The Friends of the Boston Harbor Islands is a grassroots 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 45 years!
The Friends of the Boston Harbor Islands is an independent organization founded in 1979 that is now affiliated with Boston Harbor Now. |
FBHI Annual Meeting will take place on Deer Island
The FBHI Annual Meeting will be October 20, 2024 in the Historic Pump Station at the MWRA Deer Island Wastewater Treatment Plant from 2:00-4:00pm. There will be social time, a brief business meeting and the election of Board members. The guest speaker will be Cyrus Marion, whose currently teaching "On the Edge of the World: An Archaeological History of the Boston Harbor Islands" for the UMass Boston Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. Light refreshments will be served.
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The MWRA staff will offer elevator tours up to the top of the digesters before the meeting. The tours will begin at noon and go through 1:30.
Registration is required. Your name and everyone in your party attending must be on the registration list when you check in at the MWRA Security Gate. RSVP by Wednesday, October 16th COB. Click here to go to the registration page.
Come early, pack a picnic and explore the perimeter park. The perimeter park has 5 miles of trails. Parking for the perimeter park has a separate parking lot than where the Friends meeting will be held. You may explore the park first and then drive in through the Security Gate to the Historic Pump Station for the meeting. Of course, you may explore the perimeter park after the meeting too.
Registration is required. Your name and everyone in your party attending must be on the registration list when you check in at the MWRA Security Gate. RSVP by Wednesday, October 16th COB. Click here to go to the registration page.
Come early, pack a picnic and explore the perimeter park. The perimeter park has 5 miles of trails. Parking for the perimeter park has a separate parking lot than where the Friends meeting will be held. You may explore the park first and then drive in through the Security Gate to the Historic Pump Station for the meeting. Of course, you may explore the perimeter park after the meeting too.
Public transportation is available via the MBTA Blue Line to Orient Heights. Change to bus #712/713 to Point Shirley which is the last stop. This stop is the entrance to the perimeter public access trail and road to the Security Gate. We will provide a car shuttle from the bus stop to coordinate with the bus departures at 11:40am, 12:20, 1:00 and 1:40pm.
It is approximately 2/3 of a mile walk to the Security Gate and the Historic Pump Station from the bus stop. |
Last 2024 ferry trips to Spectacle island
Ferries to Spectacle Island continue on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays until October 13th. The final day of ferry service is Monday, October 14th. Click here to reserve your tickets. Special $5.00 fare on the last three days of ferry service (Oct. 12th - Oct. 14th). There are also several programs for paying a reduced fare for the ferry including: EBT Card to Culture, local Library (Museum) Passes, MA residents $10.00 discount on Fridays. For information on these opportunities click here.
climate change conference at umass boston
October 25–26th Thinking About Climate Change: Art, Science, and Imagination in the 21st Century Conference is FREE and will be held at UMass Boston. Click here to download the brochure or click here to go to the website.
Free presentation about four 19th Century women's stay on a Boston Harbor IslandOctober 26th at Lowell National Historical Park Visitor Center Theater at 2:00 pm will be a free program with author Stephanie Schorow and FBHI author-volunteers. They will give an illustrated talk about the story of four Lowell women, who in 1891 spent two weeks on Great Brewster Island and kept a journal. The authors research resulted in A Boston Harbor Islands Adventure - the Great Brewster Journal of 1891 that was published by History Press in 2023. The event is sponsored by the Moses Greeley Parker Lecture Series. For more information on the Series click here.
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Annual New Year's Day tripAnnual New Year's Day trip to Cathleen Stone Island formerly known as Thompson Island on January 1, 2025. Trip will be on Mass Bay Lines (Rowes Wharf) from 12:00-4:00 pm. To purchase tickets click here.
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FBHI IN The NewsBetty Reid Soskin, who turned 103 years old in September, graces the cover of the summer edition of Ranger, the magazine of the Association of National Park Rangers, and is the subject of a piece on page 16. She's also featured in an article titled “Songs of Freedom” in the fall issue of National Parks magazine. This piece goes into the upcoming documentary and new musical which shine a light on the amazing life and work of Betty, an activist, famed ranger and musician.
You’ll also find in the same issue of Ranger the article "Chasing History" about the FBHI Great Brewster book project. The article is on pages 14-15. |
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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A Boston Harbor Islands Adventure: The Great Brewster Journal of 1891
The FBHI has published a book that all those who love the Harbor Islands would enjoy. On June 5, 2023, the History Press released 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 |
JOIN - RENEW - DONATE TO THE FRIENDS OF THE BOSTON HARBOR ISLANDS
Use your member benefits to save on your visit to the harbor and harbor islands!
Your 2024 discount codes are on the back of your 2024 membership card.
These discount codes are needed for all online ticket sales. If you are purchasing tickets at the counter or ticket office you must show your 2024 membership card. Renew your Friends membership today to receive the new 2024 discount codes for the various tours. Tickets available both online or at the ticket booth when you show your 2024 FBHI membership card.
These discount codes are needed for all online ticket sales. If you are purchasing tickets at the counter or ticket office you must show your 2024 membership card. Renew your Friends membership today to receive the new 2024 discount codes for the various tours. Tickets available both online or at the ticket booth when you show your 2024 FBHI membership card.
Boston Harbor City Experiences offers a 20% discount on a variety of trips including Harbor Islands, Whale Watch, Salem, Provincetown, Harbor Tours and more.
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Mass Bay Lines (Rowes Wharf) offers a 15% discount on all their tours CLICK HERE to see the daily tours, weekly cruises and holiday events. |
Classic Harbor Lines offers a 15 % discount with your FBHI membership card on all cruises aboard the Schooner Adirondack and Northern Lights yacht. Cruises continue through the Fall and Winter on a more limited schedule.
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Park Lighthouse Tours 10% discount on the Park Lighthouse Tours. Please note: The tours do NOT include getting onto any of the islands nor entering/climbing the lighthouses. For information about the Boston Harbor Lighthouse Tours CLICK HERE including departure point, dates and ticketing.
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volunteer with national parks of bostonYou will find postings/job descriptions for the fall with Stewardship Saturdays along with the Bunker Hill/ Charlestown Navy Yard Visitor Services Assistant and Trail Safety Volunteer for the Freedom Trail/Black Heritage walking tours. All volunteers register through www.volunteers.gov.
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Visit the harbor virtually!
We'll be posting historical and informative information occasionally on our Facebook Page about the harbor & your islands. View our "Zoom Ahoy" series of virtual presentations:
- Girls Night Out on Great Brewster
- The Real Shutter Island, Hospitals and Asylums
- Island Voices
- Videos and Photos from Mass Memories Roadshow
- Digitized home movies from the Paul Nyren collection (nostalgic mid-80's movies!)
- Join us on Facebook! (keep in-mind joining us on Facebook is not "joining the Friends"), memberships are still available. Join us "officially" here.
friends of the Boston hARBOR islands has been affiliated with boston harbor now for a year
You can see the May 2023 announcement of the change by clicking on the image below.
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 2014-2019 as well! Click here to see them!
1969 video of boston hARBOr (restored)
you can vISIT THE islands online year-round with many photos of cathleen stone, calf, graves light station, rainsford and outer brewster islands
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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