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East Middle students learn from brook trout
by Jule Hubbard
(Photo caption) East Wilkes Middle student Abby Burchette puts brook trout eggs in a tank at the school. Assisting is East Wilkes Middle School teacher Russell Sparks.
Students are learning firsthand about the importance of water quality for aquatic life in a project at East Wilkes Middle School.
Five students in an East Middle "Envirothon" team are monitoring and adjusting conditions in a 55-gallon tank containing brook trout fry at the school. Their efforts will be entered in a state community service competition among school Envirothon teams, conducted through the N.C. Division of Soil and Water Conservation.
The five students-Kaitlyn Crouse, Maggie Weatherman, Lauren Pardue, Sydney Johnson and Abby Burchette-keep the water temperature around 50 degrees with a coolant unit and adjust pH, nitrite and ammonia levels by replacing water in the tank.
They're collecting data to record the process and they'll share this with other students this school year.
The plan is for East Middle's 30-member Science Club to release all surviving trout in a stream at Stone Mountain State Park in May as part of an event featuring wildlife and other conservation speakers.
It's all part of a Trout Unlimited (TU) program called "Trout in the Classroom," funded with $1,500 raised by the Stone Mountain chapter of TU in an annual holiday banquet. Most of the chapter's members live in Wilkes, Surry, Alleghany and Watauga counties.
Fisheries biologist Kevin Hinning of the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission delivered about 200 brook trout eggs from a state hatchery near Marion to East Middle on Nov. 30. The eggs were already hatching.
So far, about 100 trout have survived. The trout hatchlings are still feeding on their attached yoke sacks, but the students will soon be feeding them. Insulation was put around the water tank to help keep the water cool and maintain shade.
East Middle became the first Wilkes school to participate in Trout in the Classroom after East teacher Shelley Somers called the Stone Mountain State Park office about the program and was put in touch with Jeff Payne of North Wilkesboro, president of the Stone Mountain chapter of TU.
Payne said he was excited about the opportunity to bring Trout in the Classroom to a Wilkes school. He said the Stone Mountain chapter wants to help provide it in other Wilkes schools to promote the importance of protecting the quality of water in trout streams and fostering a conservation ethic.
Payne said Trout in the Classroom also helps students understand ecosystem connectivity.
"Hopefully, it will help kids realize the importance of clean water. People think fishermen only care about stocking and catching fish, but it's much more. It's really an environmental attitude," said Payne.
"If you take care of the land around water, suitable habitat should be maintained through the natural filtration process" in streams, he said, adding that streamside trees and shrubs help maintain suitable temperatures and lighting conditions.
Mrs. Somers and Russell Sparks, another East Middle teacher, are overseeing the program at the school. Somers and Sparks are the advisors for the school's Science Club.
Sparks said the project ties in with several areas of the curriculum at East Middle, including science, math and writing.
"It's amazing to me to see how much mortality there is (for trout), even when perfect conditions are maintained," said Sparks.
"The overall goal (of Trout in the Classroom) is to help students understand the impact of water quality and how this affects people," he said, adding that it also teaches students about aquatic habitat building.
Sparks said the Trout in the Classroom website, at www.troutintheclassroom.org, is a valuable resource for the students. |
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