HELENA — As a student, there’s only so much you can learn from textbooks. Many students are visual or hands-on learners, making the "Trout in the Classroom" program a perfect catch.
For the last few months, students at Rossiter Elementary School have been raising around 100 rainbow trout to be released into Spring Meadow Lake.
Evan Charney reports - watch the video here:
“It's pretty cool and kinda sad because I'll miss them, I'll miss feeding them,” said 5th grader Kendell Lamping.
The program is a partnership between the school, Trout Unlimited, and Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks.
Teachers can volunteer to sign up, where Trout Unlimited provides eggs and equipment for classrooms to raise their own rainbows.
“Just seeing how it can kind of bring a school together, having the kids talking about it in the hallways, and they're so excited with the fish,” said Rossiter Elementary teacher Allyson Crum.
Students help care for the fish beginning mid-January when eggs are given out. Responsibilities include cleaning tanks, testing water, and feeding. Around late April to early May, the fry are released into Spring Meadow Lake.
“It was cool because it feels like yesterday they were little eggs and now we release them,” said 3rd grader Braleigh Fonger. “They can't be in a tank their whole life; they have to get used to this.”
Teachers say this program gives kids hands-on experience with the trout life cycle and shows them the value of hard work.
“It's important because then after they get released, they can do whatever they want, and they go swim free and maybe have more babies,” said 5th grader Camden Morrison.
Trout Unlimited says the program also helps foster an appreciation for conservation in students and the impacts they can have on their environment.
"I think it's important mostly to just get kids engaged with animals in our ecosystem, and to get them out in nature,” said Trout Unlimited Helena coordinator Christina Sieminksi. “I think experiential learning is a really good learning format for students, and I think it gets them excited about just experiencing trout out in nature."
Right now, six schools in the Helena area are involved, and organizers hope to continue expanding the program.
More information about the program and how to apply can be found here.
