Season of Creation: Learning about environmental stewardship

By Tanya Connor
The Catholic Free Press

FITCHBURG – A “huge” lesson in caring for creation was brought to St. Bernard Elementary School last Friday.

The lesson came through – and inside – a 65-foot inflatable model of Ladder, a fin whale. Fin whales, an endangered species, are the second largest animal, after blue whales.

Named for a scar on his body made by a boat that hit him, Ladder became a favorite of employees and volunteers working with the New Hampshire-based non-profit Blue Ocean Society for Marine Conservation, according to Niki Sullivan, education coordinator, one of three Society representatives who visited St. Bernard’s.

“It started with whale research [in the mid-1990s] and then it evolved” to include protecting whales and cleaning up beaches, she said of the Society. Based in Portsmouth, it does much of the research out of Rye and has a mini aquarium – the Blue Ocean Discovery Center in Hampton.

“Our main goal is to evoke environmental stewardship ... and inspire kids to want to take care of the ocean, no matter how far away from the ocean they are,” she said.

Partnering with Granite State Whale Watch in Rye, Blue Ocean staff members lead whale watches from April through October, when fin whales and other whales are in the Gulf of Maine, Mrs. Sullivan said. But nowadays it’s harder to get students on whale watches, because of the cost of busing.

To supplement the whale watches, the inflatable model of Ladder was made to take to schools and other places, she said. The real Ladder died in 2018 after being hit by a boat again.

Deborah Wright, St. Bernard’s principal, said it would have been impossible to take all their students on a whale watch, because of the cost, logistics, and ages of the youngest children. So, they had the inflatable Ladder visit them.

“It makes our money go further,” she explained. “We will have our traditional field trips” too.
“It is everything I hoped it would be – and more,” she enthused, as students sat on the cafeteria floor beside Ladder, listening to Blue Ocean representatives and asking questions before squeezing through a flap to climb inside the whale.

Ms. Wright said she wants such opportunities for students of all grades, not only for the education but the experience.

“This particular program speaks to our stewardship of the environment,” she said. “But it’s also local. The Gulf of Maine is our part of the Atlantic Ocean.”

She said she didn’t plan Ladder’s visit to coincide with the Season of Creation, but “it fell into it nicely.”

The Season of Creation starts Sept. 1 and ends Oct. 4., the feast of the nature-loving St. Francis of Assisi. Supported by different churches, including the Catholic Church, it calls on Christians to “renew our relationship with our Creator and all creation through celebration, conversion, and commitment,” the website seasonofcreation.org says. It explains, “We join our sisters and brothers in the ecumenical family in prayer and action for our common home.”
“As a Catholic school we are trying to be thoughtful about the environment,” Ms. Wright said. As part of environmental stewardship, last spring 11 trees were planted at St. Bernard’s by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation. Today, students bring their pets and stuffed animals to school for the blessing of animals.

Students raved about Ladder’s visit.

“It was really exciting, because I like nature a lot,” said fifth-grader Jacob Adam.

Jacob said the lesson made him want to “help clean up litter” and go to aquariums.

His classmate James Roy said he was shocked upon learning that Ladder was hit by a boat. He said he doesn’t usually enjoy learning about animals, but that day “I really just had an amazing experience. ... I don’t think, in my entire time here, this school’s ever put on anything like this.”

Maddie Couture, another fifth-grader, said her impression of Ladder was “very big” and “very interesting.”

“It’s probably one of the best days I’ve had in school,” said her classmate Emilyn Lattanzi. “This is a never-forgettable moment.” She said she thought there would be more inside Ladder.

There would be - in a real whale, explained Mrs. Sullivan. But only the jawbone, backbone, rib cage and heart are represented in the model, so that people can fit inside too.

“I liked him; I liked the inside, and seeing the heart,” said second-grader Max LaBarre. He said students made a fist the size of their own hearts and compared it to Ladder’s heart, which Mrs. Sullivan said is big enough to hold two kindergarteners.

First-grade teacher Taylor Solimine also raved about Ladder’s visit. She said her students, who are “very visual learners,” looked forward to it all week; it was “fun for all ages.”

“He’s not a cheap whale,” quipped Ms. Wright, expressing gratitude that the PTO (Parent Teacher Organization) paid $900 to send Ladder to school.

In addition to providing this after-lunch experience at the side  – and inside – the inflatable whale, Blue Ocean representatives spoke in classrooms throughout the morning about whales, the Gulf of Maine and human impacts.

Mrs. Sullivan said this was the first time she succeeded in convincing a school to host both Ladder’s visit and the morning presentations, which were added to Blue Ocean’s offerings about nine months ago.

To fund the morning lessons “we did casual for a cause,” Ms. Wright said. Students and adults at the school each paid a dollar to dress in blues, greens, beach T-shirts and sweatshirts, or something other than uniforms and dress clothes.

“We raised $290,” she said, $250 of which paid for the classroom lessons.

With the remaining $40, “we will adopt a whale” for the year, she said. “We will get online updates [and] pictures” of that real fin whale.

On Monday, students chose to “adopt” the whale named Pinball.

She said she’s been on many of the whale watches. On one, her granddaughter said Ladder had visited her previous school in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

“And that’s when I said, ‘If there’s a whale, it’s coming to see us!’” Ms. Wright concluded.