Hull Students Turn Ocean Trash into Treasured Artwork

An art project featuring sea creatures made from ocean waste was unveiled as a permanent installation at the Jacobs School on Wednesday, Jan. 8. The project began last school year with a beach cleanup led by science teacher Heather Weber and parent volunteer Jackie Kilroe Ranney. (Photo courtesy Hull Public Schools)

HULL — Superintendent Michael Jette and Principal Kyle Shaw are pleased to share that a thought-provoking student art installation using ocean trash is now on display at The Lillian M. Jacobs School in Hull.

The art installation depicts swimming sea creatures composed of bright bits of trash that once polluted the ocean.  Hanging high above the school’s Main Lobby, the project creates an aquarium backdrop for the Middle School’s independent collaborative workspace on the second floor. The art is suspended from the ceiling and surrounded by student paintings on blue backgrounds, framed in such a way as to create the sense of walking into an aquarium. Even the paintings are made from trash with “seaweed” created from balloons found on the beach.

Now a permanent exhibit hanging in The Jacobs School, the project began last year with a cleanup at Nantasket Beach led by science teacher Heather Weber and parent volunteer and local artist Jackie Kilroe Ranney.

During the cleanup, sixth-grade students collected over 40 bags of trash and larger debris from the shoreline spanning from A Street Beach to XYZ Beach. Afterward, the students sorted and documented the collected items, submitting their findings to the Center for Coastal Studies for analysis.

In art classes taught by Emily Pestone and Kate Cicalese, fifth- and sixth-grade students transformed the trash into vibrant sea creature sculptures.

The finished artworks were installed in the school on Wednesday, Jan. 8. They will remain there as a testament to the students’ creativity and dedication to protecting the environment. 

“The Jacobs School community is proud of the students’ efforts to promote environmental stewardship and the transformative power of art,” said Principal Kyle Shaw. “These trash-to-treasure artworks are a reminder of the importance of keeping our oceans clean and what kind of planet that future generations will inherit.”

Superintendent Jette expressed his gratitude to everyone involved in the project, including important contributions from local artist Jackie Kilroe Ranney, whose works of marine debris can be found online at www.jackieranney.com.

“This initiative would not have been possible without the dedication of science teacher Heather Weber who got this project started with a thorough beach cleanup. Our art teachers, Emily Pestone and Kate Cicalese, next guided our students in bringing this vision to life.” said Superintendent Michael Jette. “And we also could not have done this without forging a strong partnership with a very talented local artist, Jackie Kilroe Ranney. She was instrumental in this effort. I’d also like to thank Principal Kyle Shaw for his leadership and commitment to making this project a reality. This art installation demonstrates the type of talent and dedication we have among our young students, along with a power of collaboration and creativity.”

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The new art installation at Jacobs School features sea creatures made from ocean waste, including trash collected last year when the project first started with a beach cleanup led by teacher Heather Weber and parent volunteer Jackie Kilroe Ranney. (Photo courtesy Hull Public Schools)

Jacobs School teacher Heather Weber and parent volunteer Jackie Kilroe Ranney led a beach cleanup last school year at Nantasket Beach, where students first began to collect trash that was later used to create sea creature art that’s now part of a permanent installation at the school. (Photo courtesy Hull Public Schools)

 Jacobs School teacher Emily Pestone (left) and parent volunteer Jackie Kilroe Ranney (right) helped steer the sea creature art project at the Jacobs School to completion, before it was eventually put on display there as a permanent installation on Wednesday, Jan. 8. (Photo courtesy Hull Public Schools)

The new permanent installation at the Jacobs School depicts fish, sea horses and sea turtles. The art project at the Jacobs School is made entirely from ocean waste. (Photo courtesy Hull Public Schools)

The sea creature art at the Jacobs School project began last school year with a beach cleanup led by science teacher Heather Weber and parent volunteer Jackie Kilroe Ranney, culminating with the unveiling of an art installation at the school on Wednesday, Jan. 8. From left to right, Principal Kyle Shaw, marine debris artist Jackie Kilroe Ranney and art teacher Emily Pestone. (Photo courtesy Hull Public Schools)

Students check out the new sea creature art project on display in the Middle School’s independent collaborative workspace on the second floor. The art project features works made from ocean waste, including trash collected last year during a beach cleanup led by teacher Heather Weber and parent volunteer Jackie Kilroe Ranney. (Photo courtesy Hull Public Schools)