All Access Boston Harbor
Save the Harbor / Save the Bay hosts a series of island adventures called 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 Islands this summer, and 20 additional free trips during the Volvo Ocean Race stopover at Fan Pier in the Spring, and the Festival of Tall Ships in early July.
We are proud of our ability to leverage dollars and resources during these particularly challenging economic times, and are delighted to report that as a result of our efforts, more than 7,600 young people from every neighborhood in Boston and from communities including Lynn, Revere, Winthrop, Everett, Chelsea, Quincy, as well as Worcester and Springfield had the opportunity to experience and enjoy Boston Harbor and the Boston Harbor Islands this year - all for free!
All Access Boston Harbor begins dockside at the Bank of America Pavilion, where Save the Harbor's maritime historian David Coffin tells tales and sings songs that bring patriots and pirates from Boston Harbor's colorful past to life. The youth learn and sing sea chanteys, and haul lobster traps before setting sail on a narrated boat cruise to either Georges or Spectacle Island.
On Georges Island the youth have the opportunity to explore Fort Warren, a Civil War-era fort with eerie tunnels, real cannons and a parade ground. The tour includes tales of the infamous “Lady in Black,” a woman who is said to haunt the island. Save the Harbor’s Marine Educators also lead beach walks and scavenger hunts for critters such as Asian Shore Crabs, Green Crabs, and Periwinkles, while teaching the young people about what it takes for these creatures to survive in a tidal habitat.
The Spectacle Island trip was introduced in 2008 and is tremendously popular. On Spectacle Island, youth can participate in traditional seaside recreational activities like swimming, hiking, kite flying and fishing in a spectacular island setting just minutes from downtown. On program days, the skies above Spectacle Island are painted with color as youth fly kites atop the northern drumlin on the island. On the shoreline many groups also take advantage of the swimming beach or hike around the island led by our marine educators. Whether chasing crabs on the shore of Georges Island or floating in the waters off Spectacle Island, youth that participate in All Access Boston Harbor walk away with an experience that will stay with them for a lifetime.
“One of the very best things about growing up here in New England is the opportunity to spend some time every summer at the seashore,” said Save the Harbor President Patricia Foley. “We are proud to share the benefits of Boston Harbor and the Harbor Islands with a new generation of youth, who we hope will become ‘Harbor Stewards’ of the future.”
To learn read more about our participants and youth leaders summer experiences, please click here to visit our youth blog at http://shsbkids.blogspot.com/