Holy Cross Students Present Their 'Crabby Idea' To Trenton

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By Elizabeth Wulfhorst
RUMSON – Last school year, the fourth grade students at Holy Cross School in Rumson decided New Jersey needed to give a little love to one of its slightly creepy coastal denizens.
So after a lot of research and a successful letter-writing campaign, the now fifth graders were honored Sept. 27 by the NJ State Legislature for proposing the horse-shoe crab be named the State Arthropod.
The Legislative Branch was impressed with the students’ civic mindfulness and honored each of them with a Resolution, a commendation that recognizes their efforts and keeps the idea “on the table” as a plausible bill to be considered. The class and their teachers traveled to the Statehouse to receive the Resolutions and enjoyed a tour of the State House and the chance to meet Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno and Assemblywoman Joann Downey.
horseshoe-crab
A male horseshoe crab with barnacles on its shell, spotted on Sandy Hook. Photo by Joe Reynolds

Inspired by the story of a group of third graders in Maine who proposed a similar action for the lobster in their state, the Holy Cross students researched local wildlife and found that horseshoe crabs, which familiarly dot the NJ coastline during late spring and early summer, are in the arthropod family and have ancestors dating back 300 million years. They also learned that the horseshoe crab is nearing extinction, due in part to the harvesting of their blue blood for its clotting and anti-bacterial qualities. Though the crabs are returned to their natural habitat after the blood has been extracted, the crabs experience a 10 percent mortality rate after having been removed from the wild.

The students realized that the ecological consequences of the horseshoe crab’s dwindling population extend to other species as well. The red knot migratory bird is now listed as an endangered species because it feeds on the eggs of the horseshoe crab.
The students hope that by gaining State Arthropod status for the horseshoe crab, the species will be better protected, which will in turn improve the ecology of their beloved Jersey Shore. With the help of teacher Maryjane Gallo and in-class support Diane Kelly, each student wrote a letter to their district representatives, petitioning for the state to consider the horse- shoe crab as a new state symbol.
“I am extremely proud of their work, their knowledge, and their enthusiasm,” Gallo said. “The students are humbled by this experience and honor. They learned that they have a voice in their government at an early age. In addition, they discovered the power and the influence of the pen!”
Photo courtesy Holy Cross School, Rumson