BELLEVUE, Idaho — For the past three months, a group of fourth graders at Gooding Elementary School have been raising rainbow trout in their classroom.
Ms. Knittle’s students participated in the Trout in the Classroom program. The nationwide program is coordinated by Trout Unlimited and sponsored here by the Idaho Department of Fish and Game. The program can encompass many subject areas such as science, math, art, language arts, reading, technology and music.
In January, the Gooding students received 100 sterile rainbow trout eggs from the Hayspur Hatchery.
The students watched the fish grow from eggs, to swimming fry with the beginnings of pink stripes along their sides and spots on their backs which will provide camouflage among the rocks in their new habitat.
The trout were kept in a specially chilled, 30-gallon aquarium.
The kids tested the aquarium water quality and documented fluctuations in tank temperature, nitrogen and phosphate levels. Students also studied fish development, habitat and behavior, the trout lifecycle, and how human activity affects these.
On Wednesday, the students took the fish back to the Hayspur Hatchery, south of Bellevue, to release the trout into their new home.
"We hope to see many years of Trout in the Classroom where kids form connections with trout and gain a sense of stewardship for Idaho's waters," said Cathy Tyson-Foster, the local Trout Unlimited outreach coordinator.
When trout fry reach about two inches in length, the classroom aquarium no longer has sufficient room for all the fish. They must be relocated to a local water body.
The students also got to fish in the hatchery's pond after the release.
