Its Winter Time!

Yuletide greetings to all,

I am reporting from the Save the Harbor/Save the Bay head quarters now. It is true that the frigid windchill induced temperature of 17 degrees prevents us from our usual activities, but there is still much to be done. Preparing newsletters outlining and doing battle with the uncooperative copying machine may seem like a far cry from the fishing of the Youth Program, yet they are essential for the fun times laying ahead. Thanks to the team in the office, kids can look forward to the reopening of the program again in the summer and the continuation of harbor exploring.

-Conor

Better Beaches

Save the Harbor / Save the Bay's “Better Beaches” program grew out of the recommendations made by the Metropolitan Beaches Commission in their 2008 report “Beaches We Can be Proud Of” and was (and still is) made possible by a generous $25,000.00 grant from The Boston Foundation, a similar amount of in-kind support from the Department of Conservation and Recreation, and contributions from our corporate and philanthropic partners.

In 2008 we made grants totaling $28,000 to 11 community groups who in turn organized 27 free events and programs on the region’s public beaches from Nahant to Nantasket. Those funds were partially matched by the local organizations, and by in-kind contributions, for a total leveraged investment of $68,000.00

In the first year we funded activities designed to jumpstart public activities and events on public beaches from Nahant to Nantasket including beachfront concert series, kite festivals, sandcastle competitions, beachside art shows, swimming lessons, family fun nights and reading programs and neighborhood beach parties.
These events and programs have generated new enthusiasm for, and attracted new people to, our region’s public beaches. They have been important successes in other ways as well, helping to strengthen local community organizations and beach friends groups – encouraging them to create new partnerships with local government and area businesses, and strengthening their relationships with the DCR.

In 2009, despite the tough economic climate, we have been able to bring more resources to the table. These include another generous grant of $25,000 from The Boston Foundation, and a similar amount of in-kind support from the DCR. They also include another grant of $3,000 from National Grid, and $2,500 from Comcast Massachusetts to support the program, enabling us to make grants totaling $30,500 this year – up nearly 10% from 2008!

In addition, as they grow stronger, the local groups ability to bring resources to the table has grown as well. This year the local groups have secured more than $57,000 in sponsorships, donations, and in-kind contributions in support of these programs. Together we have invested more than $112,000 in these free events and activities this year, nearly twice what we secured last year!


I hope you will take a few minutes to check out the blog posts about each of this year's events and activities that we supported on the beach in Lynn, Nahant, Revere, Winthrop, East Boston, South Boston, Dorchester, Quincy and Hull.

See you on the Beach!

See You Next Summer!

See you next summer! I apologize for such a belated posting, but I too wanted to thank everyone for such an amazing summer opportunity. The final week of Courageous in Charlestown included visits from Rob and B.J, planting Marigolds on boats (experimenting with potting soil and the soil created at Deere Island), a sailboat visit to Piers Park, Color Wars, and so much more. The Courageous Staff was remarkable and Step Green flourished with the help of Rosemary, Ian, and Amanda.

After the final week at in Charlestown, I was fortunate enough to spend a few days at Piers Park and to work with the East Boston Y.M.C.A. The kids were eager to explore the Harbor in inflatable rafts, and dealt with the heat wave admirably. At the beach we discovered plenty of clams.

I am so grateful to Save the Harbor for giving me this chance to play in Boston Harbor all summer, and I can not even express how bright, exciting, and helpful the Youth Staff was (A special thank you to Janet for putting up with all of the craziness). THANK YOU!

Good Luck!

Laura

Then What Happened?

This summer was amazing. Harbor Explorers has given me great memories, new friendships, and I just found a fishing lure that went through the laundry for the 19^th time. Thank you to everyone who made this a memorable, exciting summer.

The Harbor Explorers team this summer was incredible. I would like to thank you all for your help and guidance. Your dedication and enthusiasm to share the Harbor with the children of Boston was demonstrated every day. Our junior staff was the heart and soul of the Harbor Explorers program. You all did an exceptional job this summer, and I know you will go on to do amazing things. Any crew is only good as its fearless leader, so this post would not be complete without giving a big shout out to my favorite Canadian (just squeaking out Jason Bay), Janet. Thank you for making this program so successful, fun, and exciting. Thank you all. See you on the Harbor.

Peace,

Jason

All Quiet on the Youth Programs Front...

Wow what a summer! It's hard to believe that just 8 weeks ago we had our first staff meeting as 16 strangers sat around the table in the conference room, meeting for the first time. That meeting was filled with nervous laughter and awkward pauses, but two months later our last staff meeting was a very different scene!

Friday was our final day of youth programs here at Save the Harbor. The office was inundated by youth staff, who were busy rinsing, cleaning, fixing, sorting and storing all of our program supplies and equipment. As we chipped away at the day's chores everyone had a chance to recount some of their favorite moments from the summer. To me it really was a great way to wrap the programs - everyone hanging out together being goofy, having spontaneous dance parties in the equipment room, and reminding each other over and over again about why working in the Save the Harbor youth programs is one of the best jobs ever!

I must admit, as someone who has lead youth programs for several years, this year we had one of the best group's of youth program staff I have ever worked with. A genuinely charismatic and fun loving group of people, they really bonded together and ended up with not only some great friendships among our staff, but also with the kids they worked with through our programs.




Our staff, and especially our high school aged junior program assistants, showed a remarkable amount of leadership over the course of the summer. I couldn't think of a better group of young people to not only excite the region's youth about the Harbor environment, but also to act as role models and mentors to the kids we serve.

Whether singing sea chantey's during the Tall Ships Festival, flying kites on Spectacle Island, or fishing and crabbing from the Boston shoreline, our youth staff did an outstanding job bringing excitement, enthusiasm and fun to thousands of kids across the Harbor this summer. Thank you to all of them - it was a pleasure to work with you and you will be sorely missed!

See you on the Harbor,

Janet

End Of The Road :'( *Tears

The Summer is coming to a close. I'm very sad to be leaving Save The Harbor. I made many great friends and learned many things that I never knew. The Harbor has taught me much more than I expected. It taught me how to be a leader, how to work in different environments and how to be a better person. I would like to say, "Thank You" to all the staff at Save The Harbor. Remember God is Love, Rev Run.P.S- I caught my first skate this summer =)

-BJ Clark

Last Day at Save the Harbor Save the Bay

Hey, its Alex and my last blog of the summer. I had a lot of fun this summer hanging out on the harbor. We may not have caught many fish, although we have caught many more fish than previous summers, but we have had a lot of fun at Piers Park, Camp Harbor View, Castle Island, and all of our other sites around our wonderful harbor. Just like some of the kids we worked with, some of the places we have went to were brand new to me and I'm sure that I had just as much, if not more fun than most of the kids. Exploring the rackline, Fort Warren, and the other unique areas of Spectacle and George's Island was a great deal of fun. I can now recite multiple versions of the story of the "Lady in Black" at any given moment, after all of my many trips to my favorite Boston Harbor Island (George's). After this very satisfying and exciting summer it will be strange not coming home every day with some broken line, a hook or two, a few weights, and a lure in my pocket. Finally, there still is plenty of time for all of you to head down to the harbor for some fishing, crabbing, or just relaxing on the beach. If not...

I'll see you there next summer,
Alex Klein

Holy Mackerel

The story of a lifetime.
A normal day at Courageous Sailing Center, as usual, Laura and I pull up a lobster trap, unfortunately empty as it occasionally is. We decided to catch a quick lobster to show the kids, so we threw a frozen, bloody mackerel into the trap. The mackerel, which had been in the water for about a week, was sure to attract a lobster or two, so we thunk at the momentous occasion.

20 minutes later


After rigging up our sails, we realized that the trap had yet to be pulled up, so Laura decided to run over with a few kids to check on it. As I was pulling up the jib, slowly and methodically, really hoping the day would end I heard a shriek from behind me, "Rob get over here look at this! It's alive! How is it alive?" Now, seeing as Laura is generally friendly and having a cool, collected way of dealing with any situation, I was appalled and mildly concerned by her shouting. I jumped off my boat, slipped, almost lost a brand new TopSider to the fighting deep blue, and eventually saw Laura now mobbed by the kids at Courageous, with a living, cavorting, strangely familiar mackerel.

Yes folks, fatty fish can be caught, bloodied up, and frozen for days and still be revived by a cold splash of water. This was something the amazed looks at Courageous learned about 15 minutes after this incredible fish came "back to life".

Most of us stood in awe, watching this immortal fish flapping around in its own Resurrection Tomb. Kids jumping around the dock, screaming "Oh my god! We're gonna be on TV!" and "No! That's not the same fish! That's impossible". But it was possible, that fish did resurrect in it's own way, as we were calmly told by an unsurprised Courageous staff member as word of the miraculous fish hit the upper dock, which, in all our clamour, took mere milliseconds. However, in the wake of our small, dockside stampede, we learned a few things after we tossed the everlasting fish back into the water. First off, as aforementioned, that fatty fish can survive through weeks of being frozen, (unlike humans, specifically Austin Powers for all you fans). We discovered that a fish does not die as it gets caught, and thirdly, that despire our forewarnings, the docks at Courageous can surive a mob of prancing children.

Best Regards,

Rob Benner

What Is Love?

I have found that love is the harbor and the community which surrounds it. I am writing to you on my last day on the job and looking back, I have nothing but fond memories. I am happy that I had the opportunity to take a summer job that gave back to society. I will cherish the times I spent untangling fishing lines for hours at Camp Harbor View, practically running a marathon with children on my back at Eastie, wading into the salt marshes with Quincy kids, climbing over the treacherous rocks at Southie, and gobbling down cookies at Dorchester. Giving the children (our future) a chance to explore the ocean and the wild life, is truly a magnificent thing. I will most certainly miss the kids I have educated and my comrades in the field, the office, and the dance party in the supply closet. I would like to thank everybody for the good times.

Peace out to all, I shall catch see you on the flip side,



Conor Brendan (Trouble) Newman

An Awesome Summer

Hi it's Marissa and sadly today is the last day at work and I am truly going to miss it until next year. I had such an awesome time working with all of the awesome people at Save the Harbor and I loved all of the kids that I worked with as well. I am so sad that this summer is over. I think out of this whole summer and out of the many awesome things that I got to do and the awesome places I got to go I honestly have to say I had the most fun at South Boston.

This has been one of the most awesome summers of my life. I got to work outside and with awesome kids that loved fishing, crabbing, and just made the job worth while. I can't wait for the awesome summer next year. I really enjoyed this summer and its really going to be hard to top it.

Talk again next year and I'll be sure to bring the awesomeness

Marissa

And So It Begins

The reason I title this last blog the same as my first blog ever for Save the Harbor Save the Bay is because the end of one this is always the beginning of new explorations, experiences, knowledge, and friends. Although this may be the end of the Summer Program that I have loved and been a part of for 7 weeks now, it is the beginning of much more. I have made tons of important connections with sailing centers around Boston that I never knew existed. I have seen beaches I didn't think Boston was capable of having and maintaining. I have made friends older and younger that I did not expect to make. I have successfully joined an organization that is doing what I am interested in as well as propelling me farther into the marine biology field. I would like to thank everyone that has been a part of allowing me this incredible opportunity (whether that be directly or indirectly, large or small). I can only hope that the kids I worked with and the staff surrounding me this summer had half as much fun as I did. I thoroughly enjoyed every day and was reminded how lucky I was to be able to hold my position with this organization. For all of you who have read our blog site and kept up to date with what we have been doing, I hope we were able to portray how great a summer we actually had. Please enjoy the rest of what's left of your summer and remember that the Harbor is for everyone to explore.


All the wonders (not only the harbors around here) of the vast, mostly unexplored oceans are waiting to be explained. Explore the unexplored and explain the inexplicable.

Farewell to one of the best summers I will personally ever have.
~Ross

Farewell!!

Thi here again.
This is the last day of the youth program at Save the Harbor/ Save the Bay. Most of the staff is here to say their goodbyes. I had an amazing time this summer. Going on the All Access trips, Camp Harbor View, and Quincy was really great. The Harbor Islands provided me with a rollicking good time. Throughout my journey here as a staff member for this selfless non-profit the joy was constant and ubiquitous. Could my summer have been any better? Could I have guffawed in a more vivacious manner every day with the amazing staff here? All signs point to no.

Today in office cleanup we hung up all the signs various kids have drawn throughout the summer and a plethora of memories came rushing into me, filling me with a sense of joy I had not been witness to in a few months at least. All the shining faces of all the jovial youth who came out to the Bank of America Pavilion and how overjoyed they were to be drawing and learning about the marine life they were about to see; I am rarely so proud of myself. To see my own work fill kids with knowledge an curiousity, I do not think I could ever feel such a gift upon my shoulders. I can't wait to do this again next year!!

Love,
Thi

The Summer Is Fading Away

Hello from Alice, the All Access guru. I am sad to report that this is my last week working with the All Access program as well as the Boston Harbor Explorers program here at Save The Harbor Save The Bay. This was by far the best summer experience I have ever had. When I applied for this job, I had no idea what I was getting into. I want to not only thank Janet, Patty, and Bruce for accepting me for this job, but I also want to thank everyone else on the staff for making this summer stand out. I mainly worked with David Coffin and Ibrahim in the All Access program and the experiences I had this summer are ones I will never forget! I have developed a new understanding and appreciation of our city’s history, environment, and surroundings. I have learned so much about different cultures through our staff, kids, and other counselors I have met on the trips. Some of my favorite memories from this summer include dominating kick-ball at staff day, teaching a girl to skip rocks across the water, watching a 20 year old counselor step on a boat for the first time, flying a kite for the first time, and singing sea shanties with David Coffin while touring the tall ships. My list of memories could go on for pages, but reading them just isn’t the same as experiencing them. If any of this interests you, I urge you to hop on board and see for yourself. I am going to miss everyone and I can’t wait to do it again next year!! Enjoy the rest of your summer!!!

Alice Binns

I went to East Boston Outreach for the first time with Laura and really enjoyed it. The kids were having the time of their life digging for crabs and clams. I was enjoying myself as much as them. I also was located at the East Boston site were it was impossible to stay dry, complements to the campers, but that was something to look forward to after playing games with them in 92 degree weather. Also I was at Camp Harbor View were the heat was on ... The coolest place was under the dock. While trying to stay cool we were looking for crabs and succeeded. We caught over 20 green crabs. Overall the most enjoyable would have to be East Boston Outreach, just the smiles and the excitement on the campers faces. Watching water squirt from the clams that we soon dug up was very fun and kept me on my feet .....

The final week

Hey it's Marissa, and I'm here to talk about all of the fun things that I got to do for this last week at Save the Harbor Save the Bay. This week I got to do so many cool things. Some of them being able to go on all access, going to East Boston, and even the East Boston out reach program. Out of these many things I would have to say the most fun thing was going on All access.
I got to go on the all access trip to Spectacle Island on Wednesday with Jason, Alice, Ibriham, and David. When we got to Spectacle all we really did was swim because it was so hot out that's all that everyone really wanted to do. And I'm sure everyone else had a lot of fun that day.

Talk to you soon Marissa

Heat wave

Yesterday was such a fun day over at Spectacle! What a week for going out to the harbor islands. We had the privilege of escaping Boston’s heat wave where it reached a high of 90 degrees. The beach over at Spectacle was packed full of energized kids who were eager to cool off and jump in the water. We played catch with the football, played in the sand, looked for cool rocks, jumped in the water, and just hung out in the sun! Some of the kids were even able to go on a guided kayak tour of the island. Everyone had a blast. We were sad to leave the island, but it was time to go home, back to the sizzling city. By the end of the day, we were all exhausted. I am going to miss days like these.

Alice Binns

Fair well

Working at Save the Harbor Save the Bay was the best. I got to learn how to communicate with others and learn some history about the harbor. Getting to know new kids and teaching them things that they don’t know is cool and even if I didn’t know the answer I learned it with them. Working with Ross is really fun, he likes making jokes and he love singing, at least that is what I know about him. Working with Jason is like learning new things every day, he is cool. Working with Janet is really fun too, she is a forgiving person and she keeps reminding me what I am here for and what I like to do. She is a fun person. Working with David is a lot of fun. He plays around with everybody and he makes things more interesting. Even though I didn’t get the chance to work with Laura I say she is fun person and I will look forward to working with her in the future. Working with Alice, Thi, Rob, Conor, Ibrahim, Tom, Darius, Alex, Bj, Shanee, Marissa & Basima was interesting and fun and they were all nice people to work with. I would like to thank everyone for making my summer the best one possible. I thank Bruce and Patty for giving me this opportunity to work with everyone.

Senait<3

Spectacular Island

On my last Thursday with the Save the Harbor Save the Bay summer youth programs I was lucky enough to take a trip to spectacle Island. I rode the boat over with Thi, Senait, David, Ibrahim, and Alice. We had some lunch at nice picnic table violently slanted downhill. I watched everyone struggle to sit as they ate their meals. We went to the top of the hill on Spectacle Island and began to set up the new kites, which were actually capable of being flown.

The day flew by and we were taught how to fly kites by a 2 year old...

who flew one of the old ones that during the previous 45 minutes of trying, none of us could get in the air. After a few tangles, hits to the face by kites, and tackles during keep away, we were back to the boat trying to avoid the storm. Docked, unloaded, and ready to head home, the rain commenced.

Soaked, I trudged my way to the office where I currently sit typing to tell you my story of the day as soon as I possibly could.

I hope office chairs dry quickly...

~Ross

Spectacle Island then...RAIN

Hey!!! It's Thi again back from the All Access trip to Spectacle Island. I had a lot of fun flying the new kites with Ibrahim, Alice, Senait, Ross and David Coffin. A little girl and her brother came up to me and Alice while I was trying for 5 or so minutes to get a kite up into the sky. I gave her the string and before I knew it, it was flying so high. Time flew by so quickly that when got back to the beach, we had to leave in 20 minutes. I quickly ran down to the beach and got myself soaking wet with the salty water. David was already in the water and soon Ross and Alice joined us. On the boat going back to the Bank Of America Pavilion, we heard thunder. As I got of the boat, it started to POUR. I shared an umbrella with someone who had come onto the trip with us, as the minutes ticked by, it started to rain harder so I decided to make a run for it back to the SH/SB Office. This is my last time at All Access and I'm really sad and I can't wait until next year!

My last week :(

This week I worked at South Boston and All Access. Even though we didn't have that many kids at South Boston we had fun fishing and crabbing. This picture is of the only sea star we found at South Boston all summer!

At All Access we flew kites and all 5 kites flew high in the air and it was fun. Ross and David played keep away with me and Thi. Even though they were toying with us, we didn’t give up! It was really fun. They were really good at keep away, so we only had about a 1% chance of getting the ball, but it was fun anyway! That's it for now.

Senait <3

Highly Refined Pirates

Pirates!!! Our dock was boarded and raided by Save the Harbor Captain Laura "Rusty" Fawcett and her Courageous crew of swashbuckling pirates. The buccaneers made off with not one but TWO of our underwater cameras unbeknownst to us. But alas the Boston Harbor Explorers did not let the artifacts go without a fight, and the band of raiders paid dearly for their plunder. The pirates made off with their booty, but they certainly did not sail off into the sunset with dry clothing!!

yarr til' next time,

Cap'n Jason

A Long and fun Monday

Today Ross, Rob and I were at East Boston. The kids there were so active and excited. When we first got there we played a game of capture the flag. It was really fun and the kids seemed like they really enjoyed it. After our fun game we went down to the dock to crabbing, on the little rafts, or to just see what we could find around the dock.

The kids really liked being on the rafts. They also liked seeing what they could find around the dock with the dip nets. They mainly found mussels, seaweed, anthropoids, and a whole bunch of other critters. After our fun journey down at the dock the kids wanted to get wet because it was so hot out. So we took all of the kids to the water fountain. They had a lot of fun there getting wet and being able to cool off in the cold water. I also had a lot of fun today.

Hoping for more fun days to come

Marissa

The Luck of the Irish Has Nothing On BJ

So apparently BJ is a fisherman's dream. Whilst working at the Quincy, Dorchester, Camp Harbor View rotation, we have caught one flounder and two skates. BJ has been one of my assistants 2 of the three times we have caught anything, one of the skates he caught himself.

We've been having some great days in Quincy and Dorchester mixing it up with scavenger hunts and races to see who can catch a set amount of minnows, crabs, hermit crabs, etc. with bonus items to add points to your final score. We've also had some intense games of Marine Science "Pictionary" coming down to some heart pounding, guess screaming overtime tie breaking rounds.
Conor and I have recently learned how to do the dance "The Jerk" at Camp Harbor View, but Conor decided to show them a little of the homelands moves.

We have enjoyed some beautiful weather these past few days and today were lucky enough to be at Piers Park with the water fountain in the park, which Rob so thoroughly enjoyed as he frolicked about with the kids in the park. We've continued catching more crabs than one would think possible and are enjoying our last week with the programs.

Enjoy the sun as much as we are!

~Ross

LAST Week Of SH/SB

Hey everyone again! It's Thi, a junior program assistant. This is the last week of programs at Save the Harbor/ Save the Bay. I am very sad that it is ending so soon. I have had so much fun working here this summer. All of the sites have had some really unique kids and awesome ocean life. I have especially enjoyed taking kids out on a cruise to the harbor islands (George's and Spectacle). It was not so bad that Boston dumped all their trash on Spectacle because we were able to get some of our kites up to tremendous heights standing up on top of all that buried garbage.
At times, our kites have rivaled some of the planes taking off out of Logan. We have also had lots of fun on our adventures throughout Fort Warren on George's Island. I also had a lot of fun at Camp Harborview and Quincy. Catching fish was a blast! I don't want this week to end!!!

All the best,

Thi

A Few Visitors!!

This morning was an extremely exciting morning over at the Bank of America Pavilion. Yesterday we baited our lobster trap with a mackerel (a type of fish) and this morning we hauled up the trap and found not 1, but 2 lobsters in the lobster trap. Not only were we able to share the lobsters we caught with the kids, but we were also able to share them with my hometown and Dorchester’s very own City Councilor Maureen Feeney!

It was great she was able to come and show her support. The kids enjoyed her presence. The kids were also enthused about watching the lobsters in the touch tank. One of the lobsters we caught was a decent size and the other was an infant. The kid's curiosity and interest was accompanied by many fun and interesting questions. One of the kids was a lobster "expert", so we let him answer the questions he knew. This was a fun learning experience for everyone. Let's hope we have another catch (or two) tomorrow!! I can't wait to see.

Until then,
Alice Binns

Dorchester Beach Festival

Last Saturday Save the Harbor/Save the Bay was at the Dorchester Beach Festival at Malibu Beach in Dorchester. The festival was a wonderful family event, complete with food, music, and of course fun at the beach. We took the kids down to the shore in waves and caught heaps of hermit crabs and loads of minnows. The event was a huge success. The weather was beautiful and everyone had a great time. The kids and their families had so many activities to choose from, including exploring the harbor, kayaking, sailing, and fishing. Marissa even had her face painted with the SHSB logo.

Jason

Quincy

Hi everyone!
I had a great day on Monday playing the game ''Sharks and minnows'' with Ross and the kids - it was really fun. After playing 2 rounds we went to the water and divided the kids to 5 groups. Each team had 2 kids. They were supposes to look for 10 minnows, 5 crabs, 4 hermit crabs and for extra points mussels. It was quite adventure and every one was really in to it and had fun!!! See you later-

<3 Senait

Fishing 101 on the Fort Point Channel

Yesterday I had a chance to watch new fishers try their hand on the Fort Point Channel! I worked with Save the Harbor this summer on water quality in the Fort Point Channel, and Fishing 101 at the Boston Children's Museum was our culminating event.

I collected water samples over the summer to evaluate the quality of the water in the Channel. The results show that the Channel is clean enough for fishing almost every day! We had a group of summer staffers out on the Channel to help teach families and visitors how to fish and to bring Bostonians back to the water.

Adela and Jasmine joined us from Worcester.

We had visitors from Tyngsboro, Worcester, Revere, Newton, Braintree, and much more. It was a successful day as people from all over Massachusetts came to enjoy the Channel and catch some fish!

Bruce Berman and some of our fishers admired their catch.

We hope to see even more people for Fishing 101 next summer!

-Jaime