North End Family Pride Day!

Today Marissa, Alice, and I attended the North End Family Pride Day! We saw some great singing and dancing, bocce, the Bruins Bear, and even ate. As you can see Alice and I had too much fun at arts & crafts. Most importantly we caught a female rock crab, a female green crab, and a one clawed lobster. It was a wonderful event and I cannot wait for next year.

-Laura

Fishing 101 Begins

On Monday this week, we successfully ran our first session of Fishing 101 at the Boston Children's Museum. We brought some rods, bait, and other fishing gear down from the office to the wharf next to the museum. When we got there we immediately found some excited anglers-to-be. Everyone was excited to catch some fish. Some of the earlier attendants got the first crack at it and within minutes, our first fish was caught. It was a choggie, just like the one we caught the week before. Everyone hanging around was able to get a real close look at it before we threw it back in the water safe and sound. After that, we continued with our fish and caught even more. Throughout the course of the program kids were able to reel in another choggie, and several crabs (by fishing rods and by crab traps). We ended the day on a high note by releasing all of our catches from the day back into the harbor. Fishing 101 is run on Mondays from 11-1 at the Children's Museums. Any kid interested in becoming a master angler should come check it out.

See you there,
Alex

All Access Goes to Spectacle!!

Today our trip on the Virginia C-II took us to Spectacle Island, a place filled with history and fun. Spectacle is the tallest island in the Harbor. This island, once a dump, provides great views of the entire Harbor and the city. I was very lucky to get on this trip!
After a quick lunch with a great waterfront view, the kids really enjoyed climbing to the top of the southern hill and flying kites! It was a small struggle at first to get the kites in the air, but soon we had them flying high. One kite soared up hundreds of feet in the air! I had no idea we would get a kite to fly that high. After that, we were able to cool off in the water at the beach right next to the pier. Overall it was a great day and a nice change of pace for me because I don't get to go on the All Access trips too much. We also had perfect weather today, making the trip even more enjoyable. I hope I can go back soon!

-Tom Regan

CATCHING! Up

Ross here with lots to fill you in on. First of all this past Saturday my brother and I helped Matt and Janet put on a smooth Sound Waves/Aquapalooza. We hung some Save the Harbor Save the Bay banners up all around the boat and had a great time listening to the bands and watching the boaters having a blast!
Secondly I want to say that the first fish after switching sites with Jason was finally caught this Monday at Camp Harbor View. It was a fairly large flounder that was caught on the very tip of its lip. This got all the kids talking and excited throughout the camp.

We've been catching tons of crabs during low tide and putting on lots of sun block since we have finally had a stint of great weather.
The week has gone by very smoothly including a great scavenger hunt competition in Dorchester. We had two teams timed with 16 items to find and take a picture of, draw, or write down.
Finally today we had a smaller crowd of kids at camp harbor view for the fishing so we went out on the boats to fish a little deeper. LOW and behold... we reeled up a good old skate. It seems like these sea worms are doing their job and we're hoping to keep it going in the weeks to come.

With proof of possible success comes ambition and determination

~Ross

The Perfect Summer's Day

Hello, my name is Alice and I work with the All- Access Boston Harbor Program. Yesterday, we were able to take kids from all around Boston to Spectacle Island for the day. Arriving in a fashionable manner via the water taxi was the Nazarro Center. It was great that they were able to arrive by the taxi. Not only was it efficient, but it was also exciting for the kids! After they unloaded at the Bank of America Pavilion, they were greeted by a large lobster in a touch tank! As other groups arrived, the murals began to get colored in and the lobster tank was beginning to draw a crowd. Even the older kids (14-16 year olds) were coloring in the murals. Soon it became a Save the Harbor/Save the Bay masterpiece. The temperature began to rise as we boarded the boat to Spectacle Island. When we got there, we ate lunch and then hiked to the top of the hill, explaining the history of the island as we winded up the drumlin. At the top, there was a nice breeze for the kites and a cooler full of ice cold water for drinking!
After flying kites and playing field games, we trekked back down to the bottom and cooled off by jumping in the water. The temperature topped 89 degrease that day, but the water was the best place to be. On the ride home, the kids from Idiil Learning Center taught us how to do origami and one of the kids made me something very special! I received my very first white origami swan. It doesn't get much better than that!

Until next time,
Alice Binns

All Access Boston Harbor

For the very first time this week I went on the All Access Boston Harbor program. I really enjoyed it. The first day we went to Spectacle Island. On the boat I got to meet some kids from the old days and some kids who went to the same middle school that I did. After getting off the boat we went and had lunch. After everybody had their lunch we went hiking and we got to play with the kites. It was my first time flying a kite but I did okay and my kite was the highest one on the sky. Because we had a lot of kids the kids had to share the kites with a partner, but the kids loved it. After all that most of the kids went to the beach for swimming. See you later!

<3 Senait

SWIMMING =D

Hey everyone again! It's me, Thi, a Junior Program Assistant for SH/SB.
On Monday, I went to Quincy and Camp Harbor View. I had a great time!
At Quincy, I helped the kids learn how to fish (even though we only caught kelp), caught a few feisty crabs, and played a game of Sharks and Minnows.
At Camp Harbor View, I caught more crabs and someone caught a FLOUNDER!! It was the first time I saw someone catch a fish and it was fun!! As a special treat, the people at Camp Harbor View told us that we could swim if we got a life jacket. At first, Ross and I were reluctant to go because we didn't have a swimming suit. But as the day wore on, it got more warmer. So, we just decided to do it. We went down to the dock and where Ross cannonballed into the water. We cooled off and had a really great time swimming. I can't wait to do it again!

The Origin of the Sea Star

Ahoy! This morn' I was discussing with me matey Bill the ways of the sea star. Despite being more commonly known as "starfish", this star-shaped creature is far from a fish. The sea star is a member of the Phylum Echinodermata - and are not fish - they are invertebrates, meaning they have no backbone (and a few other characteristics that we won't get into here).

At Piers Park we had three sea stars that captivated the minds of even the most stubborn of our youth. One child mistakenly ripped off an appendage but to her surprise she learned that the appendage will eventually grow back - as sea stars have the ability to regenerate limbs!  As this miracle of the sea enamored the luminous eyes of our youth, my friend BJ took it upon himself, and all the other folks around him to educate the masses on what a sea star is, which is not a fish.

The sea star is truly an infatuating being, it dwells on the ocean floor, and although many think they are motionless, they actually can be fairly active. To eat a clam or a muscle, many sea stars turn their stomach inside-out, digesting the food outside of the body, then pulling the stomach back in.

If you would like to learn more about this wondrous creature of the deep, the sea star, or any of its close relatives, I would implore you to view the "marine life" section in your local library.

Best Regards Folks,

Rob - with "wisdomic" oversight by BJ Clark

The Things We've Found So Far

Hi there, this is Senait, I have been working at Quincy and Camp Harbor View for the last week.
At Quincy so far we've caught crabs, hermit crabs, minnows, shrimp, mussels ...etc. As for Camp Harbor View we've been fishing and the kids have been thoroughly enjoying it, sometimes when it's low tide we look for crabs. After they find them we ask them questions such as: whether it's girl or boy or what type of crab it is.

Fun in the Sun at South Boston

This is Marissa and I am coming from the office to tell you how awesome last week was at South Boston even though it was raining on Friday. Well anyways, last week I worked with BJ, Jason, and Darius. We started by going fishing and crab hunting along the beach. Then we took the kids down to the dock. The dock was not all that of a success for the good reason that all the rods kept on getting caught in the fence. But instead of the fishing being the success, the crabbing was. We ended up catching about maybe five crabs using the crab traps over the dock.
Later that week we went back to the bridge and tried crabbing and fishing again. Still we caught no fish but instead we went down to the shore and went crab hunting. We were very successful with that by the way. We had to have caught at least 50 crabs along the shore. It was so much fun. I think the kids really enjoyed it as well. Well that is what we did last week and I'll be back soon to fill you in on some more fun at South Boston.

Marissa

Riddle Me Fish

Keeping an eye on the weather today, we managed to put together a full day of activities at Quincy and Camp Harbor View. I started the day at Quincy catching tons of minnows and hanging out with the kids on the dock teaching them how to fish and be patient for the schools of minnows to come back after my devastatingly keen hand eye coordination mixed with deadly accuracy and speed to match a moderately fast gazelle.

I zipped over to North Quincy station to pick up Shenee for some Camp Harbor View Fishing club. We had one kid catch a fish that jumped off the line as he was pulling it up to the dock and few instances of some really nice sea weed gracing us with its presence by being pulled up on some hooks. We did however find tons of crabs down on the shoreline while the tide was low and had some kids hold a crab for the first time ever. All in all a good friday to close out the FOURTH week of the summer programs!

Have a great weekend!

Ross

A Tunnel Through Time

     Today we managed to catch some good weather in the morning, and went to George's Island.  After hearing the story of the "Lady in Black," everyone was anxious to get in the dark tunnel.  Right after lunch we walked down to the fort and right into the tunnel.  A few of us were a bit timid at first, but in the end we almost all went through the tunnel and back.  A few brave souls even claimed to see the Lady herself.  After that all of the tunnel adventurers decided to come up with Bruce and me on top of the fort.  We explored all of the watchtowers and marveled at the only cannon left up on top of the fort.  Unfortunately, while we were up on the roof, the rain began to fall and we were forced to hide out in one of the watchtowers for a couple minutes.  However, while in the tower, we all had a great view of the city and the other harbor islands.  

On the way back from the island the poor weather continued but it was not at all bad.  As a result of the bad weather, the boat began to rock and everyone on the top deck, along with myself, had a lot of fun rocking back and forth on the harbor before we got back to the Bank of America Pavillion.   

See you on the harbor,

Alex Klein

Joviality in the Sunlight

Hey my name is Darius. This is my second year with Save the Harbor/Save the Bay. So far I've been working at Dorchester, Piers Park, Camp Harbor View. It's been great working at all these places helping the kids fish, catch crabs and find out how they tangle the lines up. The kids in Camp Harbor View managed to catch a striped bass over in Dorchester. They go sailing a lot. The Piers Park kids are all way active. At All Access kids go to Georges Island and Spectacle Island. Everything has been going swimmingly so far and this has been a thoroughly enjoyable summer season.

- Darius

All Access Boston

Hey everyone! It's Thi from Save the Harbor/ Save the Bay.

This morning started out great, the sun was shining, the kids coloring the Northern Quahog, kelp, and green crabs. We all went inside the Bank Of America Pavilion and David told everyone what to expect and he also told the story of the woman in black. The kids hung onto his every word... then it started to rain. It was going to be light rain (it was already pretty hard) for the next half hour, then it was going to pour. Everyone stayed inside the pavilion and the Seekers decided to put on a performance for us and it was fantastic! After all the dances, we played Shipwreck. At the end, it was a girl from the Seekers who won. It was really funny watching all the kids do the exercises, like "Time for grub", "Shipwreck!", "Stern!", "Man overboard!"and many more. It was really fun and I can't wait to do it again! I'll update this post with pictures later.

A Site To See

Hey guys, Ross here.
So I have recently swapped sites with Jay (another Save the Harbor Save the Bay Senior Marine Educator) and I want to fill you in on the transition. Apart from being directionally challenged and never being able to find my way anywhere, I've actually been doing alright so far... knock on wood. At Quincy we've been catching minnows, crabs, hermit crabs and shrimp as well as venturing out to the marshy areas to get mussels for crab bait. We just started our activities at Camp Harbor View today, which was slightly hectic and yet fun because the kids were so happy to be fishing. It was many of the campers first times fishing so the interest was high and learning amplifier was cranked to 11. Just thought I'd post a couple pictures to let you see how we're doing.

We'll be in touch,
Ross

Escaping the Humid City

Today was another day at George's Island, but each visit brings new and exciting events. We got to spend today with two big groups: Piers Park from East Boston and Red Oak After School Program from Chinatown. After boarding Red Oak, we voyaged over to East Boston to pick up our Piers Park group. Then we were on our way, leaving the sweltering, humid city behind. The breeze swept the water and created the perfect summer temperature on the boat. We got to the island and groups parted ways. After lunch, you could see some kids running through the dark tunnels of the fort, some playing field games, and others climbing rocks along the shore. On the back side of the island, we found old lobster traps crushed between the rocks most likely from hurricanes, old washed up buoys, and other obscure objects. Time flew by, and not before long, it was time to board the boat back to reality. The harbor islands feel like a whole different planet when you are there, but they are only a short boat ride away from the city. I wish everyone has the chance to experience and enjoy the Harbor Islands!!

Alice

The Strange and Wondrous Carcinus Maenas

Afternoon readers, Today was this young crabbers first day over with the energetic youth in Dorchester, and a helluva day to catch some crabs, Green Crabs specifically. Within the span of about 30 minutes the kids down at Dorchester caught an approximated 13-15 of these invasive beings, known as one the 100 most invasive species on our planet. Many of the kids were astounded by this abundance of green, asking many question to which I did not know the answer, so here's some information for all of you who are in the same boat as me:

First off, this is your average Green Crab:

The official name for the Green Crab is Carcinus maenas. It is referred to by different names all over the world. Indigenous to the British Isles, the Green Crab has successfully been prolific throughout the North American West and East coastlines, part of the Southeastern South American Coastline, and parts of both the southern African and Australian coastline as well. Along with these areas the crab has invaded, it is predicted to soon invade and dominate on many other shorelines across the globe. The Carcinus maenas has been known not only to be green, but brown, gray and red also, with the red crabs being known as the most aggressive. The species' invasiveness has become a problem in many areas, and great efforts are being put into action to cease the Carcinus maenas problem. One example of this, according to Wikipedia: In 1995, Edgartown, Mass put a bounty on the Carcinus maenas, resulting in 10 tons of collected crab. If you want to learn more about the Carcinus maenas I recommend you check out your local library.

Peace & Love, Rob Benner

Just a Day...

Hi, my name is Basima and I work as a Junior Marine Educator with Save the Harbor Save the Bay. It's true you learn something new everyday. So far I've been having the time of my life in all the sites at: Quincy, Dorchester, South Boston, East Boston, Piers Park and Camp Harbor View . The campers at Piers Park - which is my current location - are filled with enthusiasm and are always ready to have a good time . We've been enjoying our summer by playing games, going fishing and participating in hands on activities with the marine life we've worked so hard to catch. I'm new to the All Access trips but really looking forward to it! I've heard nothing but good news and today I'll get to enjoy a beautiful summer day doing what I love to do; working with kids who like to learn about marine life and have fun on the waterfront.

~Basima

Our View from the Traps

Hi Everyone!

Since I am always talking about our stellar catches- I thought it would be helpful to back up my claims with pictures. Here are pictures of sea stars and a lobster. I also included a short sea star film that one of our Courageous sailors took!

-Laura

A Montage, a Crabbing Montage!!

The kids at Camp Harbor View LOVE catching crabs using pyramid crab traps and by turning over rocks on the shore. We usually catch Red Rock Crabs off the pier with the crab traps and catch dozens of Asian Shore Crabs along the shore.

--Jason

Quirkiness At Quincy

Well everybody, I am reporting to you after a fun and exciting day at our Quincy site in Black's Creek. We started off the day getting to know our campers through a series of fun games such as fish, shark, and algae. For fish, shark and algae, in the spirit of the more famous rocks/paper/scissors shoot game, each of the three choices wins against one but loses to another. The breakdown is that the fish eats the algae, shark eats the fish, and the algae cleverly deters the motions of the shark. The campers are divided into two teams and call out what creature they have selected. If you have indeed beat the other sides' creature with your own, you rush over to tag them before they reach base. If you tag them, they join up with your crew. We went back and forth for ages, just having fun and trying to develop strategies. When it appeared that no side could gain the upper hand, one team yelled "fishermen!" with a chorus of laughter. Thus, the game ended on a good note because the kids were clever enough to know that fishermen trumps everything else.


Catch you on the flip side,


Conor B. Newman

Monday Funday

Today we had a visitor at Courageous! Tommy (a fellow Marine Educator) came to explore with us on the Green Boat, and to see the wonders of our lobster traps. While on the boat we were able to view the cormorants and terns that have nested in East Boston, as well as observe the various types of gulls that follow the lobster boats. We also got some fishing done from the stern of the boat.

While on the dock, Tommy pulled up five hefty sea stars from one of the traps (which contained the remains of the carp found at Courageous last week). What I left out of my previous post is that carp are freshwater creatures. This fish most likely came in from the Charles River with all sorts of other gross things as a result of all the heavy rains that this summer has brought. At least we saw the sun today! I hope everyone enjoyed their Monday as much as I did.

-Laura

Monday Funday/ Carp Update

Today we had a visitor at Courageous! Tommy (a fellow Marine Educator) came to explore with us on the Green Boat, and to see the wonders of our lobster traps. While on the boat we were able to view the cormorants and terns that have nested in East Boston, as well as observe the various types of gulls that follow the lobster boats. We also got some fishing done from the stern of the boat.

While on the dock, Tommy pulled up five hefty sea stars from one of the traps (which contained the remains of the carp found at Courageous last week). What I left out of my previous post is that carp are freshwater creatures. This fish most likely came in from the Charles River with all sorts of other gross things as a result of all the heavy rains that this summer has brought. At least we saw the sun today! I hope everyone enjoyed their Monday as much as I did.

-Laura

Chondrichthyes conundrum

Hello again! This is Janet coming to you live from the Save the Harbor main offices on the Boston Fish Pier. This morning we had our weekly program staff meetings, where we gather all 17 of our summer program staff members and some Dunkin Donuts "Munchkins" in one spot to talk about last week's explorations and next week's adventures. As we went around the table we found ourselves discussing once again the skate that was caught a few weeks back at Camp Harbor View. Skates are of particular interest to me because they belong to my favorite class of fish (and also a great hangman word), Chondrichthyes!


As you might know scientists divide all known living things into groups based on certain characteristics (this is called classification). You could try the same thing with a group of friends by choosing a characteristic - for example the type of shoes people are wearing - and then divide them into groups based on that characteristic, such as those with flip flops, those with sneakers, and those with everything else!

The basic idea behind classification is that creatures who belong to the same group share common characteristics and are related to each other. So fish in the class Chondrichthyes are similar because they all are jawed fish with cartilage skeletons (plus some other specifics related to their physiology but we won't get into that here). Cartilage is the same material found in human ears and noses - a very flexible but strong connective tissue. In fish from the class Chonrichthyes, such as skates, rays, and sharks, cartilage makes up the entire skeleton - so there are no bones!!




Because these creatures live in the water they can still grow to pretty huge lengths (whale sharks - which are the largest fish in the ocean, grow up to 45 feet long) even though they don't have bones. If they were on land, the creatures would need to be much much smaller, as they would not be able to support very much body weight with just a cartilage skeleton!

More fun facts soon!!!

Best fishes,

Janet

Skate Not Stingray

About 2 weeks ago at Camp Harbor View a group of campers, Jason, Conor, Basima and myself caught a skate! It was big and looked very much like a stingray, but it wasn't.

There are differences between skates and stingrays that not too many people notice. The first difference is the skate's tail - it never has a large spine or a "stinger." Another difference is the fact that skates don't have venomous barbs like those of a stingray, and lastly, skates tend to live in marine habitats.

-BJ Clark