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Save the Harbor director outlines Better Beaches grants, summer events across Lynn City beaches
Summary
Chris Mancini, executive director of Save the Harbor Save the Bay, described the Better Beaches Grant program, its funding sources ($290,000 state line item plus about $50,000 raised annually), and a calendar of free events from Lynn to Hull including Gnome Surf, Indigenous Ways of Land and Sea, Bike to the Moon and La Cultura Fest.
Chris Mancini, executive director of Save the Harbor Save the Bay, said the nonprofit’s Better Beaches Grant program will fund dozens of free events this summer at state beaches from Lynn City to Hull.
"We helped clean up Boston Harbor. We now have some of the cleanest urban beaches in the country right here in the greater Boston area," Mancini said, and described the Better Beaches program as an 18-year effort to bring people to the water.
The program, Mancini said, has awarded nearly $2.5 million since 2008 and the grants have leveraged roughly $9 million in additional local investment. He said annual support includes a $290,000 state line item allocated through the governor’s budget and approximately $50,000 raised each March through the JetBlue Shamrock Splash fundraiser.
Mancini walked through the application process, saying the grant round is issued once a year (proposals posted in December–January). Applicants describe the proposed event, expected attendance, location and how the program will connect people to the water; a review committee of the nonprofit’s staff and board, members of the Metropolitan Beaches Commission and representatives from the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) evaluates applications and tries to balance events across 13 beaches in nine communities.
He named Lynn-area events funded this year, including the Lynn Music Festival, a Veterans Beach Party and La Cultura Fest, and previewed several upcoming programs: a community painting event at Red Rock or King’s Beach next week, Friends of Lynn and Nahant Beach weekly music nights starting in July, the Gnome Surf surfing lessons at Nahant (June 20), the Indigenous Ways of Land and Sea program on Nahant Beach (July 20), the Bike to the Moon ride tied to the Northern Strand Trail (Sept. 13) and La Cultura Fest at Lynn Heritage Park (Sept. 19).
Mancini said most programming is free and available to families, and directed listeners to savetheharbor.org and @savetheharbor on social media for the full calendar and application information; host Seth Albaugh added that local listings appear at lynntv.org/events.
The interview closed with Mancini thanking DCR, the state and private supporters for backing the program and encouraging residents to attend free events at public beaches this summer.
