressively detailed works of natural history, others were a bit more imaginative--one girl drew a mermaid in the Boston Harbor (but I know they're not real, she assured me). All in all, the kids were just as excited to catch critters to for a real purpose (to be models!) as they were to document their catches (to take home and show off!). They let me borrow the picture to scan so that I could share them on the blog, and I hope you'll enjoy them as much as I did.

~Emily

"EEEWWWW-what's that piece of goo stuck to the lobster trap?!"

For a moment, I was just as mystified as the campers: the dark, slimy lump attached to the lobster trap looked very little anamone diagrams I've studied. We all examined the mysterious blob, and then I had it! The kids didn't believe me when I told them I thought the that the blob was in fact, a real-live SEA ANEMONE! Contracted becasue it was out of water, and being passed around by squeeling 12-year-olds. We put it in a seperate bucket while we went to pull up the rest of our traps and when we returned, our mysterious blob had unfurrled to reveal itself and confirm my hypothesis! We smiled in disbelief to watch the elegant tentacles waving gracefully in the water. Talk about tranformations...

~Emily

One Goal, Five Assists!!

In my 4 previous weeks of fishing, I had failed to catch a single fish on my own, and only had one assist, back in my first week at Camp Harbor View. This however is no longer the case after we had our most successful day of fishing so far this summer. We started with one being caught by Conor. That first catch started drawing in the kids. When I decided to try my luck, I also caught one, just a few seconds after I placed my bait in the water. By that time, we were surrounded by eager kids looking to try their luck. Satisfied with my one catch, I turned my attention to helping the kids. By the time we reached the end of our most successful day, we had caught an amazing 18 cunners, and I had five assists and one goal (caught one on my own). It was a very exciting day of fishing.

~Cesc

Casting on the Sugar Bowl

Monday afternoon turned out to be a really great time. After a morning at the Children's Museum like we had (which you can read about below), a nice afternoon at Southie wrapped up a perfect day. I was so impressed at how well the kids have gotten at casting this summer. There are surely some future pro anglers in the making out there. We decided to go out to the Sugar Bowl despite the somewhat lengthy walk. The kids have the most room to show off their casting skills out there. The weather was fantastic and everyone had fun. I can't wait to get back out there and hopefully catch a bass!

On the way back from fishing we saw the food chain in action! A seagull was picking apart a crab that it caught for an early dinner. It was a little gross but still really cool to watch up close. I could not have asked for a more exciting Monday. Such a fun day will be hard to top the rest of the week.

Yours truly,

Tom Regan

Fish Fortune at the Boston Children's Museum

Boston Children's Museum Sets a New Record!

Today at the Boston Children's Museum I was joined by a fabulous crew from Save the Harbor, including Conor, Tom, Aruna, and Alex. As we set up for the morning Aruna mentioned that he has not caught a fish this summer! His luck was about to change.

As the kids arrived so did the fish. One after another the Save the Harbor Team assisted almost every child that participated in fishing 101 program reel in a fish. Between the time of 10:00 am and 11:00 am we already had eight fish and one crab in the touch tank. By 12:15 we had tallied around eighteen total fish. You could say it was a very successful morning.

Thank you to all the participants. You did a wonderful job reeling the 'cunners' in and helping us release them at the end. Throughout my four years fishing at Save the Harbor, today was the most successful day in regards to fishing!

WELL DONE,

Jennifer Last

Crab Count Goes to Spectacle

Hi guys,

I wanted to update everyone on our weekly crab count from last week. For those of you who don't know, every Wednesday at STH/STB is crab count day. Each site conducts a quick count of the crabs in their area and reports back on their findings.

The idea behind this project is that everyone is a citizen scientist and can do something to better understand the environment we live in. A "citizen scientist" can be anyone-kids, adults, witty interns such as yours truly, everybody can learn more about Boston Harbor and then share what they find with others. My small contribution so far has been to set up a sample area when All Access arrives to either Georges or Spectacle Island, and then count the number of crabs I find in the "crab zone." I also measure them and note whether they're male or female.

While the kids love looking for crabs with me and the other interns, we had no luck the past week. Neither the kids nor I could find any crabs last Wednesday, which was a bit of a bummer. However, one of the best parts about science experiments is that even when you don't get the answer you're looking for, you ask yourself a bunch of new questions no matter what. So I didn't find any crabs-why? Was the sample are too small (it was 1 1/2 feet by 1 1/2 feet)? Was it because the tide was coming in? Should we try a different part of the beach, maybe a littler further away from the crowds? All this citizen scientist knows is, that over the next two weeks, I'll have a lot more questions to try to answer.

-Carolyn

Sea Glass and Water Fights

Hi guys!

Last week was spent at Spectacle Island and it was as jam-packed as ever. I've been really lucky so far and every time I've gone out to the Harbor Islands the weather's been great (I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the good weather stays for the next two weeks!)

On Tuesday, instead of going up to the top of North Drummlin to fly kites, I stayed at the beach with David. After lunch, he invited me to look for sea glass with him. Since I used to collect sea glass when I was younger and because it seemed like a good way to spend a hot afternoon, I took him up on his offer.

Never in my life have I seen so much sea glass. Growing up near the water, I've been privileged enough to spend all my summers at the beach looking for pretty glass and cool shells. But the sheer amount of sea glass on Spectacle Island surpasses anything else I've seen. White, clear, sky blue, aquamarine, sea foam green, even a ruby red: all these colors could be found just by walking along the water. An added surprise was all the bits of pottery that we found in the sand-this was something I'd never seen before, and I thought it was pretty cool.

As tempting as it was to fill my bag with delightful pieces of sea treasure, I fought the urge and kept in mind that by leaving the sea glass on Spectacle, thousands of people would have the chance to enjoy it as much as I did. After successfully managing not to steal from a national park, David and I met up with Thi and BJ for a quick swim before heading back to the Bank of America Pavilion-I think this picture speaks for itself.

Another fun activity from last week: one boat ride back to Boston, all us interns were feeling a little hot. So David, kind soul that he is, decided to stealthily sneak up behind us and pour a little water on our heads to cool us off. So obviously, we began to pour water on each other and within minutes a full-fledged water war was being waged between BJ and myself on the top deck and Thi and David on the lower deck. The final score? BJ and I: 100, Thi and David: 10.

-Carolyn

Green Boat Discoveries: Arctic Terns in the Boston Harbor!!

After the lunch-hour madness (20+ kids power-walking—“we’re not running!” they assure me—up and down the dock, pulling up lobster traps, testing water quality, measuring and counting crabs, showing each other how to cast fishing lines, asking a million questions a minute!) at Courageous Sailing Center in Charlestown, we’re ready for a slightly calmer (though no less exciting) afternoon. And we’re all in for a treat, because afternoons at Courageous quickly became one of the best parts of my summer (and I a real highlight everyone on the boat). After lunch, the kids split up into teams, known as “steps”: step 2 for beginners, step 3 for more experienced sailors (these kids can sail without a counselor!); step 4 for competitive sailing and racing. Our partnership with the courageous has resulted in an in-depth environmental education component “step” integrated into the step 3 program: “step GREEN,” where we take a small group of campers aboard the “green boat”(no, it’s not literally green;)to explore the ecology of the harbor they spend their days sailing in.

This week, we searched for Arctic Terns – and watched them swooping down to capture herring from the water, then tracked them back to their nesting grounds. The kids were enchanted, eyes-glued to binoculars as we circled the nesting grounds. Once they became eye-witnesses, they were ravenous for information! Here’s a sampling of just a few of the questions we talked about:

How old do they get? Average of 20 years, but up to 30.

How far do they migrate? From the Arctic! Massachusetts is the southern-most end of their range.

Are they really endangered? What does that even mean? This question lead to a pretty sophisticated conservation discussion – we talked about how organisms are designated (as either endangered or threatened) under the Endangered Species Act, and the different kinds of protection that can provide. We compared federal and state-level protection (which is what the Arctic Terns have—they’re listed as a Massachusetts “species of concern”), and talked about local populations—what it means for Arctic terns to be “endangered” in Massachusetts but still plentiful in the arctic.

What will happen to the terns if the ice caps melt? While we’ve made tremendous strides to protect this species nesting grounds, habitat loss in their winter home is raising higher alarm bells—scientists are concerned that temperature changes associated with global warming may be the next big threat confronting this recovering species.

~Emily

You can find more information here.

“You’re not really going to eat him, are you?”

While gathering crabs for my recent culinary experiment, I ran into a paradox: South Boston’s most skilled crab catcher, Julia, was also the most ardent proponent of crab liberation. While tossing a crab trap off the side of the pier, Sean, another Boston Harbor Explorer, casually asked me whether people eat Green Crabs. I replied that I had tried eating one, and was going to cook several more for a potluck I had planned for that evening—the very crabs we were in the process of trapping.

Julia, the redhead pictured grasping her prized catch, was taken aback. Julia’s a quick learner, and in no time at all she was baiting, lowering, and raising a pyramid trap faster than we could instruct her. During the course of the afternoon, she proceeded to catch the largest Green Crab I’ve ever seen—a male whose carapace measured 3.5 inches across. Although she’s an expert crab trapper, Julia holds nothing against the crabs she pulls out of Pleasure Bay.

When Julia found out what lay in store for the crabs we had already captured, she took it upon herself to free our invertebrate prisoners. While Tom, Alex and I were busy with other Explorers, she grabbed the bucket and, stealthily dragging it to the edge of the pier, dumped every crab we caught that day back into the Harbor. Although I was a bit upset at having to make new cooking arrangements for my potluck, I admire Julia’s sympathy for the animals she captured, even if the concern was directed at a biological invader. Julia’s compassion for living things is a sentiment that we need to cultivate in our youth—we can only preserve the Harbor as a natural habitat if we respect the animals that live there.

-Aaron