Students Raise Trout in the Classroom

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White's Tower Elementary School News

USA Today Article!

By William Croyle, The Kentucky Enquirer

INDEPENDENCE, Ky. — The head count in Autumn Hendrickson's fourth- and fifth-grade science classes here at White's Tower Elementary School jumped by about 200 one day last month, thanks to some welcomed guests who will be staying through the rest of the school year.

Roughly 200 rainbow trout eggs hatched in the classroom last month. The students are now taking care of the fish as part of their science curriculum, and will continue to help them grow until releasing them into the wild in May.

"Trout in the Classroom" is a program from the Bluegrass chapter of Trout Unlimited, a national organization focused on "conserving, protecting and restoring North America's coldwater fisheries and their watersheds."

White's Tower is one of 15 schools in the state raising the fish. It received nearly $1,500 in equipment from Trout Unlimited, including a 55-gallon tank and accessories.

"We try to give them all the resources, including some lesson plans, but let them decide what direction they want to take it in," said Sandy Broughman, conservation director of the Bluegrass chapter.

For example, Broughman said, a third-grade class in the state last year kept journals on the trout each day, using the experience primarily to improve their writing skills.

Hendrickson's students are focused on the science aspect by learning to monitor water quality, understand ecosystems and develop a conservation mindset.

"We're also learning responsibility," said fifth-grader Avery Fossitt. "We're taking care of wildlife, and we need to show that we're responsible enough to do it."

The fish were the size of "a poke of a pencil" when they hatched, said fifth grader Connor Ernest. They're now about an inch or two long. They will grow to be 3-4 inches by May when the students will release them into Big Bone Creek in Boone County.

A blog of the progress of the fish is being kept at www.whitestowertrout.blogspot.com.

Hendrickson has been updating the blog, but will turn it over to the students in the next few weeks. Hendrickson said they have followers from throughout the state, Cincinnati and a school in Savannah, Ga.

"The whole project has been great for the kids, and it's real interesting to watch how quickly they pick up on things," Hendrickson said.

Cleaning the tank, changing the water and repeatedly testing the water to make sure it's livable for the fish is a lot of work, but the kids are loving every bit of it.

"We actually get to see and do experiments rather than learning from a book," said fifth-grade student Rebecca Pruss.

For Broughman, whose chapter has about 400 members, it's a chance to expose a young generation to ecology with a hands-on approach.

"What's meaningful is that we're getting kids to learn all about this," Broughman said. "The Trout in the Classroom program is training a new group of conservationists."

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Egg delivery day for Trout in the Classroom

Some instructions for teachers and mentors who received rainbow trout eggs on Thursday, 18-Nov-2010.

Yes, if you have a cooler or thermos, have Debbie bring that to the Sportsman's Warehouse with her. It helps keep the eggs cool so there won't be much difference between the egg temperature and the tank water temperature. Do not let ice touch the eggs; rather put foam or air bubble plastic layer between ice and eggs in plastic bags or thermos in the small cooler.

The egg hatching basket edges needs to be lowered below the water surface level so the alevin can swim out when their yolk sac gets lighter. Lowering the hatching basket can be done now.

The best practice for developing your first team of 3 students is to assign them the following tasks for egg delivery day:

1. Acclimate egg temperature to tank water temperature to within (+ or - 2) degrees
2. Add 1/4 teaspoon of BioZyme to the intake foam and lava rock
3. Remove dead (white) eggs from the egg hatching basket with a turkey baster, pipette or small dia. straw.

Now, the students are already doing scientific work. After Thursday, 18 Nov-2010, No. 1 will rotate off the monitoring team and No. 2 will become No. 1 and No. 3 will become No. 2 monitor. Then a new team member will be added as No. 3. This weekly rotating team of monitors can be used to let each student have at least one to two weeks of training before accepting a higher level of responsibility the following week.

Assign No. 1 as the leader and teacher who will continue to monitor water quality by testing for ammonia and nitrite to be less than 0.50 ppm and nitrates to be below 30 ppm. Otherwise, if No. 1 leader finds ppm higher than these maximum levels, all leaders should meet after testing and determine what anomalies they find and what solutions they recommend to the class teacher and log these anomalies in the daily log.

Assign No. 2 as the next No. 1 leader and teacher who will learn tasks from Leader No. 1 for their next week. Then they will monitor the pH levels to range between 7.5 and 6.5 pH and air hose output. If the range is higher than 7.9 or lower than 6.1 confer with the other members of the monitoring team with these anomalies to determine what solutions they should recommend to the class teacher and log these anomalies in the daily log.

Assign No. 3 as the next No. 2 leader and teacher who will learn tasks from leader No. 2 for their next week. Then they will monitor temperature readings ranging between 51 and 55 F degrees. If the chiller is set on 53 F degrees with differential set on 2 degrees the range should match the goal of 51 and 55 F degrees. If temperature is not within this range, determine if the chiller is plugged in and running and note the settings for 53 F and Dif 2 and report to the monitoring team after all data are gathered so a solution can be recommended to the class teacher and log these anomalies in the daily log.

The class teacher will observe the daily log before conferring with the monitoring team for their recommendations. If the variations are beyond the ranges and it is determined that a water change is necessary to bring these anomalies within range, the class teacher will assign two students to do the water change with the gravel vacuum. Daily water changes of 15% to 25% water may be needed until the testing ranges are within their normal range.

Estill County Middle School goes to Wolf Creek National Fish Hatchery

Sarah Hart wrote the following article for their local newspaper, 'The Estill County Tribune'

Mrs. Webster's ECMS 6th grade science students who volunteered to raise rainbow trout in the classroom went on a field trip to the Wolf Creek National Fish Hatchery on October 21st. The "student scientists" toured the production facility (photo on left) where eggs received from TN and other States are hatched into alevins and grow into fry. Additionally, they got to feed fingerlings and mature fish in the outdoor raceways and tour the Environmental Education/Visitors' Center. Under the guidance of hatchery environmental education specialists, the students participated in marshland water quality testing and learned about stream carrying capacity and fish habitat through outdoor games. The classroom project and field trip were made possible by a grant from Bluegrass PRIDE and contributions from the Cumberland Valley Resource Conservation & Development Council. Snacks were provided by volunteers and the Save-A-Lot grocery store in Irvine.

Trout in the Classroom

Trout in the Classroom

Summary of primary activities and lesson plans for the 12 classrooms during the 2009-2010 school year is a prelude to the 2010-2011 school year.

Our primary goal for Trout in the Classroom is to help students learn about water quality, the trout life-cycle, the foods they eat, their part in the ecology and food chain of cold water streams, stream conservation efforts and the importance of our cold water resources. Our long-term goal is to have the students understand that urban communities are connected to and dependent upon their watershed.

The most exciting two responses from students is the day they get the eggs from the fish hatchery and the day they release the trout they have raised from eggs to fingerings into a new cold water stream approved by Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. The aquarium is the student's lab and while it is not a stream, we try to make the classroom environment as much like a stream as we can. While the students are raising their trout, some die and they want to know how to prevent that from happening. That's when they begin to learn about water quality and with that, they get a strong sense of responsibility to make the right decisions about how to preserve their fry.

The students learned that "What Trout Need" is safety, food and comfort from a story written as an introduction to Trout on a Fly by the venerable Lee Wulff. They observe the trout's eye is on the side of their face and when asked why, a response came from a student that surprised everyone. "It is because they are prey". Yes, trout are both predator and prey so they have to balance their search for food with safety. One student noticed that every day the alevin yolk sac was shrinking in size. He asked his teacher why and what would happen when it is gone, would the fish die? The teacher brought the class to discover that observance is the first step in the scientific method.

Keeping a Trout Journal helped the students write and draw their observations which including measuring the temperature, pH ratios, ammonia ppm, nitrites ppm and nitrates ppm to determine if the tank water was safe. We had a classroom where some of the disadvantaged students didn't write. They had never written anything. So the teacher simply told them to draw what they observed. As they did that, some of the other students began to draw as well as write in their Trout Journal. Before the school year was over, all of the students were writing and drawing in their Trout Journals.

Another lesson cited the Sacramento River where 850,000 Coho Salmon used to spawn. Now they are all gone. The students learned that the fertilizer used on the crops in northern California was ammonium nitrate, which is also an explosive. When the fields were irrigated, regardless of the rain they got, the farmers wanted to keep their water quota from year to year so when the water laced with fertilizer drained back into the creeks and streams which flowed into the Sacramento River watershed, the result was an estuary laced with fertilizer, ammonium nitrate, the same as that experienced in their classroom aquarium. Therefore, water changes are necessary to keep the trout alive. The King salmon are still coming back to the Sacramento. The Coho salmon couldn't spawn in polluted waters, so either they found another stream further north in Canada, or in the Columbia River system between Oregon and Washington.

The students learned about the external trout anatomy while solving a crossword puzzle or drawing and painting trout. Some schools dissected trout with a lesson on Internal Trout Anatomy. Possibly the most exciting lesson was about aquatic macroinvertebrates. They learned that trout survive on many of these insects that populate the cold water streams, and several macroinvertebrates are the nymphs and larvae of mayflies, stone flies and caddis flies which are very good indicators of good water quality.

At stream side, some schools were engaged in constructing a mock K dam for stream restoration. Others practiced casting a fly rod which is different from bait or spin casting because the fly is practically weightless. The fly line, however, has weight and pulls the weightless fly through the air to its target. Many were shown flies tied by Trout Unlimited members so they could judge how they matched the nymphs and adult mayflies, stone flies and caddis flies they imitated.

At stream side, before the students released their trout fingerlings, they collected macroinvertebrates in nets and counted the diversity and the different order and family of insects found to rate the stream's water quality index. In almost every case, the index was between 22 and 24. The students understand how trout and the aquatic macroinvertebrates they feed on are an indicator of water quality and now they begin to understand how urban populations are connected to and dependent upon their local watershed. The point we, as instructors, try to make is that we are neighbors to those in our watershed whether upstream or downstream. This helps them begin to ask the right questions about our environmental stewardship of this planet we call earth. David Brower said, "We don't inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children." After all, the students are our future.

Know of a school who would like to use Trout in the Classroom as one of their environmental education programs? Would you like to participate as a mentor for a school? If so, please contact: Don Thompson via email donlesterthompson@gmail.com or call 859-552-4081 Cell.

Phillip A. Sharpe Middle School, Pendleton Co. and Poage Elementary, Boyd Co.

Many thanks to all the teachers and mentors who helped the students raise trout fingerlings from eggs last fall. Yesterday, 27-May-2010, Phillip A. Sharp Middle School in Pendleton County released their trout fingerlings into Raven Creek in Harrison County. Mr. Brian Radcliffe gave the students a streamside lesson on aquatic microinvertebrate study to measure the water quality before the trout were released. The stream scored between 22 and 24 with very good bio-diversity.

On Wednesday, 26-May-2010, Poage Elementary's 27 students at the Grayson Lake tail waters released their trout fingerlings. While raising their trout in the classroom, the aquarium was their laboratory. At streamside, the stream itself became their laboratory and Mr. Brian Radcliffe, UK's Tracy Farmer Center for the Environment, gave a chemistry lesson on how to measure a stream for temperature, pH and oxygen content before the trout fingerlings were released. The event was covered by Mr. Mike James of The Independent of Ashland, KY in his article "Learning to let go". Students were filmed by Mr. John Flavell of The Independent.

http://dailyindependent.com/local/x712222851/Learning-to-let-go

Louisville Chapter of Trout Unlimited

Taylorsville Elementary and Spencer County Middle School teachers, Shannon and Sean Buynak used Trout in the Classroom over the school year to help their students raise trout from eggs to fingerlings. The climax to which the students look forward is when they can get to a cold water stream to release their trout. Some 50 students from both the elementary and middle school in Spencer County arrived at Fort Knox on Saturday morning, May 15, to release their fingerlings into Otter Creek. Permits from Fort Knox and Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources had been obtained by the Louisville Chapter of Trout Unlimited. But before they could release their trout, Mr. Kelly Taylor, from the UK’s Tracy Farmer Center for the Environment led them on an aquatic macroinvertebrate study to determine if the creek was fit for trout. Mr. Taylor wanted to know how the trout would survive in the wild if there was no food for them in the stream. Students with nets rolled over rocks and captured many specimens that were identified by Mr. Taylor as food for trout. The students gathered crawfish, right hand snails, mayfly, stonefly nymphs and other larvae and, of course, one non venomous, harmless little Northern Water Snake. Otter Creek scored a 20 which is good for a biological water quality index. Spencer County became involved with Trout in the Classroom upon a suggestion by TU Councilman Sandy Broughman and engineer Bill Drury who along with Gary Rose and Don Thompson made presentations to the Spencer County Board of Directors. Two teachers, Sean and Shannon Buynak jumped right in at the first and were the real heros of the day’s climax. Sean’s father works with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife so there was experience on their side and this husband and wife team were no strangers to projects such as Trout in the Classroom. Their experience soon shined like the sun. The Louisville Chapter of Trout Unlimited who sponsored these two schools, provided pizza for lunch at streamside after the students had released their prized trout fingerlings.

The Mayfly life-cycle

Brian,

I want to thank you very much for all you've done for Trout in the Classroom. You are very good at putting scientific matters on a level the students can understand. When you asked those questions, I was amazed because I hadn't seen your streamside activities before and those were very similar to the ones I used on May 10 with Providence Montessori Elementary at Lusby Lake in Scott County.

Since we couldn't search for aquatic microinvertebrates, I began with what is the difference between a creek and a river, followed by what is the difference between a pond and a lake. The answers surprised the students, especially since Lusby Lake looked like a pond. Then I asked them what had the students fed their trout fingerlings to make them grow so big and they answered with fish food. Then I asked them who is going to feed them out here in Lusby Lake and they didn't know. So that was the introduction to the life-cycle of the may fly which goes through a metamorphosis starting out as eggs, growing into larvae that may live 2 to 3 years in the stream breathing through gills underwater. Then at a certain temperature one spring or summer, they drift to the surface, sometimes on a bubble of air that comes from a split in their wing case or they swim to the surface and after they shuck their outer skin and thorax, they rest on the water's surface or a rock like stoneflies do to dry their wings as a dun. Once their wings dry they are adults and fly upstream to form a mating swarm then return to lay their eggs on the surface of the water. Then I asked, "Why do they fly upstream from where they lived for 2 or 3 years?" No one knew. When I told them they flew upstream because their eggs would float for a long time before they sunk to the bottom to hatch into larvae and more than likely it would be where they grew up and lived as a nymph. They asked, "How do they know to do that?" And I answered, "They don't make a decision to go upstream or downstream, it's just instinct." After they lay their eggs, they usually die within 24 hours and they fall to the waters with their wings spent and we fishermen call them spinners. I concluded with telling them that at every stage of their life-cycle, the mayflies, caddis flies and stone flies are a delicacy for trout. These three are rated as very pollution sensitive of the macroinvertebrates. Both trout and the insects they prefer are an indicator of water quality.

When I get back from my fishing trip with my son, Wade, we still have Poage Elementary at the tailwaters of Grayson Lake on May 26 and Phillip A. Sharp Middle School at Raven Creek just North of Morgan, KY turnoff on 303 on May 27.

Check out our blog at http://troutintheclassroomky.blogspot.com/ for pictures and stories of each trout release so far.

Thanks,

Don

Hatch and Release

Students Release Trout Fingerlings

Trout in the Classroom's final event that brings so much excitement to students who have raised trout from eggs to fingerlings occurs when the students release them into a cold, clean, clear water stream approved by Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources.

Pineville Independent Elementary with teacher, Mr. Justin Abbott and principal, Mr. Bob Bennett, released their trout on April 23 into Clear Creek in Bell County. Mr. Brian Radcliffe of UK's Tracy Farmer Center for the Environment led students on their aquatic macroinvertebrate water quality study before they released their trout fingerlings. Their TIC Program was sponsored by Mr. Stephen Cawood.

Estill County Middle School with teacher, Wade Richardson and TU Mentors, Sarah and Tom Hart, Sandy and Pam Broughman released their trout on May 10 into Station Camp Creek in Estill County. On the left is Mr. Brian Radcliffe of UK's Tracy Farmer Institute of Environmental Sustainability, Jack Stickney of the Kentucky Rural Water Association, Source Water Protection Specialist and students studying the aquatic macroinvertebrates before releasing the trout fingerlings they had raised from eggs in their classroom. Students experienced four activities at streamside: 1.) Macroinvertebrate study, 2.) fly casting, 3.) stream repair simulation and 4.) releasing their trout. Their TIC Program was sponsored by Tom and Sarah Hart, Lowe's, Mr. & Mrs Nolan, Estill County Conservation District and a number of others.

Providence Montessori with teachers, Chris Zachritz and Amy Richardson, released their trout on May 10 into Lusby Lake in Scott County. Don Thompson led students on the life cycle of aquatic macroinvertebrates trout will need for food before the students released their fingerlings. Their TIC program was sponsored by Bluegrass Trout Unlimited.

Liberty Elementary released their trout on May 15 into East Fork of Indian Creek in the Daniel Boone National Forest. Students learned that the food trout eat was abundant in the stream when they turned over rocks and searched for aquatic macro- invertebrates that trout prefer.

Their Science Club provides an example program for teaching science, ecology, watershed, live, wild animal studies where students learn about their connection to the environment by actual discovery. Liberty's TIC program was sponsored by Bluegrass Trout Unlimited with teacher, Kristi Fehr.

Athens-Chilesburg Elementary with teacher, Melinda Kinsel, released their trout on May 15 into East Fork of Indian Creek in the Daniel Boone National Forest. Students were led by Mr. Brian Radcliffe of UK's Tracy Farmer Center for the Environment on a search for aquatic macroinvertebrates to discover what their trout fingerlings would eat when no one was there to feed them anymore. Their Science Club has very interesting real, live animals where students become involved with their environment and connected to their watershed while learning about water quality with the aquarium as their laboratory. At Indian Creek, their laboratory was the stream itself. Their TIC program was sponsored by Bluegrass Trout Unlimited.

Maxwell Elementary released their trout on May 15 into East Fork of Indian Creek in the Daniel Boone National Forest. Before they could set their trout fingerlings free, the students were asked three questions by Mr. Brian Radcliffe from UK's Tracy Farmer Center for the Environment.

"What did you feed these trout in the classroom?"

"Now that you are going to set them free, who's going to feed them?"

"What will these trout will have to eat in the stream?"

Then Mr. Radcliffe led the students on an aquatic macroinvertebrate study to measure the biological water quality of East Fork of Indian Creek in Red River Gorge - Daniel Boone National Forest. Next, they set the trout they had raised from eggs to fingerlings free to swim in their new environment. Maxwell's TIC program was sponsored by Bluegrass Trout Unlimited with teachers Sr. David Mato-Sagovia and Sa. Deborah Aparicio-Silva who did a wonderful job with their Spanish Immersion students.

Rainbow Trout

Pineville Independent Elementary School

I've made it a practice, since I've become a father, to reflect on any significant occurrences in the form of a journal, so that I have my thoughts recorded for the occasional revisit. I wanted to share this with you and express my appreciation on behalf of myself, my school community and especially, my students. Feel free to post any excerpts or the article in its entirety to the blog. From a somewhat inexperienced teacher with his first encounter with TIC, here is my reflection:

I've heard an adage that quips: "It takes a village to raise a child." With that statement in mind, it has taken a community and several state agencies to raise rainbow trout and ensure the success of our Trout in the Classroom project.

In November, we received an exciting delivery of nearly 300 "eyed eggs," which looked like tiny orange marbles about the size of BB's with two dark dots peering through the translucent shell. Within two weeks the eggs hatched and the tiny, awkwardly moving alevin began their journey that would soon lead them into our very own Clear Creek stream.

With transparent bodies, they received nourishment from a yolk sac attached to their underbellies. As the amount of yolk decreased, the alevin became much stronger and braver as well. They ventured out of the hatching basket and into an artificial habitat in the form of a 55 gallon tank that would serve as their home for the next six months.

Little did they know they would have a great impact on an entire school community, encompassing grade levels, rekindling the desire to learn for both old and young. Nor did they seem to mind the many amazed and intrigued stares that are now redirected at them.

The fry, as they were now known, required a great deal of care. The parameters of the water had to be checked and documented daily. Water changes of about 20% were scheduled for 3 times a week, a "biofilter" of bacteria cultures had to be maintained and then there was the feeding of 2-3 times daily, on weekends, as well as holidays. Appetites, as we all know, do not take breaks.

Within the confines of the tank our rainbow trout grew into fingerlings, which are nearly 4 inches in length. While the students were conducting their tests, daily duties and delving deeper into their studies seeking understanding of the ways of this color-flecked spectrum wearing creature.

And then the day arrived for our "class pets" to be introduced into a natural habitat. Many preparations were made to ensure it was a success. Advice was sought from program directors and fisheries experts. The site was scouted and permissions were obtained. Extension agents were notified and community members, parents and school officials were invited. Check lists were nearly complete.

I awoke early on that late April morning filled with anticipation and an agenda surging up some last minute details. I went about my usual morning routine with a bit more enthusiasm and walked out the door mentally preparing myself for the day's events. I'm unsure how many steps I took towards my car before my mind registered the reverberating pitter-patter against the tin of the carport, the reflection of light from the blacktop, the damp feeling in the air that my hair hates or that mountainous smell of renewal we take for granted in our beautiful hills. "No time to be pessimistic," I told myself. "Let's do this." I soon found this was the attitude that was echoed by my students. The hardest of rains stands no chance at deterring the positivity of a determined child.

After some time, we were giving thanks to the cool waters of the stream for rinsing away the memory of the hot sun from the surface of our skin. We explored and discovered, turned over and snagged in our nets many larvae, flies, bi-valves, and crawfish. We measured the pH and the amount of oxygen in the stream, which received a rating of "excellent." Indeed, our fish would have a fine home which, to them, may be likened to the Garden of Eden.

And just as abruptly and exciting as it had all began, the trout were placed into their new habitats, shimmering ghosts suspended in the rippling current. "Now you see them; now you don't. Is that one? No, I lost it." And as the experience came to a close we sat under the sun on a nearby bank listening the the gurgling water trickle and wash across the countless sandstones, recalling and sharing stories of the day's excitement all over a PB & J sack lunch, truly appreciating that we were fortunate enough to take part in such a fun-filled learning experience.

Justin Abbott, 5th grade science and mathematics teacher for "Trout in the Classroom"

We would like to thank:

Steve Cawood, sponsor

Bobby Bennett, principal

Don Thompson, TIC program director

Trout Unlimited, Bluegrass Chapter

Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources

Brian Radcliffe, University of Kentucky Department of Agriculture Biologist

Custodians Marie, Kelly and Mark

John Williams, Eastern Fisheries Division

Ray Lawson, Conservation Officer

Bell County Sheriff's Department and Sheriff Bruce Bennett

Pineville Rotary Club

Clear Creek Baptist Bible College

Poage Trout Release

Tandy,

Thanks, the numbers look great. Brian Radcliffe has put you on his schedule for May 26th. However, you may want to be at stream side at 10:00 AM and plan for Brian to guide the students with rolling over the rocks and catching the insects they find with nets so they can be identified and counted to test the biological water quality before the lunch picnic. Doing the Catch the Critter game with the students during class time is good preparation for this activity. During water testing and lunch time someone can add about a cup of stream water to the tank water every 15 minutes until the tank water becomes the same as the stream water temperature. Then the students can release the trout into their new home stream after lunch.

Thanks,

Don

Poage Elementary Tank

David,

I just read your entry on the water - I went through this about 2 months ago - right after the hatch. Our ammonia start jumping when the fish started being fed - I think the shock of extra food and waste was too much at one time for the filtration system to handle it.

I tried ammo chips and a couple other things to lower the ammonia, but nothing worked. Finally, I bought a bottle of "Ammolock" at the pet store - treated the tank for 7 days as it said on the bottle, and we have not had a problem since - that was back in December.

Whatever it did, it stabilized the tank. We are feeding pretty heavily with about 200 fish, so I know there is a lot of waste in the tank, but with the water changes, we've been stable.

Our water is a little discolored, also - tea-colored. I think it may be from the food - the food is really "rich," and I think a bi-product of it is that it is coloring the water. I say this, because if you look at the tank, you might think something is wrong - but, the water is perfect when we test it.... I don't know - just an observation!

Hope this helps!

Maxwell Elementary I and II

David,

Thanks so much for the numbers. Yes, I think another 25-30% water change will bring the ammonia and nitrites below 0.25. Please continue with both filters until the new one develops a bacterial culture (about 6 weeks). There is a jar of Nitrate filter compound that you can load into the netting provided and put into the top filter component. The other white bio cylinders can be redistributed to the top two filter components to free up one half of the top one for the Nitrate compound. This is how we did it at Athens-Chilesburg. Just make sure both the black and then the silver aqualocks are pushed up all the way before opening the filter lid. You may need a bus tray under the Fluval 405 before opening the lid to catch the extra water that will leak out. After replacing the components and resealing it by pulling down both aqualock levers, you can prime the filter by emptying air bubbles before turning it back on.

Southern Elementary lost all of their trout over the weekend after the janitors turned off the electricity Friday for cleaning and didn't turn it back on for the aquarium filters, oxygen aerator, chiller, etc. So Melissa Hagans class will be joining us for trout release on 15-May-2010 at East Fork of Indian Creek.

Also, I want to thank you, Deborah and Kristi for your attendance at the Bluegrass Trout Unlimited Banquet Saturday night. Your presence helped us emphasize the importance of environmental education as well as conservation. As you know, we're not just a fishing club. We have goals for better water quality, not only to support our cold water fisheries, but for our whole ecological environment on this planet.

Thanks,

Don

On Mon, Mar 8, 2010 at 5:25 PM, Mato, David <David.Mato@fayette.kyschools.us> wrote:

Good afternoon,

I have just changed about 30% of the water and tested it. These are the results:

pH 7.2-7.4

Ammonia 0.50 ppm

Nitrite 1.0 ppm

Nitrate 5.0 ppm

The trout look very healthy. They are growing very fast!. I have just started to feed them with a mix of the two biggest pellets of fish feed. I´ve been feeding them with the second largest and before I run out of it, I mix it so there is not a big jump on the size of the food.

I´m using two filters at the same time. The new one and the old one to keep the water as much clear as possible. Unfortunately, the water is not very clear. I´ll change more water tomorrow afternoon.

Thanks for all,

David Mato-Segovia

3rd Grade Teacher

Maxwell Elementary

301 Woodland Ave.

Lexington, KY 40508

--
Don Thompson
TIC Coordinator
859-264-9445 H
859-552-4081 C
349 Shoreside Dr.
Lexington, KY 40515
donlesterthompson@gmail.com
http://www.troutintheclassroom.org/
http://www.bluegrasstu.org/trout_in_the_classroom_11.html
http://troutintheclassroomky.blogspot.com/

The true value of a human being is determined primarily by the measure and the sense in which he has attained to liberation from the self. - Albert Einstein

Operation Upstream

Lexington Teachers for "Trout in the Classroom"

There is always some other community upstream from yours that is releasing untreated storm drain water into your watershed and your community releases untreated storm drain water back into your watershed, streams, lakes and rivers that is used by another community down steam. Only rainwater runoff should go into storm drains. Otherwise, when other objects, chemicals and waste is put into storm drains, it is a violation and becomes non-point source pollution.

Your school, especially those involved with "Trout in the Classroom" can become a source of education to your neighborhood and community by stenciling storm drains. Stenciling storm drains educates citizens so that everyone knows that pollutants don't belong in storm drains. You can make a lesson and a project from the link below:

http://www.lexingtonky.gov/index.aspx?page=2031

Thanks,

Don

Montessori Middle School-New for 2010-2011

Amy,

Great to hear from you today and I'm looking forward to meeting you in person. The Trout in the Classroom brochure and application are attached.

One of the main things we try to accomplish in the classroom with TIC is to help the students begin to think like scientists. Usually students only answer questions others ask, but real scientists ask questions no one else is willing to ask. With an aquarium to act as their laboratory for testing the water to discover the nitrogen cycle, temperature and oxygen content, seeing trout develop from eggs to fry to fingerlings in the trout life cycle, understanding how trout and the invertebrates they feed on are an indicator of water quality, and learning about how urban populations are connected to and dependent upon their local watersheds, helps them begin to ask the right questions about our environmental stewardship of this planet we call earth. Someone said, "We don't inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children." After all, the students are our future.

Thanks,

Don

Spencer County Schools in the News

The Spencer Magnet

The Louisville Chapter of Trout Unlimited is sponsoring the Spencer County “Trout in The Classroom” Project.

The husband and wife team of Sean and Shannon Buynak are pioneering the project in Spencer County. Sean teaches 8th grade at Spencer County Middle School and Shannon is a 3rd grade teacher at Taylorsville Elementary.

Each classroom was the recipient of 300 rainbow trout eggs from the Wolf Creek Hatchery.

One Friday afternoon, Bill Drury, Spencer County magistrate, and Steve Darnell, a Trout in the Classroom mentor, along with Gordon Deapen, walked into Mrs. Buynak’s class. The classroom was packed with about 75 third graders that had eagerly been awaiting the arrival of a small blue cooler.

The students gasped in awe as Bill pulled out a small plastic bag. The 300 brightly colored eggs looked like small orange eye balls. It was like three hundred eyes were looking out and 150 eyes were looking in!

The students were filled with questions as they all got to see the eggs up close before they were put into their new home in the classroom. About a week to ten days later, the eggs started hatching and the excitement has continued to build.

Students at both grade levels are responsible for feeding the fish, testing the water quality, and monitoring changes in the tank. Sean and Shannon will use the program to teach the children how the lives of the trout depend upon their actions just as our local streams rely upon the actions of the communities that surround the streams.

In the classroom the students will participate in cross-curricular lessons in the areas of reading, math, science, and social studies. They will also work closely with members of the community, members and mentors of the Trout Unlimited chapter, as well as the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife in learning how our natural resources can be preserved for future generations.

Pictures of the classes can be found on Trout Unlimited’s websitewww.troutintheclassroom.org.

The students are looking forward to the “Rock and Roll Release Picnic” in May where the 8th and 3rd grade students will be teaming up with one another and releasing the trout fingerlings into a nearby stream and into their natural habitat.

The day will conclude with some fly fishing.

Pineville Elementary School

Justin,

You have done the right thing. I thought about the two last night and wondered about their color difference. I was just joking with Steve Cawood about their being Apache Trout because of the darker color on the top. You did the right thing in removing them since they may have a disease. Of course, I don't know what it is since I'm no veterinarian. Could you change about 20% of water twice a week so you can feed them more. These guys eat a lot once they are that size. I left you another box of three Aqua-Tech filters which you may need for extra feeding.

Thanks,

Don

On Thu, Jan 28, 2010 at 8:31 AM, abbott, justin wrote

Don,

I want to take the time to express my gratitude for your coming all the way down here again to help us ensure that this is successful. Day 1 of the restock seems to be normal. The fish are swimming around just fine. They're aggressive eaters, aren't they? Moreso than what we're used to, anyway. The two fry that remained from our original fish began sinking to the bottom and behaving as if they weren't going to make it. To be on the safe side, I removed them from the tank. When I fed the larger fry the size 2 food, I attempted to feed the other two fry some starter mix that they had been eating and they made no attempt to eat. Being that the water chemistry seemed well enough, we decided they may be sick and need to be away from the healthy fish. I've just measured today's portion of food for 50 (0.03 oz.) and divided it into two equal parts. We're going to feed them this morning, and again in the afternoon. We're fighting like the devil to ensure these fish stay alive and make it into Clear Creek. Again, I, along with my 34 students, and many of the faculty and staff here at Pineville Elementary appreciate all that you're doing to help us.

Have a great day,

Justin

-----Original Message-----
From: Donald Lester Thompson [mailto:donlesterthompson@gmail.com]
Sent: Tuesday, January 26, 2010 9:43 AM
To: abbott, justin
Subject: Re:

Justin,

I don't know what the problem is either, especially since ammonia is at 0 ppm. If nitrite readings are also down, I don't think it is anything we are measuring. I know you always acclimate the input water temperature and dechlorinate it before water changes. I would not think it is from your water source since there are trout in the lake from which Pineville gets their water before treatment.

It could be a disease. Can you describe the colors of their gills and fins. Are they swimming in a circle (whirling disease)?

I think the weather may get a break tomorrow (Wed.) and I could bring down 40 fry. I can empty and clean the tank and gravel, change the filters and start over with fresh dechlorinated water. That's my only suggestion at this point. You may want to keep the 2 fry for inspection.

Thanks,

Don

Don,

Mr. Bennett asked me to inform you that I'm down to two fish. I can't seem to figure out the problem. The ammonia levels have subsided and are down to 0 ppm. I've been acclimating the tank in terms of temperature when changing the water. The pH has been normal. I don't know what the problem is. Is there a chance that they've caught some type of disease and it's spread? Mr. Bennett seems to think that they've been overfed, however the ammonia levels have been normal and there hasn't been enough wasted food to cause a spike.

In terms of you saying that you have 20-40 other fish to bring down, I just simply hope there isn't something in the tank that's causing them to die. I would hate for it to happen all over again. Let me know what you think.

Thanks,

Justin

Phillip A. Sharpe Middle School

Hi Pat,

Thanks for the info about your trout stocking date and location. How's everything going?

I'm meeting with Tracy Farmer Center for the Environment next Monday. Would you need their help with trout stocking or do you plan to use NKU?

I found this question I didn't answer.

The Catch the Critter game was developed by Trout Unlimited for Stream Explorers and is available on the their Stream Explorers website: http://www.streamexplorers.org/ where copies can be obtained.

The classification by type of insect is what U.S. Fish and Wildlife uses for testing biological water quality before stocking trout. The form supplied by Brian Radcliffe of Tracy Farmer Center, UK, is a form he uses at stream side to test water quality before the students release the trout at their Rock and Roll Release Picnic. It could be used as an example for adaptation by NKU.

Thanks,

Don