LYNN — Three organizations will use $11,000 to improve the experience for beachgoers at King’s Beach and Lynn Beach, thanks to grants from Save the Harbor/Save the Bay announced this weekend.
Save the Harbor/Save the Bay announced $200,000 in grants Saturday through its Safer & Better Beaches Program. The money will go to 39 organizations to improve public beaches in Massachusetts, including three in Lynn.
Friends of Lynn and Nahant Beach will receive $7,500, Girls Inc. of Lynn is getting $2,500, and Friends of Heritage State Park will receive $1,000.
Bruce Berman, director of strategy and communications for Save the Harbor/Save the Bay, said the Safer & Better Beaches Program is a direct response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Healthy green and blue spaces are critically important, especially now,” Berman said. “And they will be especially important next year, when we’re either wrestling with the aftermath of this crisis, or the continuing of this crisis.”
For Friends of Lynn and Nahant Beach, the money is going toward signage on social distancing and COVID-19, as well as future concerts from the Friends of Lynn and Nahant Beach, which canceled its 2020 series due to the pandemic. For Girls Inc., the money will fund beach cleaning and stewardship projects, and for Friends of Heritage State Park, the money will go toward a future World Music Festival, which normally happens annually but was canceled this year, also due to COVID-19.
“We’ve always been amazed at how much local groups can do with just a little bit of money,” Berman said.
“This is good for Lynn. It’s particularly important for low-income residents who don’t have a lot of options when it comes to recreation,” he said.
Save the Harbor/Save the Bay is a nonprofit that advocates for the restoration and improvement of the marine environments of Boston Harbor and Massachusetts public beaches, including by cleaning the water, eliminating sewage overflows and storm water discharges, and Managing the Metropolitan Beaches Commission, co-chaired by Sen. Brendan Crighton (D-Lynn), for the Massachusetts Legislature. The newest of its programs is the Safer & Better Beaches Program, which looks to improve the safety and experience at public beaches following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Berman said the COVID-19 pandemic has prevented Save the Harbor/Save the Bay from holding some of its usual events, such as an in-person grant award ceremony — this year’s was done virtually. More importantly, residents haven’t been able to enjoy as much time at the beach this year, and they are likely confronted with rules on social distancing and mask-wearing now that beaches have reopened.
From an operational standpoint, Save the Harbor/Save the Bay partners with state agencies, such as the Department of Conservation and Recreation, and holds fundraisers — including each March, when participants run through frigid water to raise money for the organization — to raise money for improving beaches from Nahant to Nantasket on the South Shore.
“God, is it cold in March when we jump in that water and get this started,” Berman said. “But you get a warm feeling when it’s summer and see what these groups do.”
