Our group of spirited volunteers has worked on behalf of the islands for 44 years! Our non-profit group leads tours, provides visitor service, hosts activities and educational programs.
Visit YOUR Boston Harbor Islands!
The Friends of the Boston Harbor Islands are supported by our Members and in-part by the special project grants from Boston Marine Society. Consider joining or renewing your membership. FBHI Volunteers that are Mass State Employees may be able to donate a day a month via the SERV Program.
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Donate to the Friends of the Boston Harbor IslandsJoin the Friends of the Boston Harbor IslandsA NEW AFFILIATION WITH FRIENDS OF THE BOSTON HARBOR ISLANDS AND BOSTON HARBOR NOWGet Ready For:
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YOU Can help the Friends of the Boston Islands every day with an easily budget-able donation. Donations will be withdrawn from your credit card for a 12 month period. Consider this wonderful and easy option! The Friends are truly a 'grass roots' organization, a donation from you goes a-long-way. Donors that donate using the 'subscription' method become members with all of our membership benefits. For the cost of just a pot or two of coffee, you can make a difference! Thank you.
Your 2023 discount codes are on the back of your 2023 membership card.
These discount codes are needed for all on line ticket sales. If you are purchasing tickets at the counter or ticket office you must show your 2023 membership card. Renew your Friends membership today to receive the new 2023 discount codes for the various tours. Tickets available both online or at the ticket booth when you show your 2023 FBHI membership card.
These discount codes are needed for all on line ticket sales. If you are purchasing tickets at the counter or ticket office you must show your 2023 membership card. Renew your Friends membership today to receive the new 2023 discount codes for the various tours. Tickets available both online or at the ticket booth when you show your 2023 FBHI membership card.
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.
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Classic Harbor Lines offers a 15 % discount on all cruises aboard the Schooner Adirondack and Northern Lights yacht.
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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. |
40th Anniversary Booklet now available online
New Year's Day 2020 Trip to Thompson Island
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!
40th Anniversary & Reunion Cruise - May 5th, 2019
Thank you to Montilio's & a secret donor for your generous assistance and design work providing our Anniversary Cake!
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Link to the quotes (above)
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Link to the Patriot Ledger article about our 40th, by Sue Scheible
Through the years:
Friends and Park Highlights Through The Years
1979: Suzanne Gall Marsh forms the Boston Harbor Islands Volunteer Corps (BHIVC) with others from the Sierra Club and Appalachian Mountain Club to supplement programs of the Boston Harbor Islands State Park staff. The first year is a pilot program with overnight volunteers on Gallops and Bumpkin.
1980: “Year of the Coast” the first annual New Year’s Day trip to Thompson Island begins. The trip has taken place nearly every year since.
1980: The first “Edward Rowe Snow” day is held on Georges Island.
1980-1981: Day volunteer opportunities expand to Georges and Thompson Islands. Overnight volunteers continue.
1980s – through 2000s: Day trips travel to Gallops, Peddocks, Great Brewster, Long, Rainsford Thompson, Little Brewster, Bumpkin and Grape Islands.
1982: The BHI Volunteer Corps incorporates as the Volunteers and Friends of the Boston Harbor Islands Inc. The mission is to provide direct service to the park, public education programs, boat trips and advocacy.
1983: “Harbor Islands Artists” an exhibit by FBHI at UMass Boston’s Arlington Street and Harbor Galleries, as well as, the Boston Children’s Museum during Harborfest.
1983: The Island Sunset Series of evening cruises to the islands commences and continues for 35 years.
1980s and 1990s: Friends create Living History programs for Great Brewster, Bumpkin, Gallops, Lovells, Peddocks, Grape, Little Brewster, Georges and Thompson Islands.
1985: Governor Michael S. Dukakis visits Georges Island with agencies’ staff and volunteers.
1986: FBHI tours to Boston Light on Little Brewster Island established. They ran 6-10 times a year through 1999. The trips are the origins of today’s National Park Service lighthouse tours.
1986: “Boston Harbor Islands State Park Master Plan” by MA Department of Environmental Management is released. Governor Michael S. Dukakis visits the Islands to announce the publication.
1988: FBHI South Shore branch opens in Hewitts Cove, Hingham. Today it is the Friends primary office.
1988: A centennial edition of the“ 1888 Kings Handbook of Boston Harbor” is reprinted by FBHI.
1988-1989: “Save Boston Light” campaign begins after U.S. Coast Guard announces plans to automate the light. Senator Edward Kennedy visits Little Brewster. In December 1989 Federal legislation was signed into law that the Light would be manned in perpetuity.
1990: The Lighthouse Families Reunion on Little Brewster gathers elders whose fathers were keepers at Boston Light.
1991: “Preserving the Boston Harbor Islands” exhibit created and installed by FBHI in the Shawmut Bank HQ windows on the corner of Federal and Milk Streets.
1991: Annual Fall Foliage and Lighthouse Extravaganza Cruise established and operates through 2009.
1992: The Friends co-sponsor “Your Islands in Transition” exhibit and public forum with workshops at Boston Public Library. The focus is on Spectacle, Long, Peddocks and Little Brewster Islands.
1992: “Treasured Islands” summer program developed for the MA Department of Social Services. The program operated through 1995.
1992: Boston Harbor Islands Revegetation Project is created. The “Reveg” program established a native species nursery on Long Island and did a wide-variety of projects on numerous islands through 2007.
1993: Secretary of the Interior, Bruce Babbitt visits Georges Island to announce the beginning of a Special Resource Study of the Islands by the National Park Service. FBHI were active participants in the public outreach and legislative process to create the national park.
1993: Centennial of the Metropolitan Park System. Governor William F.Weld appoints the Green Ribbon Commission to “recommend a plan for its future…”. FBHI representatives participate in many Park advocates meetings. In 1996 the Final Report and Recommendations of the Green Ribbon Commission – “Enhancing the Future of the Metropolitan Park System” was released.
1994: “Boston Harbor Islands: Report of a Special Resource Study” released by the National Park Service North Atlantic Region.
1996: The 34 harbor islands are designated by Congress as a National Park Area under the National Park Service.
1996: Chevron-Times Mirror Magazine “Conservation Award” to FBHI.
1997-1999: “March for Parks” co-sponsored with the National Parks and Conservation Association on Georges and Peddocks Islands.
1997: The Boston Harbor Islands Partnership has its first meeting.
1998: Long Wharf Information Kiosk opens staffed by Park agencies and FBHI volunteers.
1998: The Boston Harbor Islands Advisory Council has its first official meeting after two years of community outreach to select the 28-member Council.
1999: Massachusetts Water Resources Authority begins public tours of the (new) Deer Island Wastewater Treatment Facility. The 2.6 mile perimeter park is dedicated in 2002.
1999-2000: Edward Rowe Snow Memorial Pavilion dedicated on Georges Island.
1999: Tenth annual Halloween on the Harbor at Fort Warren, Georges Island.
2000: Tall Ships viewing on Gallops Island….then Gallops is closed and remains closed today due to trace asbestos in the soil.
2001: Great Brewster re-opens after ten years of being closed due to the dock being wiped out in the “no name” storm. A major cleanup effort is done by the Department of Environmental Management. Public boat service provided during the summer.
2001-2004: “Save Nixes Mate” Preservation Project begins after the U.S. Coast Guard announces plans to replace the deteriorating structure. It is officially designated on the “National Register of Historic Places in March 2004. A major restoration of the structure is commissioned by the Coast Guard, Group Boston.
2002: “Boston Harbor Islands A National Park Area” General Management Plan released after years of public input . Prepared by the Boston Support Office of the Northeast Region, National Park Service for the Boston Harbor Islands Partnership.
2003: The National Park Service presents the first George B. Hartzog, Jr. Award for “Outstanding Volunteers in Parks Program (2002) to FBHI; and the National Association of State Park Directors also recognize FBHI with their “President’s Award”.
2004: Reorganization and merger of Department of Environmental Management and Metropolitan District Commission to form the Department of Conservation and Recreation.
2004: Northern and Southern Lighthouse Cruises begin and run through 2011.
2005: “Save the Brewsters” coalition is formed after an LNG (Liquified Natural Gas) storage facility is proposed for Outer Brewster Island.
2006: Roger G. Kennedy, former director of the National Park Service gives a talk at the Boston Public Library, “ Landscapes and Seascapes: The Wildland/Urban/Wildwater Interface” hosted by the Friends.
2006-2010: A variety of gardening and farming projects are done on Long Island with volunteers and students. FBHI and members of the Native American community plant a “Three Sisters Garden”.
2007: DCR Park Stewards Conference for Friends and Partners of the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation.
2008: Reunion of Great Brewster Islanders recorded for “Island Voices” project.
2009: FBHI 30th anniversary – the Library Legacy program is created. From this year to the present harbor-related books are distributed free of charge around Greater Boston, as well as, exhibits displayed and presentations given by volunteers. An exhibit is created and installed on Georges Island showcasing 30 years of FBHI history. An April celebratory free cruise was held.
2010: A tribute exhibit to the late Edward Rowe Snow of Marshfield, legendary author and storyteller, opens at Fort Warren on Georges Island.
2011: Boston Harbor Islands Pavillion opens on the Rose Kennedy Greenway. Staffed by Park agencies and volunteers. Today it is known as the Park Welcome Center.
2011: Friends co-sponsor the Boston Harbor Islands Mass Memories Road Show with UMass Boston Archives. The public records stories, photographs and videos for a permanent online archive.
2015-2016: “A Lighthouse Family” by Harold Jennings is reprinted. “Kings Handbook of Boston Harbor” is reprinted with an updated Park information section. Both books continue to be distributed free of charge through the FBHI Library Legacy program.
2016: 300th anniversary of the lighting of Boston Light, 100th anniversary of the National Park Service, 30th anniversary MWRA, 20th anniversary of the Boston Harbor Islands becoming part of the National Park system and 10th anniversary of Spectacle Island opening to the public. FBHI co-sponsors with Old South Meetinghouse a fall series: “Beacons of Beantown: 300 Years of Boston Lights”.
2017: Tall Ships return to Boston. FBHI viewing tours onboard MV Columbia Point.
2018: Lovells Island oilhouse project with the Department of Conservation and Recreation is accepted for the DCR Partnership Matching Funds Program. This is an ongoing 40th anniversary legacy project.
2019: Friends celebrate 40th anniversary with a free public cruise on May 5th. A 40th anniversary commemorative booklet is published. A fall series co-sponsored with Old South Meetinghouse and Boston Harbor Now, “Boston Harbor Islands: Resilience and Change is planned for September and October.
1979: Suzanne Gall Marsh forms the Boston Harbor Islands Volunteer Corps (BHIVC) with others from the Sierra Club and Appalachian Mountain Club to supplement programs of the Boston Harbor Islands State Park staff. The first year is a pilot program with overnight volunteers on Gallops and Bumpkin.
1980: “Year of the Coast” the first annual New Year’s Day trip to Thompson Island begins. The trip has taken place nearly every year since.
1980: The first “Edward Rowe Snow” day is held on Georges Island.
1980-1981: Day volunteer opportunities expand to Georges and Thompson Islands. Overnight volunteers continue.
1980s – through 2000s: Day trips travel to Gallops, Peddocks, Great Brewster, Long, Rainsford Thompson, Little Brewster, Bumpkin and Grape Islands.
1982: The BHI Volunteer Corps incorporates as the Volunteers and Friends of the Boston Harbor Islands Inc. The mission is to provide direct service to the park, public education programs, boat trips and advocacy.
1983: “Harbor Islands Artists” an exhibit by FBHI at UMass Boston’s Arlington Street and Harbor Galleries, as well as, the Boston Children’s Museum during Harborfest.
1983: The Island Sunset Series of evening cruises to the islands commences and continues for 35 years.
1980s and 1990s: Friends create Living History programs for Great Brewster, Bumpkin, Gallops, Lovells, Peddocks, Grape, Little Brewster, Georges and Thompson Islands.
1985: Governor Michael S. Dukakis visits Georges Island with agencies’ staff and volunteers.
1986: FBHI tours to Boston Light on Little Brewster Island established. They ran 6-10 times a year through 1999. The trips are the origins of today’s National Park Service lighthouse tours.
1986: “Boston Harbor Islands State Park Master Plan” by MA Department of Environmental Management is released. Governor Michael S. Dukakis visits the Islands to announce the publication.
1988: FBHI South Shore branch opens in Hewitts Cove, Hingham. Today it is the Friends primary office.
1988: A centennial edition of the“ 1888 Kings Handbook of Boston Harbor” is reprinted by FBHI.
1988-1989: “Save Boston Light” campaign begins after U.S. Coast Guard announces plans to automate the light. Senator Edward Kennedy visits Little Brewster. In December 1989 Federal legislation was signed into law that the Light would be manned in perpetuity.
1990: The Lighthouse Families Reunion on Little Brewster gathers elders whose fathers were keepers at Boston Light.
1991: “Preserving the Boston Harbor Islands” exhibit created and installed by FBHI in the Shawmut Bank HQ windows on the corner of Federal and Milk Streets.
1991: Annual Fall Foliage and Lighthouse Extravaganza Cruise established and operates through 2009.
1992: The Friends co-sponsor “Your Islands in Transition” exhibit and public forum with workshops at Boston Public Library. The focus is on Spectacle, Long, Peddocks and Little Brewster Islands.
1992: “Treasured Islands” summer program developed for the MA Department of Social Services. The program operated through 1995.
1992: Boston Harbor Islands Revegetation Project is created. The “Reveg” program established a native species nursery on Long Island and did a wide-variety of projects on numerous islands through 2007.
1993: Secretary of the Interior, Bruce Babbitt visits Georges Island to announce the beginning of a Special Resource Study of the Islands by the National Park Service. FBHI were active participants in the public outreach and legislative process to create the national park.
1993: Centennial of the Metropolitan Park System. Governor William F.Weld appoints the Green Ribbon Commission to “recommend a plan for its future…”. FBHI representatives participate in many Park advocates meetings. In 1996 the Final Report and Recommendations of the Green Ribbon Commission – “Enhancing the Future of the Metropolitan Park System” was released.
1994: “Boston Harbor Islands: Report of a Special Resource Study” released by the National Park Service North Atlantic Region.
1996: The 34 harbor islands are designated by Congress as a National Park Area under the National Park Service.
1996: Chevron-Times Mirror Magazine “Conservation Award” to FBHI.
1997-1999: “March for Parks” co-sponsored with the National Parks and Conservation Association on Georges and Peddocks Islands.
1997: The Boston Harbor Islands Partnership has its first meeting.
1998: Long Wharf Information Kiosk opens staffed by Park agencies and FBHI volunteers.
1998: The Boston Harbor Islands Advisory Council has its first official meeting after two years of community outreach to select the 28-member Council.
1999: Massachusetts Water Resources Authority begins public tours of the (new) Deer Island Wastewater Treatment Facility. The 2.6 mile perimeter park is dedicated in 2002.
1999-2000: Edward Rowe Snow Memorial Pavilion dedicated on Georges Island.
1999: Tenth annual Halloween on the Harbor at Fort Warren, Georges Island.
2000: Tall Ships viewing on Gallops Island….then Gallops is closed and remains closed today due to trace asbestos in the soil.
2001: Great Brewster re-opens after ten years of being closed due to the dock being wiped out in the “no name” storm. A major cleanup effort is done by the Department of Environmental Management. Public boat service provided during the summer.
2001-2004: “Save Nixes Mate” Preservation Project begins after the U.S. Coast Guard announces plans to replace the deteriorating structure. It is officially designated on the “National Register of Historic Places in March 2004. A major restoration of the structure is commissioned by the Coast Guard, Group Boston.
2002: “Boston Harbor Islands A National Park Area” General Management Plan released after years of public input . Prepared by the Boston Support Office of the Northeast Region, National Park Service for the Boston Harbor Islands Partnership.
2003: The National Park Service presents the first George B. Hartzog, Jr. Award for “Outstanding Volunteers in Parks Program (2002) to FBHI; and the National Association of State Park Directors also recognize FBHI with their “President’s Award”.
2004: Reorganization and merger of Department of Environmental Management and Metropolitan District Commission to form the Department of Conservation and Recreation.
2004: Northern and Southern Lighthouse Cruises begin and run through 2011.
2005: “Save the Brewsters” coalition is formed after an LNG (Liquified Natural Gas) storage facility is proposed for Outer Brewster Island.
2006: Roger G. Kennedy, former director of the National Park Service gives a talk at the Boston Public Library, “ Landscapes and Seascapes: The Wildland/Urban/Wildwater Interface” hosted by the Friends.
2006-2010: A variety of gardening and farming projects are done on Long Island with volunteers and students. FBHI and members of the Native American community plant a “Three Sisters Garden”.
2007: DCR Park Stewards Conference for Friends and Partners of the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation.
2008: Reunion of Great Brewster Islanders recorded for “Island Voices” project.
2009: FBHI 30th anniversary – the Library Legacy program is created. From this year to the present harbor-related books are distributed free of charge around Greater Boston, as well as, exhibits displayed and presentations given by volunteers. An exhibit is created and installed on Georges Island showcasing 30 years of FBHI history. An April celebratory free cruise was held.
2010: A tribute exhibit to the late Edward Rowe Snow of Marshfield, legendary author and storyteller, opens at Fort Warren on Georges Island.
2011: Boston Harbor Islands Pavillion opens on the Rose Kennedy Greenway. Staffed by Park agencies and volunteers. Today it is known as the Park Welcome Center.
2011: Friends co-sponsor the Boston Harbor Islands Mass Memories Road Show with UMass Boston Archives. The public records stories, photographs and videos for a permanent online archive.
2015-2016: “A Lighthouse Family” by Harold Jennings is reprinted. “Kings Handbook of Boston Harbor” is reprinted with an updated Park information section. Both books continue to be distributed free of charge through the FBHI Library Legacy program.
2016: 300th anniversary of the lighting of Boston Light, 100th anniversary of the National Park Service, 30th anniversary MWRA, 20th anniversary of the Boston Harbor Islands becoming part of the National Park system and 10th anniversary of Spectacle Island opening to the public. FBHI co-sponsors with Old South Meetinghouse a fall series: “Beacons of Beantown: 300 Years of Boston Lights”.
2017: Tall Ships return to Boston. FBHI viewing tours onboard MV Columbia Point.
2018: Lovells Island oilhouse project with the Department of Conservation and Recreation is accepted for the DCR Partnership Matching Funds Program. This is an ongoing 40th anniversary legacy project.
2019: Friends celebrate 40th anniversary with a free public cruise on May 5th. A 40th anniversary commemorative booklet is published. A fall series co-sponsored with Old South Meetinghouse and Boston Harbor Now, “Boston Harbor Islands: Resilience and Change is planned for September and October.
Boston Globe Article - New Years Day Trip
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1969 Video of Boston Harbor restored
Through the efforts of Suzanne Gall Marsh & the UMass Archives a rare 1969 film showing Boston & many of the Harbor Islands has been restored and is available for viewing - click on any of the images below and prepare to be take back in time! The video is just over 18 minutes long. Enjoy!
Boston Navy Yard/Charlestown
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Spectacle Island
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Deer Island Light
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You can virtually visit the Islands Online Year - Round with many photos of Thompson, Calf, Rainsford, Graves Light Station 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!
VOLUNTEER!
And if you're a State Employee, you may be eligible to make use of SERV Time.
Old Cell Phone?
Support the Friends by donating your old cell phone via Cellphones For My Cause. Cell phones contain heavy metals as well as precious metals and should not be land-filled or just thrown away. Help the environment, while helping the friends. Click on Cellphones For My Cause to learn how!