Trout In The Classroom
The Program
With a science teacher expressing an interest in the TIC program, the chapter provides a volunteer member who helps with setting up the tank system, provides continuing support to the teacher and students involved.
An aquarium and chiller system is set up to incubate trout eggs in classrooms under the guidance of a Trout in the Classroom (TIC) coordinator. Students watch as trout develop from eggs to fry, with the final result being a field trip to release the young fish into the wild. Delayed Harvest streams are used as release sites. This hand-on experience develops students’ interest in the environment and conservation issues as they learn what it takes to keep these trout alive and healthy.
These interests inspire questions about the needs of humans and their relationship to the environment. The Trout in the Classroom program not only involves the sciences also but language arts, mathematics, social studies and art.
Watershed Education
Trout in the Classroom is a unique way to teach the relevance of watersheds. Trout are indicator species; and their abundance directly reflects the quality of the water in which they live. In the TIC program, students learn to care about their trout and then the habitat in which trout live.
As the program progresses, students see connections between the trout, water resources, the environment, and themselves. This hands-on, flexible program has won national acclaim and is in place in classrooms internationally. Raising trout in the classroom connects students to water quality and other real-life issues and inspires them to seek solutions to problems.
Hands-On Science Learning
Mountain rivers provide a beautiful panorama as the students and teachers bid goodbye to their trout during a series of releases. Thousands of trout have been released into the river as a result of this program with area students participating in the school wide programs that were responsible for the care of the trout from eggs to fingerlings.
After these releases the students sometimes get their feet wet. If there is sufficient time in their field trip schedule, they team up with nets and collection jars to sample the macro invertebrates in the stream, learning more about how to identify what’s being found.
Pisgah TU Chapter Programs