Trout in the Classroom- and in the stream

[Acristickid]

When I was in school we made turkeys by tracing our hands.

http://www.post-gazette.com/multimedia/?clipId=4811863&topVideoCatNo=186654&autoStart=true

 

[jdaddy]

Tully TU has a number of these ongoing in Berks Co. The start up cost is quite a bit, $500 from the chapter with $500 match from PFBC. Most of this is tied up in the water cooling unit. Ongoing costs are much lower, basically delivering eggs every year.

Where are they placing those fish? Doesn't look like typical brook trout habitat. They were launching those bad boys too! LOL!

 

[Acristickid]

jdaddy-Connoquenessing Creek.

Some would describe it as marginal water.

 

[RyanR]

acristickid wrote:
jdaddy-Connoquenessing Creek.

Some would describe it as marginal water.

As per the PFBC, TIC trout must be released into approved trout water sections of stream. They are not to be released into any designated wild trout stream or Class A sections of stream. TIC is not a stocking or fish restoration project. Although it tends to garner the most attention, anticipation and general interest from the local media, etc. the trout release is arguably the least important part of the TIC project.

It's really a fantastic and far-reaching program in terms of education and curriculum possibilities. This upcoming school year will be my chapter's 4th year sponsoring TIC projects. We started with one classroom/school and will now be sponsoring 6 TIC classrooms in 5 different school districts. The number of kids that just our chapter's TIC projects are reaching is in the thousands.

 

[jdaddy]

I agree RyanR, the the educational aspect is most important, however particularly where the mentioned program is stating they are having water quality testing classes, etc springing off the TIC program, it would be nice if they put them in water where they have a chance of survival.

 

[RyanR]

jdaddy wrote:
I agree RyanR, the the educational aspect is most important, however particularly where the mentioned program is stating they are having water quality testing classes, etc springing off the TIC program, it would be nice if they put them in water where they have a chance of survival.

I agree, and I think most of the TIC project strive to stock in the best available water but its not always feasible. This might be the most convenient stream that addresses all the other needs for a release site (ability to accomodate large # of students, bussing, proximity to school, possible need for substitutes, etc.) If you're involved with your chapter's TIC programs than I'm sure you realize these other considerations come into play. Some schools, unfortunately aren't located near what is currently quality trout habitat.

I'm curious, why can't they survive there? Is it a stocked stream? It might not be the best of stocked streams but if its ATW is fits the need. If water quality is marginal perhaps the sponsoring chapter or teacher is actually addressing that water quality issue with the students as a teaching tool. Like I said the release is really just a means to an end, the students learn about water quality, the importance of coldwater habitat and what a trout needs to survive during the schoolyear in which they raise the trout from egg to fingerling.

 

[Acristickid]

It is ATW. Like so many western PA streams, it's had a very checkered past.

 

[osprey]

It would have been so cool to have had one of those set ups in school. There is a company that runs ads for what they call aquarium chillers in the mags. I checked out the website and those babies are very expensive , it would be cool to have a trout aquarium though.

 

[Chaz]

TIC is geared toward teaching kids the requirement of good cold water habitat, throwing the trout into the water of an ATW at the end of the course is not the goal. Our Chapter has 3 different schools in the program. Perkiomen Valley TU funds the startups, unless PFBC comes through with grant money, we also fund the following years of the project as needed.
The goal is educational, in most cases the brook trout released will not make it through the summer in the streams they are released into.

 

[gfen]

osprey wrote:
It would have been so cool to have had one of those set ups in school. There is a company that runs ads for what they call aquarium chillers in the mags. I checked out the website and those babies are very expensive , it would be cool to have a trout aquarium though.

Reefers use them to keep the water temperature reasonable under thousand watts of metal halide lighting. There's probably DIY plans out there somewhere, as a few years back people were trying to experiment with using small dorm-room refrigerator coils and the like to make lower cost units.

You think FF'ing is an expensive hobby, take a look at a cost breakdown on a minireef tank.

As for TIC, I don't think it matters WHERE they fish end up, as much as it shows people what you can do and gives them knowledge. The gift of learning to the kids far outweighs the effect of a few trout in a warming stream or an angler's creel.

Great victories are won with small gains.

 

[goodfortune]

A fellow reefer :-D

I used to keep a reef tank; it can be an expensive, at times frustrating, and yet rewarding hobby, just like FF. I can't afford both at the same time.

Perhaps there is someone out there who is both a reefer and a fly-fisher, who has a chiller sitting around that they could donate to get a program at a their local school started...I'd do it if I had one. Just putting out the thought.

gfen wrote:

osprey wrote:
It would have been so cool to have had one of those set ups in school. There is a company that runs ads for what they call aquarium chillers in the mags. I checked out the website and those babies are very expensive , it would be cool to have a trout aquarium though.

Reefers use them to keep the water temperature reasonable under thousand watts of metal halide lighting. There's probably DIY plans out there somewhere, as a few years back people were trying to experiment with using small dorm-room refrigerator coils and the like to make lower cost units.

You think FF'ing is an expensive hobby, take a look at a cost breakdown on a minireef tank.

As for TIC, I don't think it matters WHERE they fish end up, as much as it shows people what you can do and gives them knowledge. The gift of learning to the kids far outweighs the effect of a few trout in a warming stream or an angler's creel.

Great victories are won with small gains.

 

[gfen]

goodfortune wrote:
A fellow reefer :-D

No sir, never made the jump even to FO saltwater. I came close, but I wanted to keep it closer to a microreef, mostly liverock and a few invertibraes. Invertibrits? Crabs.

Too much money, too much testing, too much bookkeeping.

 

[jdaddy]

As for TIC, I don't think it matters WHERE they fish end up, as much as it shows people what you can do and gives them knowledge. The gift of learning to the kids far outweighs the effect of a few trout in a warming stream or an angler's creel.

For sure. However, I think having the extension of surveying water quality, studying habitat, etc could add to the educational aspect of it as well.

 

[bearfisherman]

As the teacher in charge of the program that is being discussed, I would like to give everyone a little background. This will be our third year in the program, and the second year with two tanks. We set the tanks up with different chiller settings to compare growth rates of the brookies. Students perform water testing on the tanks as well as on our local streams. Students had a chance to listen to our local PFBC biologist and we discussed the hows and whys of stocking versus wild fish. We also participate in litter cleanups along this stretch of the Connie and assist the PFBC with preseason stockings.
As has been pointed out, we are not blessed with brookie streams in the Butler area. We have several decent ATW's that hold over bows and browns ok during a good summer, including the Connie. The one benefit that the Connie has over the other local streams is that it does have a release plan from the Oneida Dam, so there is some flow to it. This area has also undergone some drastic improvements in the last few years, unfortunately we were denied completing instream work by the ACOE. We have worked on the riparian buffer, planting trees and removing a ton of Japanese knotweed.
This year I am looking forward to taking my students to our recently completed habitat project on Thorn Creek.
Biggest thing - I think kids get a lot from it, and not just putting the fish in the creek. To most of them that is secondary to everything else that happens.


And yes...some of them get launched.