The Boston Harbor Association sponsors a wide range of education programs for school groups, the general public, and TBHA members. TBHA's specially designed programs offer a unique perspective on the Harbor, behind-the-scenes glimpses of port related activities, insights into new waterfront planning and development, and background and information on water quality, the Port of Boston, and the Boston Harbor Islands.

• The Boston Harbor Association's free youth education programs serve as the foundation of TBHA's education activities. Offered throughout the year, these programs present young people with the opportunity for innovative and hands-on learning experiences on topics about Boston Harbor and the Harbor Islands.
   
   TBHA's ongoing programs include:

• Harbor Bound

• Summer Harbor Bound Program

• Harbor Mini-Camp

• Adopt a Class

• HarborWalk Youth Access Project

In 2004, TBHA will celebrate the 11th anniversary of the Harbor Bound Program with a new after-school initiative aimed at local Boys and Girls Clubs.

• TBHA's Luncheon Lecture Series is open to the public and features speakers discussing timely subjects. Recent luncheons have focused on "Boston Harbor Beaches and Water Quality: Is it Safe to Swim in Boston Harbor" and "Waterfront Development: What Does the Future Hold?" The first luncheon event in 2003 will focus on "Boston Harbor Beaches." Luncheons include a box lunch for each participant, and are free to TBHA members, $5 for non-members.
   
• Walking tours of the Boston Waterfront offer a look at new public amenities on Boston's HarborWalk and waterfront. Information on specific Harbor Walk Tours is listed within TBHA's calendar of events.
   
• TBHA's free boat cruises of Boston Harbor provide participants with an exclusive view of the Harbor. Speakers discuss water quality issues as well as existing and proposed land side developments. TBHA Harbor cruises provided free of charge to the public will take participants to Chelsea Creek and the Mystic River, as well as Boston's Inner Harbor.
   
• As part of TBHA's on-going public information effort, The Boston Harbor Association writes quarterly columns for Banker & Tradesman, the weekly publication of the real estate and banking communities, on issues affecting Boston Harbor.
   
• Boston Harbor Curriculum Guide
  Early this year, TBHA published and distributed free of charge a Boston Harbor curriculum guide to Boston-area middle school science teachers. This Guide contains a unique variety of hands-on and creative lessons about Boston Harbor and the Harbor Islands and will link to the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks. During Fall 2004, TBHA will conduct lessons from the Curriculum Guide for middle school classes. For a copy of the Curriculum, please call TBHA at (617) 482-1722.
   
• Rumney Marshes: Area of Environmental Concern
  This pamphlet by the Saugus River Watershed Council was funded in part by the Coastal ACEC Stewardship Grant Program, to provide information about the Rumney Marshes ACEC. The marsh provides valuable habitat and feeding grounds for a wide variety of fish, shellfish, birds, and mammals.
   
• Chelsea Creek Activity Guide
  This bilingual activity guide provides a fun-filled means for youth to learn about Chelsea Creek. Written in English and Spanish, the Guide discusses water dependent uses and the newest Urban Wild located on the Creek in East Boston.
   
• The Boston Harbor Activity Guide 
  Newly revised, this TBHA publication is a useful resource for young people learning about Boston Harbor and the Harbor Islands. The Guide is distributed free of charge to participants in TBHA¹s youth education programs. To obtain a copy, please call The Boston Harbor Association at 617-482-1722.  Come sample what the booklet has to offer!
   
• Chelsea Creek Activity Guide
  Young people and their families and friends will enjoy the Boston Harbor Association's newest publication, the Chelsea Creek Activity Guide. The Guide, which includes puzzles and games, informs youths about Chelsea Creek's history, natural environment, and role in providing the region with vital imports, such as oil and road salt. Printed in both English and Spanish, the Guide will be distributed to youth participants during harbor tours. Special thanks to Eastern Salt Company for underwriting the printing of the Guide. For a free copy, please contact The Boston Harbor Association at 617-482-1722.

To learn more about these offerings or to schedule a trip, classroom visit, or activity, please contact The Boston Harbor Association at (617) 482-1722.

The Boston Harbor Association's (TBHA) "Harbor Bound" education program introduces inner city high school students to environmental and water quality issues in Boston Harbor as well as related employment opportunities. This innovative, free program allows high school students to learn first-hand about Boston Harbor from Harbor professionals.

Each academic year, TBHA educates over 1,200 high school students about the Boston Harbor Project and related career opportunities through our Harbor Bound program. Students from schools such as East Boston High School, Dorchester High School, McKinley Vocational High School, Chelsea High School, South Boston High School, Charlestown High School, Boston Latin Academy, and many others, supplement traditional classroom learning with a Boston Harbor field trip.

Each Harbor Bound trip is preceded by a classroom visit from a Massachusetts Water Resources Authority staff member who explains water quality in Boston Harbor and the process used to treat wastewater. The field trip to Deer Island includes a tour of the Deer Island wastewater treatment plant, hands-on water quality testing for dissolved oxygen, and presentations about environmental and maritime related career opportunities. The program involves a wide variety of speakers who highlight their career experiences at governmental agencies, non-profit organizations, and the private sector. Past speakers have included professionals from Massport, MWRA, Boston Water and Sewer Commission, U.S. Coast Guard, New England Aquarium, Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management, MDC, U.S. EPA, Bosport Docking, Boston Freight Terminals, The Children's Museum, New England Aquarium, local engineering and consulting firms, and Massachusetts Maritime Academy.

The Harbor Bound program, free to schools, has been lauded by teachers as a unique opportunity for students to learn first-hand about the Boston Harbor Project, hear from positive adult role models, and learn about the preparation needed for specific career opportunities in the maritime and environmental fields.

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Special thanks to the following supporters whose generosity enables us to offer the Harbor Bound education program at no cost to students, teachers and schools:

• Boston Harbor Cruises
• Massachusetts Water Resource Authority 

To learn more about becoming involved with TBHA's Harbor Bound Program, please contact The Boston Harbor Association at (617) 482-1722.

In 1997, The Boston Harbor Association expanded its school year Harbor Bound Program to bring inner city middle school age students to the Boston Harbor Islands during the summer. The Summer Harbor Bound program introduces inner city youths to the natural resources and recreational opportunities that Boston Harbor and the Harbor Islands have to offer. These trips broaden youths' understanding of the Boston Harbor Project, the natural resources of the Harbor, and merchant marine issues related to Boston Harbor through experiential, hands-on education.

During Summer 2003, The Boston Harbor Association ran trips to Bumpkin and George's islands. Trips included a discussion of the Boston Harbor Project, an introduction to the diverse marine species living in and around the Harbor, and a discussion about the environmental issues that are affecting the local region. Each trip included a guided tour by state rangers, who described the historical and sociological past of the Island, as well as its natural history.

Some of the many local organizations which participated in the summer programs include: Blue Hills Boys and Girls Club in Dorchester, Eagle Eye Institute in Somerville, Orient Heights Youth on the Rise in East Boston, the Boys and Girls Club of South Boston, Patriot Trails Girl Scouts Council of Boston, Project Life in Roxbury, Hyde Park YMCA, Walter Denny Youth Center in Dorchester, Roxbury Boys and Girls Club, Shelburne Community Center in Roxbury, Mission Pride of Roxbury, Malden YWCA Girls in Action, Chelsea Boys and Girls Clubs, and the YMCA of Greater Boston.

It's not too late to sign up for this summer's Harbor Bound trips to George's Island. Youths will receive a narrated tour of the Harbor Islands, guided tour of Fort Warren, participate in a nature scavenger hunt, and test the quality of Boston Harbor's waters with a dissolved oxygen testing kit.

TBHA teaches young people to respect Boston Harbor and instills a sense of long-term stewardship of the Harbor, the Islands, and local natural resources through a combination of educational and recreational activities. For more information about Harbor Bound, please contact TBHA at (617) 482-1722.

During Summer, 2003, TBHA partnered with community youth groups in Dorchester, East Boston, Roxbury, South Boston, and others in an intensive "Harbor Mini-Camp" program for 6 weeks of hands-on projects, activities, and free field trips around Boston Harbor and the Harbor Islands. TBHA seeks to instill a long-term interest and sense of stewardship for Boston Harbor, its beaches and islands through fun and hands-on activities. "Harbor Mini-Camp" activities include:

• A storm drain stenciling project to discourage the dumping of waste and oils into storm drains 
• Beach cleanups in East Boston, Dorchester, and South Boston 
• A water quality lesson and testing of Harbor waters 
• HarborWalk tours along the Fort Point Channel 
• Visits to Boston Harbor Islands 
• Lessons on compasses, navigation, and nautical charts 
• Visits to the U.S.S. Constitution and Charlestown Navy Yard
• Harbor-themed artwork, games, and journal writing sessions.

Thanks to the following supporters of Summer Harbor Bound and Harbor Mini-Camp:

• Boston Harbor Cruises
• Boston Water and Sewer Commission 
• Massachusetts Bay Lines 
• Massachusetts Department of Environmental Management 
• Massachusetts Water Resources Authority 
• Department of Conservation and Recreation 

To learn more about the Harbor Mini-Camp Program, please contact TBHA at (617) 482-1722.

Since 2000, TBHA has worked closely with South Boston Harbor Academy Charter School in a series of educational activities which bring alive concepts and material in the classroom through "real world" applications. The "Adopt a Class" program is a semester-long Boston Harbor curriculum of classroom lessons, Harbor related activities, and field trips, staffed and arranged by The Boston Harbor Association free of charge.

The curriculum includes: 

• Lessons on water pollution, marine debris, salt marsh ecology, and wastewater treatment at Deer Island
• A visit to Belle Isle Marsh in East Boston 
• A coastal cleanup in South Boston 
• A trip to Bumpkin Island
• Dissolved Oxygen testing in Pleasure Bay, South Boston
• Home water use journals and interviews with family members on water usage
• A "science at sea" excursion of scientific research, including using an otter trawl to collect marine specimens, a gravity corer to take sediment samples, and a series of water quality tests to measure density, salinity, pH, temperature, turbidity, and dissolved oxygen levels aboard the Enviro-Lab III, a teaching and research vessel operated by UMass Boston. 

The Boston Harbor Association   -   374 Congress Street, Suite 609   -   Boston, MA 02210   -   617-482-1722 (P)   -   617-482-9750 (F)   -   mail@tbha.org