Splash! - Fall 2009 - The Newsletter of Save the Harbor/Save the Bay

In This Issue

Welcome to the Fall 2009 Online Edition of Splash!
Save the Harbor/Save the Bay's Newsletter

There is lots of good news about Boston Harbor this year. You can jump right in by clicking one of the links on the right, or browse excerpts from each article below.

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See you on the Harbor!

An Extraordinary Year on Boston Harbor

When skipper Ken Reed and Antonio Bertone, Chief Marketing Officer for Puma North America first asked Save the Harbor/Save the Bay to help them bring the Volvo Ocean Race to Boston, we knew that 2009 was going to be an extraordinary year on Boston Harbor.

During the three week race stop-over at Fan Pier in Boston, Save the Harbor/Save the Bay ran 11free educational and experiential trips for youth from the Boston Public Schools and the Boys and Girls Clubs of Boston.

Over 1,000 youth participated in the program, leaarning about sailing and the sea from actual race crew members in addition to taking part in a presentation about the race, a tour of the race village to view

All Access Boston Harbor

Every summer Save the Harbor / Save the Bay hosts a series of island adventures that we call "All Access Boston Harbor" for deserving youth from every neighborhood in the City of Boston, and from cities and towns across the region.

Thanks to the generosity of our youth program funders and the support of hundreds of individual donors, this year’s All Access Boston Harbor program was a terrific success .

Despite the wet weather, and budget pressures, we ran three free trips a week to Georges and Spectacle Island this summer, and additional free trips during the Volvo Ocean Race Stopover at Fan Pier in the Spring, and the Festival of Tall Ships in early July.

Board Profile: Judith Pederson

In each edition of Splash, Save the Harbor/ Save the Bay profiles a member of our Board of Directors. In this issue we are pleased to feature Board Vice Chair Dr. Judith Pederson, Advisory Leader and Regional Project Coordinator for the MIT Sea Grant College Program.

It isn't easy to get Dr. Judy Pederson to talk about herself. She'd much rather talk about the impacts of introduced sea creatures such as Didemnum vexillum, a small colonial sea squirt about the size of a pencil lead.

Save the Harbor / Save the Bay works closely with more than 175 youth and community partners, including organizationsfrom every neighborhood in the City, from across the region, and from beachfront communities and waterfront neighborhoods from Nahant to Nantasket. In this edition of Splash we focus on one of our favorites, The Friends of Fort Point Channel.

Founded in 2004, the Friends of Fort Point Channel is a non-profit organization committed to making the Fort Point Channel an exciting and welcoming destination for all the people who live, work or visit the Channel, which is rapidly becoming "The next great place" in Boston.

Better Beaches 2009

2009 was a great year for beachgoers, as our Better Beaches program partners hosted 31 free events and programs that attracted hundreds of thousands of residents and visitors to our region's public beaches from Nahant to Nantasket.

This year our Better Beaches Small Grants Program funded and supported 13 different community groups that collectively hosted 31 different programs on 9 public beaches.

The program is made possible by a $25,000 grant from The Boston Foundation, $3,000 from National Grid, $2,500 from Comcast Massachusetts, and in-kind support from the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR).

Exploring Boston Harbor

It is a sunny summer afternoon at Piers Park in East Boston, where a dozen kids are vying for the first glimpse at the bounty brought up from their crab trap.

Meanwhile, another handful of young Harbor Explorers isbusy searchingfor mussels and tunicates under the dock, while others take part in a contest to see who can catch - and identify - the biggest fish.

Teaching young Bostonians to understand and value marine life is at the core of Save the Harbor/Save the Bay's "Boston Harbor Explorers" program, which we run in partnership with the city's

Letter from the President

Despite the wet weather and the economic storm which swept across the nation, 2009 was both a challenging and a remarkable year for Save the Harbor/Save the Bay. It was challenging because the economic situation made it harder than usual to find the funds we need to accomplish our mission. It was remarkable because we were able to put Boston Harbor to work for our City and our region when we needed it the most.

With 16 miles of swimming beaches, 34 Harbor Islands, and a growing network of walking paths, bicycle trails, excursion boats and destination attractions Boston Harbor is a stunning natural resource.