TIES Students Join Battle to Save the World’s Sharks

(Pictured above: TIES teacher Lisa Chitty and students Lauren Mills and Kyle Hodge view the sharkwater.com site. Students in Chitty's class wrote letters to convince people to save sharks from the fin-harvesting industry. Hodge's letter was accepted for posting on the blog portion of sharkwater.com - the Web site of  award-winning filmmaker Rob Stewart.)

(Lansdowne) – Sharks.

They’re anything but cute and cuddly.

Their very name instills fear and images of monstrous predators rising from the ocean’s depths to pull swimmers and surfers down to their doom.

But today, it is the shark that is the prey, and students at Thousand Islands Elementary School (TIES) hope to change that.

Students in Lisa Chitty’s Grade 5 class recently used a biodiversity unit to write letters about the dangers of killing sharks for their fins – a practice that has put the Great White on the endangered list and depleted the population of many of its relatives. One letter was even posted on the blog link of sharkwater.com – the Web site of award-winning filmmaker Rob Stewart that is dedicated to raising awareness about the shark’s plight and lobbying to end the practice of harvesting its fins.

Chitty says the class began the project as part of a science lesson on ecosystems and how different species contribute to the delicate balance of nature. Students watched Stewart’s film Sharkwater that explained why sharks are so important to humans. The creatures eat fish that feed on all-important phytoplankton in the world’s oceans. Phytoplankton is a type of ocean plant that absorbs carbon dioxide and produces oxygen. In fact, scientists estimate a majority of the oxygen humans breathe is produced by phytoplankton. If that delicate balance is upset, and there are no sharks to keep the fish population in check, the population of phytoplankton will decrease – affecting the world’s oxygen production.

While the students are excited about the project, Chitty concedes inspiring efforts to save the shark is a difficult sell compared with other endangered species.

“The problem is that compared to panda bears, who look cute and cuddly, sharks are portrayed in the media as a vicious fish, so people aren’t as inclined to want to save them,” she said.

Many of the fish are now suffering a horrible fate. Fishermen catch them in their lines, cut off their fins and then cast the rest of the body back into the ocean, leaving the fish to die a horrible death – all so high-end restaurants all over the world can create shark fin soup – a delicacy in Chinese cultures. Folklore suggests that eating the soup can bring good luck.

Students began by viewing Stewart’s award-winning film Sharkwater that chronicles the shark-fishing industry showing graphic pictures of sharks being taken for their fins. These images inspired compassion for the creatures – especially among the boys in Chitty’s class.

“The empathy these kids showed during the movie – well I had tears in my eyes,” said Chitty. “It evoked empathy and compassion in the boys – something they don’t often show.”

Chitty’s 24 students each wrote letters talking about how the shark is important to the ecosystem and the world’s oxygen supply, and how the media have exaggerated the danger sharks pose to man.

Staff members at the Web site sharkwater.com were so impressed by one of the letters,  that they posted it for the world to see.

“This is important because it shows them (her students) that their voices can be heard,” said Chitty. “It gives them aspirations that, although they’re young, their voices can make a difference.”

The letter, by student Kyle Hodge, pointed out that shark attacks kill only five people a year, but elephants kill 100 and crocodiles kill more people in one year than sharks will in 100 years. He also noted that the shark’s efforts to keep phytoplankton – eating fish under control ensures that the microscopic plant species will be around to create 70 per cent of the oxygen we breathe.

“I also just thought it was really sad to see the harm being done to them,” Hodge added of what prompted him to write the letter to save the shark.

“It made me feel really bad for them,” added Lauren Mills, another of Chitty’s students said of her involvement in the project. “They don’t deserve it because they really don’t harm people.”

The class has gone on to efforts to help save another species closer to home. The class is preparing to lobby Leeds and Thousand Islands council to put up a turtle crossing sign on an area road to help prevent the little reptiles from becoming road kill.

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For more information, please call:

Lisa Chitty
Teacher
Thousand Islands Elementary School
613-659-2216

Posted January 20. 2012