Trout… in a classroom? It may sound a bit odd at first, but Wolf Creek NFH is helping to bring nature into classrooms across the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Wolf Creek National Fish Hatchery partners with Trout Unlimited chapters in Kentucky to offer students of all ages a chance to raise trout in a classroom environment for release into nearby streams. The hands-on experience of caring for the fish fosters a conservation ethic in the students, and the act of releasing the fish creates a connection between what a species needs to survive and the health of the environment.
So how does Trout in the Classroom (TIC) actually work? Wolf Creek National Fish Hatchery provides eggs, feed and technical advice to participating teachers. The equipment is provided by both the Louisville and Bluegrass Chapters of Trout Unlimited who sponsor the TIC program. Classroom teachers set up their aquariums, which must include a chiller for the cold water necessary for trout rearing and the filters and pumps to create the bio-system in the tank. Once this is set up and ready, representatives from Trout Unlimited will coordinate with Wolf Creek NFH when an egg shipment is received to transfer approximately 250 eggs to each participating classroom. The necessary amounts and sizes of feed are also measured out, bagged and are sent to the classrooms, along with feeding instructions. Once in the classroom, teachers and students care for the fish and watch them grow from the small sac fry stage until they are fingerlings and ready for release in a nearby trout stream.
How do teachers make TIC relevant to classroom curriculum? Elementary students can focus on caring, growth, life cycles and the seasons. Older students can explore water chemistry, the nitrogen cycle, natural resource management, and watershed geology and ecology. Trout Unlimited offers a lesson plan library on their Trout in the Classroom website.
For the 2021-2022 school year, Wolf Creek NFH has provided eggs for 14 classrooms, most of them in urban areas. Schools in both Louisville and Lexington have classrooms that are participating in the program. TIC provides a rich, firsthand learning experience that some students in urban areas may never be exposed to otherwise. Wolf Creek NFH is proud to partner with Trout Unlimited in Kentucky to provide these learning opportunities. Pre-Covid, we annually had @24 schools participate in the program.
