Allapattah Flats students learn about overcoming obstacles through Stella the Whale

Kindergarten through second grade students at Allapattah Flats K8 School recently were visited by Wyland Foundation, along with Stella the Whale.  Stella is a near life size canvas painting of a baby right whale. Students got to take part in a unique exercise in goal setting to help Stella migrate 700 miles from one end of the state to the other. Stella’s epic 30-day journey is part of an effort to draw attention to the plight of the endangered north Atlantic right whale whose numbers have dwindled in recent years to less than 400. To mirror the average traveling distance in a right whale’s migration, Stella will stop every twenty miles at schools and children’s centers, starting Oct. 14 in Key Largo and concluding Nov. 17 at the Right Whale Festival in Jacksonville. Each stop on Stella’s route will include presentations from marine mammal experts and educators, a photo opportunity with Stella, and activities for students to use Stella’s journey to identify their own goals for environmental conservation, health and wellness, and academic success. Stella gives students a chance to understand the perilous migration that whales undertake every year from their winter calving areas off Florida to the feeding grounds off Nova Scotia, according to the Wyland Foundation, and her journey provides a unique way of understanding the importance of overcoming obstacles to achieve goals.