This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Community Corner

A Whale of a Time

Children and parents enjoy an interactive presentation on the ocean environment from environmental educators Diana and Mike Dove.

The children’s meeting room at the Monmouth County Library yesterday was visited by sea turtles, dolphins, and humpback whales. Mixing quite comfortably with this out-of-place cast of creatures was a host of eager children, clapping hands and singing songs. None seemed phased by the proximity of a thirty-foot man-eating great white shark. No, the library had not turned upside down and fallen into the ocean. It was all part of “Whales, Sharks, & Ocean Critters,” an interactive presentation from environmental educators Diana and Mike Dove about marine life and the dangers of littering.

Before the presentation began, the parents and children in attendance were greeted by the Doves and led to the back of the room where they could interact with objects at “discovery stations,” wooden boxes housing various marine artifacts ranging from a turtle’s shell to a rubber lobster. The stations were on loan from the Morris Museum in Morristown, NJ.

“Hands-on activity is very important at this age,” Mrs. Dove said. “It also gives me a sense of how much the kids already know.”

Find out what's happening in Manalapanwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The Doves’ presentation combined songs, costumes, and props to educate the children about sea creatures and the importance of keeping the ocean habitat clean. The Doves encouraged audience participation whenever possible, asking the children to sing along during songs and act out the words.

Among the material presented, Mrs. Dove informed the audience that plastic bags and balloons must be disposed of properly lest they make their way to the ocean where sea turtles can fatally mistake them for jellyfish, their main food source.

Find out what's happening in Manalapanwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The educators also explained the difference between toothed whales and baleen whales, and led the children in a song about the different parts of the whale: the flukes, flippers, blubber, and blowholes.

“A blue whale has to eat two to three tons of krill a day,” Mr. Dove said. “The largest animal in the world eats one of the smallest animals in the world to survive.”    

The lights were put out to view a slideshow depicting a whale watching voyage aboard a boat from the Dolphin Fleet, a renowned whale watching tour group out of Provincetown, MA, where the Doves will going next week to receive whale naturalist’s training from the Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies.

The Doves ended the presentation by unleashing an inflatable model of a Great White shark, thirty feet in length. Mrs. Dove led the excited children in one last refrain: “Let’s pick up the litter, litter, litter/ Let’s pick up the litter, kids can help!”

Dove Environmental Education has been educating in schools and libraries around the state for over twenty years. Yesterday’s presentation was part of the “Critter & Litter Series” sponsored by the New Jersey Clean Communities Council, a division of the NJDEP.

For any groups interested in hosting the Doves’ presentation, funding for the series is available through Clean Communities in most counties and local municipalities from April to September. “Whales, Sharks, & Ocean Critters” is only one of thirty educational programs that the Doves offer. For more information the Doves can be reached at 908-689-7771.

“It’s our hope that where we conduct Clean Community programs children will learn not to litter and it will become a life-long habit,” Mrs. Dove said.

In addition to educating the audience, the presentation provoked many laughs and smiling faces among parents and children alike.

“I liked all of it,” said audience member Grace Kenny, 9. “I’ve been wanting to be a marine biologist since I was six. I want to see more animals and learn new things about the ocean.”

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?