TROUT IN THE CLASSROOM - Highlands Elementary

We had two classes (Mrs. Jessica White's 4/5 split, and Mr. Russ Redmon's 4th grade class), with a total of about 50 students, participate in the Trout-In-The-Classroom project at Highlands this year. Tom Frew with IDFG brought in 150 eyed rainbow trout eggs, of which we placed 50 in each Vibert box in a 50-gallon aquarium donated by Accent Aquarium. The filter and pumps were purchased by the Highlands PTA.

Most eggs hatched, and most fish grew well. We had a few small bouts of fish mortality along the way, and just last week we released a total of 36 (?) juvenile rainbow trout into Crane Creek, which flows through school property there. We expect that most of the fish may rear for a few weeks in Crane Creek before it warms up too much, and then the fish will likely move downstream (under Boise's North End) to the Boise River, before Crane Creek dries up entirely by summer.

Mrs. White and Mr. Redmon released the fish in the Arboretum area on school property, which was rehabilitated as a wildlife area with native vegetation, starting just last week, by school and neighborhood families. Upon hearing that we were releasing the fish in "Crane Creek" most kids thought first of the Country Club across the street from the school, and wondered if we were going to put them in the pool! Now, hopefully they'll be more aware of the creek running through their neighborhood.

We put the fish tank out in the main entry-way for the whole school to see and learn from. The kids posted their observations on a board and in a ledger for school-mates to see. The principal also provided a weekly update over the intercom for the whole school, using information from students in the two classes.

My favorite part of the project, as usual, was the fish dissection. The kids just seem to love it! I sure do. Thanks to Mrs. White and Mr. Redmon for their participation.

Ted Koch
Highlands Elementary