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Clearwater
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Trout in the Classroom
Clearwater Chapter's Trout in the Classroom Program
Trout in the Classroom (TIC) is a program where students raise trout from eggs to fingerlings. It fits well in the NYS school curricula, with lesson plans, science, English, and art units. students learn about watersheds, ecosystems, water quality, the fragility of the trout's world, and more. Trout eggs are hatched, cared for, fed, provided with a careful environment, and eventually their release into a local stream helps students become attached to that stream where their trout live. They are able to witness the life cycle of trout and gain an understanding of the trout’s requirements for clean, cold, and unpolluted water. Participants engage in stream habitat studies to connect with and gain an appreciation for their local water resources.
The Clearwater Chapter currently (2011-2012) has TIC programs running at various grade levels, elementary through high school, in ten local school districts. Schools currently participating in the program are, Albany Prep Charter school, Amsterdam High School, Eagle Elementary School (Bethlehem), Green Island Elementary School, Keane Elementary School (Schenectady), Niskayuna High School, Oneida Middle School (Schenectady), Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk Elementary, Stevens Elementary School (Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake), and Voorheesville Elementary School.
For more information or to get involved with the Trout in the Classroom program in our area, please contact Ron Dorn - Phone#: 598-8789.
A lot of good general information on TIC can be found here: Trout in the Classroom.
Trout in the Classroom Community Resources
TIC Facebook page
Albany Charter School hatches their trout eggs December 2011
Amsterdam Trout in the Classroom release into Doc Shaul's Spring
By: Ron Dorn, TIC coordinator, Clearwater Chapter TU.
This event went very well, and the Teacher Bryan Crowe's students showed they learned quite a bit from the exercise. About 9 students and invitees came on the trip in a large school bus. We selected the spot where the creek from the spring went under Barnerville road, as there was not enough parking for the bus at the spring itself. We had extra boots for two students, who apparently enjoyed them.
Cheyenne and another of the students selected two rocks from the stream, and found they were covered with mayfly and stonefly nymphs - thousands of them. After measuring the temperature of the water at a little below 60 degrees, they knew that there was plenty of food for their fish and a temperature like they kept the tank at. Also, we explained that those nymphs survived since the water was clean.
Each of the students released some of the fish, and the teacher took plenty of pictures. The students placed the kick-net, did the shuffle, and brought the sample up where they picked up several nymphs (most wearing some vinyl gloves we provided). There seemed to be over a hundred fish.
We went to the reservoir off Dow road for casting practice and all students cast some lines, and then went back to the bus, where they gave me presentations (Cheyenne, Anthony, Robert, Precious), with posters and dioramas on the trout's life cycle, anatomy, effect of pollution, clean water, and the eggs provided (both eyed and those that needed to be removed). They noticed there were too many geese at the reservoir, making tricky walking. In additon to the presentations, each student thanked us for the help with equipment.
Some pictures with the macroinvertebrate sampling, trout release, and projects are forthcoming.
Announcements
The 2011 New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYS DEC) trout stocking permit application for Regions 2, 3 and 4 is now available online. If you are planning a trout release in a Region 2 (NYC), Region 3 , or Region 4 please complete the application at www.troutintheclassroom.org. Trout releases taking place in all other regions please contact your local TU Chapter or appropriate NYS DEC regional office.
Free Scholarships to DEC Summer Camps for students ages 12-14 are now available through Trout Unlimited and Theodore Gordon Flyfishers. Camp DeBruce, located on 300 in the southern Catskills, is near the village of Livingston Manor (Sullivan County). Camp activities include everything from pond exploration to fly-fishing. If you know a young person that may be interested in attending the week long program this summer, with all expenses covered, please fill out the online application and email/mail it to lgenovesi@tu.org.
Join the Google Groups network of TIC teachers and supporters from across the nation on our online listserve. Apply for membership directly by visiting our Google Group page and following these three easy steps: Create a Google Groups account by clicking on the blue "Create an Account" link on the bottom right corner of the screen (you do not need a Gmail account to join Google Groups). Register with Google Groups using the e-mail address that you would like the listserv e-mail delivered to. Create a password for this account (This does not create a Gmail address).
Join Fin Pals: An exciting joint project where students from various classrooms partner to write letters about the challenges and successes in raising and releasing trout. Contact lgenovesi@tu.org to find a partner classroom from New York or across the nation.
The weather is fine and it's a great time to visit NYC DEP's Newtown Creek
Visitor Center and Nature Walk in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.
The center will be open on Fridays and Saturdays from 12 pm - 4 pm. School
groups will be able to visit on Tuesdays and Thursdays by appointment only.
Those interested in scheduling a tour should contact the
DEP Education Office or
call 718-595-3506.
The nature walk is open daily from dawn to dusk (weather permitting). For
more information, visit the
NYC DEP website.
Book a trip for your students to the NYC DEP's Visitor Center at Newtown Creek.. School groups will be able to visit on Tuesdays and Thursdays by appointment only. The Visitor Center is also open to the public on Fridays and Saturdays from noon to 4 p.m. Visitors will learn about the NYC water supply and sewer systems. Those interested in scheduling an educational program at The Visitor Center should contact the DEP Education Office at or 718-595-3506. All programs are free of charge.
The nature walk at Newtown Creek is open daily from dawn to dusk (weather permitting). For more information, visit the NYC DEP website.
TIC has just launched the new online community bulletin board. All TIC participants including teachers, volunteers and students may post questions and ideas about TIC or share their expertise with others.
National\State level TIC Contacts
Trout Unlimited's TIC program is here for you. Please feel free to call or email the persons listed below with concerns or comments about the TIC program. We love to hear what we can improve and what you enjoy about TIC.
For technical support regarding tank setup, maintenance and care, email\call
John Fischer.
- Cell: 516-425-4198
For questions regarding NYC DEP presentations, material requests and other
education resources contact Kim
Estes-Fradis, Deputy Director of Education and Outreach.
- Office: 718-595-3506
For all other TIC related questions and concerns, email\call
Lilli Genovesi.
- Office: 718-595-6706
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Stream Explorers magazine is now available online. Check out the new "What's a Watershed" issue. Teachers are welcome to download the PDF and print out a class set.
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Union Aquarium in Schenectady (518) 346-7990) and TIC are now partnered to give great discounts and easy to order TIC supplies for teachers. You can find great deals on refill kits, too
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TIC needs your help. If you have extra or unused TIC equipment please contact your local TU chapter TIC coordinator, Ron Dorn. We can find a teacher who is in need of the equipment and can use it for their classroom or use various parts as emergency back-ups. All equipment donations to Trout Unlimited TIC program are Tax-Deductible!
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We are always looking for ideas to share with teachers. Please send any new or interesting TIC lessons or photos to incorporate in our newsletters and website. Comments and Suggestions are always welcome as well.
Local TIC news
Kelsie Backus (Shenendehowa Middle School), Sean Powers (Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk), and Frank Hohman (Schenectady) attended the Fall TIC Teacher conference in Hyde Park, along with Ron Dorn from Clearwater. They met with Lilli Genovesi and John Fischer of Trout Unlimited's TIC program, who are technically with the NYC region, but have provided immediate assistance to us on matters like getting copies of Stream Explorer newsletters.
Trout Unlimited is also picking up on the success of TIC programs with a new youth membership category called Stream Explorers. Last year we also had a lot of help from Union Street Aquarium in Schenectady who helped the Schenectady TIC program achieve an unprecedented percentage of live trout survive.
Brent Lehman and Professor John Foster of SUNY Cobleskill have held field trips and provided trout eggs for area TIC teachers, and other sources of eggs were the DEC at the Fall Hyde Park conference and the Rome Hatchery has also provided eggs to Ron Dorn to deliver to area schools as late as December.
Atlantic Salmon in the Classroom 2010:
Stevens Elementary School, Burnt Hills Ballston Lake Schools
Dave Somoza is is a fifth grade teacher at the Stevens Elementary School in
Burnt Hills School District who has been conducting the Salmon in the
Classroom (SIC) program for nine years starting in Vermont where he started
the program. He works with a hatchery up near Willsboro to get his eggs and
stocks them into a tributary of The Great Sacandaga Lake and has done so for
several years. This program is coordinated with DEC with all required
permits. Dave takes the students on a field trip to the tributary to
stock the fish in the
spring, as well as many of the children's parents. The students are very
enthusiastic and they participate fully with questions concerning things
they always wanted to know about salmon. Dave breaks down the equipment and
explains it all the kids and then has them assemble it under his guidance.
His aquarium is about 25 gallons, with external circulators and he has
devised a system of floor screens to keep the water clean during the
hatching process which also protects the small salmon from the cleaning
system and circulation system.
Salmon Video clip (~2 MB .WMV file)
Newly hatched Alevin Salmon Fry Dave Somoza
Salmon Fry being released
Stream where Salmon fry were released
2010 Salmon Release by Stevens Elementary Students
From Left:
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The eggs arrive
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Drawings of the developing fry
Student artwork while expecting the fish in the fall
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Overview: Frank Hohman, Central Park’s Technology Teacher, saw TIC being used in a Glens Falls Senior High School Science room and thought it would be a great activity to bring to the inner city students of Schenectady. Mr. Hohman took the first steps in contacting TIC last spring. With the help of many, and especially Bart Chabot and Ron Dorn, his vision became reality on October 13, 2008 when approximately 150 eggs were brought to Central Park MS from the FDR Library. Students maintained the aquarium set-up, took care of am and pm feedings, tested, changed, and vacuumed the tank on a weekly basis. In the end, the survival rate was fantastic with 100 healthy fry being released into Doc Shaul’s Spring in Cobleskill, NY in 2010, and students were given a tour of the SUNY Cobleskill Fish Hatchery.
The students at Central Park Middle School received an up close and personal look at the technological systems required to sustain Brown Trout in the classroom. Seeing the transformation from an egg the size of a pencil eraser, to a 3” fish in the course of 9 months, provided an eye opening experience for many. Students as well as staff would routinely stop in “to see how the fish were doing.” That said, the excitement Trout in the Classroom brought to the classroom extended well beyond it’s walls. "My students and I would like to thank everyone once again for allowing this to happen and look forward to another successful year raising trout in the classroom at Central Park Middle School."
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In the 2010-2011 school year, teacher Melissa Montague held an additional TIC class in along with teacher Frank Hohman in the Schenectady Central School district.
Schenectady Central Park school is planning
a release into the Upper Indian Kill in Glenville. On left, Glen in the Indian Kill getting the site ready for the classroom and on the right, the students are getting the eggs ready in the fall.
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Here below, she and Bart Chabot are
assembling the tank to be used for this year's TIC project.
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Oneida Middle School Trout in the Classroom 2010 Fingerling Release (133 Brown Trout) Doc Shaul's Spring- Cobleskill, NY and learn to Fly Fish at Colby Reservoir. They released the fish, looked at some macro invertebrate samples with Mike Walchko, and went fly fishing in the reservoir. |
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