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The Friends of the Boston Harbor Islands is an all volunteer membership organization whose mission is to inspire stewardship and respect for the islands through educational and interpretive programs. The organization encourages public use of the islands, balanced with the need to protect their fragile ecosystem and historic environment. Our group of spirited volunteers has worked on behalf of islands for 46 years!
The Friends of the Boston Harbor Islands is an independent organization founded in 1979 that is now affiliated with Boston Harbor Now. |
JOIN - RENEW - DONATE TO THE FRIENDS OF THE BOSTON HARBOR ISLANDS
Upcoming Events with national parks of boston
- Science in the Park: Participatory Science – Spectacle Island
June 17 – August 26, 2025, FREE
Science in the Park will offer educational activities and hands-on learning about topics in science, stewardship, nature, and sustainability.
Tuesdays – explore the islands at your own pace and collect data through participatory science
Wednesdays – join a guided nature walk
Fridays – visit the Exploration Station for hands-on activities
- Wellness Wednesday – Spectacle Island
June 18 – August 27, 2025, 11:00 am – 4:30 pm, FREE
Stop by the Wellness Station, where you’ll find hand weights, stretch bands, and other equipment to enhance your outdoor wellness.
Upcoming Volunteer Opportunities
- Stewardship Saturdays, Grape Island
Saturday, July 19 & Saturday July 26, 2025
Spend a day with park stewards and MA Department of Conservation & Recreation for a day of landscape and ecosystem management on scenic Grape Island! Registration is required for this event. See "Day as a Park Steward" for what it's like!
- Art-in-the-Park Host
Now – October 31, 2025
Spend your summer sharing the gift of art with visitors and supporting your public lands by volunteering as an Art-in-the-Park Host on the Boston Harbor Islands! No experience necessary. Materials and trainings for all of the activities will be provided.
- Visitor Services – Multiple Sites
Bunker Hill Monument & Museum/Charlestown Navy Yard Visitor Services Assistant
Faneuil Hall Visitor Services and Events Assistant
In all locations, volunteers will be responsible for answering questions from the public and providing verbal and printed information as needed; providing visitors with clear instructions on how to plan their trip to Boston; informing visitors about programs and events; facilitating programs and events and giving general park orientation.
Visiting the islandsCamping on Peddocks Island runs through October 13th. Book reservations online. Ferry Service to Peddocks Island runs seven days a week ONLY from the Hingham Shipyard through October 13th. Tickets must be purchased online. Walkup tickets are not sold in Hingham.
Georges Island ferry service remains suspended due to ongoing water main repairs. Spectacle and Peddocks Islands' ferry service runs 7 days a week. Visit the Park website for the latest ferry schedules and calendar of free programs and events. |
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The 2025 ferry schedule is available
Ferry service will run May 16 – October 13.
Save the dates
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Saturday, September 6th at 7:00 PM
Sunday, September 7th at 2:00 PM Free. Advance registration suggested (not yet available). 
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FREE LIVE EVENT: Be immersed in the world of the Great Brewster Journal of 1891! Recently published by the FBHI, this beautiful document comes to life on September 6 and 7 with "My Dream is of an Island-Place," a free multimedia presentation that uses music, text, historical context, images and video to bring the adventurous women from Lowell into greater focus. Meet author Stephanie Schorow and members of the creative and research team at this free event in downtown Lowell. For more information and to register, visit greatbrewsterjournal.com
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A Boston Harbor Islands Adventure: The Great Brewster Journal of 1891
FBHI volunteer authors at book launch, June 2023.
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A Boston Harbor Islands Adventure: The Great Brewster Journal of 1891. This book is the result of intense work by FBHI volunteers, led by Stephanie Schorow, author of East of Boston: Notes from the Harbor Islands.
From the back cover: In 1891, four intrepid women from Lowell, Massachusetts, sailed to a remote island in Boston Harbor for a 17-day escape from New England and prim and proper society. Calling themselves the Scribe, the Aristocrat, the Acrobat and the Autocrat, the women stayed in a cottage on Great Brewster Island, reveling in the chance to shed their identities of wife, mother and daughter. Relive their sojourn through their remarkable journal – which is in the collection of Harvard University – filled with observations, illustrations, photography and poetry. Order from History Press here OR GO TO YOUR LOCAL BOOKSTORE. To book an illustrated lecture on this amazing book, email sschorow@comcast.net |
You’ll find the article "Chasing History" about the FBHI book project in the 2024 summer issue of Ranger, the magazine of the Association of National Park Rangers. The article is on pages 14-15.
our history – digitized!
We've been able to have some of our history preserved - our Tidings Newsletters from 1985-1987 have been digitized, and we've just uploaded our eTidings from 2014-2023 as well! Click here to see them!
you can vISIT THE islands online year-round with many photos of cathleen stone, calf, graves light station, rainsford and outer brewster islands
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Can't make it out - or interested in seeing what you might see on one of our trips? Visit the islands online via photos by some of our Friends - Click on the island names below to start your journey!
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A Personal account of visiting three Harbor islands in three days"Offshore Escape" by Dorian Fox is about his visit to Georges, Peddocks and Spectacle Islands. By clicking here you'll open the article on National Parks Conservation Association's website in a new window.
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