Save the Harbor/Save the Bay continues to lead the effort to reconnect our region’s citizens with our restored Harbor, the Harbor Islands, and the sea.

We create and strengthen partnerships with local governments and community-based organizations from Revere (to the North of Boston) to Hull (to the South) to catalyze and advance projects that reinvigorate the waterfront.

Our community partnerships include:
Freinds of the Fort Point Channel
The South Bay Harbor Trail Coalition
Revere Beach Partnership
Quincy Beaches and Coastal Commission

Save the Harbor/Save the Bay, The South Bay Harbor Trail Coalition, and the City of Boston are working to plan and build a 3.5 mile-long pedestrian friendly bike trail connecting Lower Roxbury, the South End, Chinatown, the Fort Point Channel and South Boston to the Harbor at Fan Pier and to the Emerald Necklace.

Click here for a map of the Trail

The South Bay Harbor Trail is one of the most important and exciting initiatives in the city connecting our inland neighborhoods to the sea.

We are pleased to report that we continue to advance plans for the Trail's construction. We are seeking $3.5 million in federal funds to construct the Trail.

We have recently secured two grants to help the Coalition plan for the aesthetic design of the Trail. The first grant is for a temporary art installation, which will mark the Trail. The second is for a permanent art installation that will identify the completed Trail.The New England Foundation for the Arts grant will allow us to develop and manage a plan for the construction of a temporary art installation. The Campaign, in partnership with the Coalition, has secured United States Coast Guard water channel markers that will be used to mark the length of the Trail.

The Edward Ingersole Browne Fund awarded a grant to support the Coalition. The Coalition will use the funds to interview and hire a design team. The team and the Coalition will hold a series of mini charrettes in neighborhoods that the Trail will pass through. We will seek input and advice from the community about the art design.

Revere Beach Partnership, a non profit that Save the Harbor/Save the Bay helped to create in 2002, has already raised and leveraged more than $100,000 to restore America’s oldest swimming beach, to create signage on an eco-trail network, develop a Revere Beach Revitalization Plan [1,180 KB] to revitalize the Boulevard of this great city.

The Partnership has accomplished much in the last five years. Download a copy of the powerpoint that highlights the last five years of fun and success on Revere Beach! [1,980 KB]

Our partnership began in 2001 with Revere’s Mayor Tom Ambrosino. This start-up effort has resulted in the creation of a new Revere citizen-based non-profit organization. It’s been a wonderful, productive and successful partnership. Here are a few of the many highlights:

~ Secured resources to fund the development and production of an interpretive signage system on an Eco-trail connecting Rumney Marsh, Belle Isle Marsh and the Saugus River to the Revere Beach Reservation;

~ Helped develop and advance the campaign to designate Revere Beach as a National Historic Landmark. Designation was received and officially announced in October 2003;

~ Delivered innovative programming to bring the public back to the beach;

~ Helped the Partnership move toward sustainability, including secure official 501C3 status and developing a fundraising strategy.

Click here to download a overview of Revere Beach [29 KB]

The Friends of the Fort Point Channel, a new non profit organization that Save the Harbor/Save the Bay helped to create in 2003, is working to make the Fort Point Channel the "next great place" in Boston. The Friends of the Fort Point Channel works with advocates, activists, the private landowners, the Boston Redevelopment Authority and the Children’s Museum. Save the Harbor/Save the Bay chaired an award winning planning partnership that developed – and has permitted – a dramatic plan to create the "next great place in Boston" on the Channel.

The Friends group is responsible for implementing the award-winning plan. The plan calls for canoe and kayak rentals, floating art barges, and innovative programming. The Friends’ work will include developing a public awareness campaign to bring the public back to the Fort Point Channel and build a constituency for continued improvements.

Click here to download a copy of the Fort Point Channel Watersheet Activation Plan. [2,007 KB]

Click here to learn more about the Fort Point Channel

Working with the Quincy Beaches and Coastal Commission (QBCC) we are helping to restore and promote more than 25 miles of the city’s coastline.

We continue to work directly with Quincy’s Mayor Phalen and other elected officials to secure resources for additional investment on the coast. In addition, Save the Harbor/Save the Bay has lead additional public planning meetings and charettes to develop specific plans to create a network of coastal and beach trails to increase public awareness of historic and recreational resources along the coast. We have overseen the design, permitting, and the installation of interpretive signage of the heritage trail in Quincy, and strategies to promote it to the public.