Writing Contest Winners 2017-2018
Honorable Mention, Grades 3-5
Kendree Chen
Grade 5, Belmont Day School, Belmont
Debbie Grossman, Teacher
A Special Report from Boston Harbor Day
Hey, listeners, it's your all-time favorite reporter, Tappy Turtle! Today I am reporting from the Boston Harbor, where the animals are celebrating the Boston Harbor Day. Look at all the festivities, games, and shows: teenage dolphins are playing "Pin the Tail on the Dolphin," while "Whack-a-Lobster" seems to be a favorite for the kiddies. "3D Barnacle Box," "Flounder Rides," "Squirt-a-Jellyfish," "Whale Carousel," "Porpoise Slides," "Hook-a-Mussel," and "Crabby Swing" are also packed with young animals having a blast. Of course, there is always my favorite-food! Delicious seagrass burgers, plankton chowder, seaweed pizza, and lemonade and seagrass juice ... Hey! Is that my friend Quabbin Turtle at the juice stand?
TAPPY TURTLE: Hi, Quabbin, it's great to see you!
QUABBIN TURTLE: Hi, Tappy, welcome to the Boston Harbor Day celebration! Want some seagrass juice?
TAPPY TURTLE: Of course! Mmmm ... nothing beats a sip of delicious, fresh seagrass juice! Hey, you've lived in the harbor for quite a while, so can you explain Boston Harbor Day to our listeners?
QUABBIN TURTLE: Boston Harbor Day celebrates the clean-up of the Boston Harbor and the restoration of wildlife to its waters and its islands. Once upon a time, Boston Harbor was known as the "dirtiest harbor in America." The harbor was literally the dumping ground for human and industrial waste. But luckily, after years of hard work and a lot of money, the water is sparkling clear and blue again!
TAPPY TURTLE: Yeah, it went from a harbor nobody wanted to be near, to a harbor where animals flourish and people-adults and children---can swim, paddle and sail in. Speaking of children, over by the whack-a-lobster station are Island Flounder and her little brother, Harbor Flounder. Looks like they're having fun. Let's go and check them out.
TAPPY TURTLE: Hello little flounders, I am Tappy Turtle from the Turtle Channel. Are you enjoying the Boston Harbor Day?
HARBOR FLOUNDER: Of course! We're having so much fun whacking the lobsters! Boston Harbor Day is my favorite holiday ever!
ISLAND FLOUNDER: You said that about Thanksgiving, Halloween, Christmas Eve, New Year's Day, your birthday, and my birthday, and ....
HARBOR FLOUNDER: Well, today my favorite holiday is Boston Harbor Day!
ISLAND FLOUNDER: (Rolling her eyes) But it is hard to believe that the Harbor used to be too dirty to do anything in. Grandma Flounder told us that Grandpop and Auntie both got liver disease from living in the dirty water, and many others developed skin lesions, tumors, and fin rot from the litter-filled sand on the seafloor.
TAPPY TURTLE: And other animal such as mussels got sick from lead and other toxic matter that were collecting inside their organs.
HARBOR FLOUNDER: Muscles? How do muscles get sick? I thought they were part of your body!
ISLAND FLOUNDER: M-U-S-S-E-L-S, the animals inside shells, silly, not muscles! HARBOR FLOUNDER: Ohhh ....
ISLAND FLOUNDER: (Shaking her head) Ugh, little brothers ...
HARBOR FLOUNDER: Well, I'm glad the waste and trash are all gone, the water is clean again and animals are no longer getting sick! The yucky algae are being replaced with rich sea grass, which is soooo yummy! And now we can play and have fun without worries!
ISLAND FLOUNDER: And mercury levels in flounder, along with other animals, are much, much lower now!
HARBOR FLOUNDER: But…doesn't it mean that humans will start eating seafood more? Like-eating us more?
ISLAND FLOUNDER: Yes, and that's why you should listen to Mama and STOP getting too close to those fishing boats!
TAPPY TURTLE: Umm ... guys, I think we're getting a little off track here. Let's talk about how the clean harbor has benefited others.
ISLAND FLOUNDER: Well, the beaches are clean and safe now, so humans are coming often to the beaches to enjoy the sunshine and the ocean waves.
HARBOR FLOUNDER: Yes! I love human watching! They look so funny pretending to be fish, wearing those weird bathing suits and goggles!
ISLAND FLOUNDER: They also have kayaking events and boating races in the harbor every year now.
HARBOR FLOUNDER: What's "kyacking"? It sounds tasty! Is it like teriyaki?
ISLAND FLOUNDER: K-A-Y-A-K-I-N-G! Boat racing!
HARBOR FLOUNDER: Ohhh ....
TAPPY TURTLE: Right ... urn, how about the benefits of a clean harbor to other animals?
HARBOR FLOUNDER: Sure! My friend Peanut Tern-
ISLAND FLOUNDER: You mean my friend Peanut Tern-
HARBOR FLOUNDER: Yeah, whatever. Anyways, Peanut lives on one of the harbor islands. He said that the islands used to be the worst places to live. They were so trashy that the seagulls wouldn't go near them. And seagulls love trash! Now that the harbor has been cleaned, the islands are beautiful again.
ISLAND FLOUNDER: Nowadays, Peanut has many new friends-more than 200 bird species including gulls, terns, herons, ducks, geese, hawks, plovers, sandpipers, doves, owls, woodpeckers, and perching birds now live by the Boston Harbor and on its islands.
HARBOR FLOUNDER: So that's why he doesn't stop by and play with us much anymore ....
ISLAND FLOUNDER: And lobster, crabs, and clams live happily in the underwater parts of the islands, mussels and barnacles thrive in the intertidal zones, while jellyfish flourish in the waters nearby. Peanut says you can see them in tide pools all over the place. And porpoises and dolphins are also returning to the harbor!
HARBOR FLOUNDER: And the seaweed in the harbor is growing more diverse, so we can have as much seaweed pizza as we want! Speaking of which, I smell delicious fresh-out-of-oven seaweed pizza from the food stand ... I MUST run now and grab some! Bye Mr. Tappy Turtle!
ISLAND FLOUNDER: (Hurrying after Harbor Flounder) Wait for me! Mama said we have to stay together.
Well, listeners, hope the little flounders helped you understand the great benefits we are all enjoying from this beautiful clean Boston Harbor. Mmmm ... that seaweed pizza does smell delicious! I think I will head over and grab a piece as well. So, until next time, enjoy this pristine harbor!
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