Great Salt Bay Community School has some new, furry faces living in its courtyard this school year.
The agriculture club is caring for George, Bella, and a trio of currently nameless bunnies. Marilee Harris, the agriculture club coach, said the idea to bring bunnies into the club began after observing the agriculture club at Troy Howard Middle School in Belfast and the bunny in their greenhouse.
“For them, the rabbit is part of their agriculture class curriculum,” Harris said. “We decided to use it as a model for our extra-curricular program.”
When Harris presented the idea to the club about possibly getting rabbits at the school, the kids were enthusiastic.
“The kids ran with it,” Harris said. “They researched everything, from the cost of keeping the rabbits to what they would have to eat to what sort of habitat they would need.”
The students worked together to create a PowerPoint presentation to outline their findings. All that was left was a presentation to the school committee to get official approval to start the rabbit program. However, it wasn’t Harris proposing the idea; it was the kids.
“I thought it was fun doing the research, but I was a little nervous to talk about it in front of the board,” said Shailey Johnson, a sixth-grader and member of the agriculture club.
The students presented their findings to the Great Salt Bay School Committee on Dec. 10. Principal Kim Schaff said it was probably the most well-attended school committee meeting of the year. Faculty, staff, and parents of the students turned out to support the kids’ presentation.
“They did absolutely fantastic,” Schaff said. “They were very well-prepared and the board supported them.”
The program is funded by donations and is separate from the school budget. Harris said the PTO provided a grant for the club to help with the purchase of a rabbit hutch and a composter. Mark Doe, a member of the school committee, volunteered to donate the rabbit pellets needed for the project. The rabbits themselves were donated by Quan Myers, the owner of Rabbitats for Humanity, a Walpole shelter for rabbits who may have been abandoned by their owners or rescued from overcrowded shelters.
The two original rabbits, named George and Bella, were set to move in to their new home in the school courtyard in March, however, a snowstorm filled the courtyard with 6 feet of snow, completely covering the hutches.
“There has yet to be a time where something has gone the way we planned it, but in a way, that’s been a good thing because it allows the kids to problem-solve,” Harris said. “With the snow, the kids had to come up with a solution on their own. There was no one telling them what to do.”
This winter, the kids hope to have a greenhouse to keep the rabbits warm.
“We figured it would be good to get more than one rabbit so that they could huddle together and keep each other warm during the winter,” said Alice Skiff, a sixth-grader in the club.
During the summer, the summer school program took care of the rabbits. Courtney Farrin, a seventh-grade student in agriculture club, attended the summer program and helped teach the other students how to take care of and hold the rabbits.
“You have to pick them up in a certain way so you don’t scare them or hurt them,” Farrin said.
Although George and Bella are friendly rabbits, Harris said they weren’t the most “snuggly” rabbits and didn’t really seem to enjoy being picked up or held. Myers donated three more bunnies to the school earlier this year. The club will be holding a fundraiser to name the rabbits. For 50 cents, students can enter a suggested name for the rabbits. Three names will be drawn and the winners will receive a stuffed rabbit and a copy of “Silly Pilly, Lilly and Mr. Wally: A True Story” written by Myers about how to care for rabbits.
The agriculture club meets once a week during recess and lunch to feed the rabbits. Each of the three third-grade classrooms, which overlook the courtyard, takes a day to feed the rabbits, as do students in the resource room.
“Having the rabbits is like having your own pet, but it’s not just your responsibility, it’s everyone’s,” sixth-grader Audrey Perce said.
Harris said the educational opportunities the animals provide are limitless.
“It’s not just about learning about the rabbits,” Harris said. “The students are learning about responsibility and teamwork. And it’s not just kids in the club! Students from all grade levels and the staff have really seemed to enjoy having the rabbits in the courtyard.”