Calvin, the North Atlantic right whale, is one that’s stolen the hearts of many. Yet, none more than the Calvineers. A group of middle schoolers who are on a mission to educate people about North Atlantic right whales.
The story of the Calvineers begins in the small town of Castine, Maine. There you’ll find Bill McWeeny, the originating force behind the Calvineers. Bill is a science teacher for 5th-8th graders, who volunteers his time assisting scientists with right whale research. So in 2004 when some of his 7th and 8th graders became interested in animal rights, he decided to teach them about right whales. He introduced them to Moira Brown of the New England Aquarium, who introduced them to Calvin.
Calvin was born in 1992 to Delilah. During their first summer together, Delilah was struck by a ship in the Bay of Fundy and passed away. With no mother to protect, guide, and feed her, researchers assumed Calvin would not survive. Miraculously, Calvin’s resilience helped her pull through! She even survived four entanglements later down the road in her life. After a life of hardships, happiness for Calvin arrived in 2004 when she gave birth to her first calf. Calvin has now birthed a total of 4 calves!
After hearing about the inspiring story of Calvin, Bill’s students wanted to take action, but first, they had to learn about right whales. Bill connected their regular studies to right whales once a week, incorporating right whale anatomy, physiology, and environmental aspects. They also attended the Annual Right Whale Consortium Meeting where scientists discussed their latest research. The students even got to go into the field and see live right whales in the Bay of Fundy!
Once Bill’s students became right whale experts, it was time for them to create right whale educational material for the public. They traveled to local schools to share what they had learned and gave a presentation at the 2005 Right Whale Consortium. They even got to be plenary speakers at the 18th Biennial Conference of Marine Mammalogy, which is one of the most prestigious marine mammal conferences in the world! Even more amazingly, on December 9th through 12th, in 2019, the Calvineers joined us in Barcelona, Spain, to kick off The Year of the Right Whale campaign!
Today, new generations of Calvineers continue to spread the word on the plight of right whales. Sadly many right whales still face the same threat Calvin’s mother did. Yet it is whales like Calvin, and groups like the Calvineers, that give us a beacon of hope for the future of right whales.
Thank you Calvineers, for all that you do in the world of right whales! The ocean is a better place for whales because of you!
(Top photo: Bill McWeeny and the 2017-2018 Calvineers)
