Trout in the Classroom
Jan 25th, 2011 by Deidre Austen
This year, Lutherville students and staff are again partnering with Trout Unlimited and the Department of Natural Resources to raise rainbow trout. Through the Trout in the Classroom program, students will care for the trout tank in the iLab, identify challenges facing trout in their natural habitat, and eventually release the trout in a local stream. Our Environmental Club is spearheading this effort, with assistance from the fourth grade classes. All students will have the opportunity to visit the iLab and participate in this exciting learning experience
Last year, we lost all 128 trout due to a 5-hour power outage in Lutherville two days before our release date. Although we were devastated, Kathleen Tunney and her students at Burleigh Manor Middle School came to our rescue and sent over 100 trout to Morgan Run so that our 4th graders could still participate in the release. This year, we have placed our filter and air stone on a battery back-up system in the hopes that we can avoid another power outage.
The photos above show details from the 55-gallon tank in the iLab that houses the trout (thank you to the Bayne family for the blue heron!). The metal coil that you see in the center photo is the chiller that keeps the temperature at a chilly 53 degrees Fahrenheit. Cold to you and me, but perfect for the rainbow trout! The black rectangle in the photo on the left is an air stone that keeps oxygen moving through the water. In the third photo, you’ll see the background designed by the Environmental Club and the empty breeder basket that will hold the eggs.
Our eggs arrived on January 6, delivered by Tom Gamper (after being frozen and flown from Washington State). After warming to 54 degrees, the eggs were placed in a plastic breeder basket in our tank. The photos below show the eggs on the day they arrived.
Be sure the check the pages below, published by members of our Environmental Club. Mrs. Austen and the students will be adding pages throughout our TIC experience so that you can follow along.
This page has the following sub pages.
