Trout in the Classroom'

Students peer into holding tanks full of palomino trout as Oswayo Trout Hatchery operator Ken Martin explains how the fish are raised from eggs to adult trout. The students got a lot closer to the breeding process before the day was over.

If it's true that children are likely to learn more from hands on lessons than through passive lectures, then sixth grade students at Austin Area School are going to be near-experts in brook trout biology.

As part of the "Trout in the Classroom" program, educator Art Metzger's sixth graders were recent guests of Ken Martin, operator of the Oswayo Fish Hatchery, who gave the students a graphic lesson in brook trout biology.

"The students got a unique look at how a hatchery operates," Metzger explained. "Since the hatchery raises trout, it was the perfect experience for the students because they learned about how the fish are raised from the very beginning and that plays well into their biology curriculum."

Over sometimes-curled noses, students first watched as eggs were stripped from breeder female brook trout and milt was forced from the males. Later, they got more involved in the process, mixing the milt and eggs together in trays, thus beginning the embryonic process.

The trout fry are now only weeks away from hatching and will soon be delivered to the classrooms, where they will be cared for by the students, with the help of their biology teachers and Penn State University Cooperative Extension professionals.

Extension Educators Jim Clark and Ray Bierbower started the program in Cameron, McKean, and Potter counties in the fall of 2006 after receiving a grant from National 4-H Council and Coca-Cola Company.

In those counties, nine schools are participating in 2007: Austin, Bradford, Cameron County, Coudersport, Fretz Middle School in Bradford, Kane, Otto-Eldred, Port Allegany and Smethport.

Last year, Austin, Cameron, Coudersport, Port Allegany and Smethport were the only schools involved. Those students raised 360 brook trout fingerlings and later released them into area streams.

Leftover funds from last year's program have been used to extend the program to the additional districts this school year.

Special cold water tanks have already been placed in each of the nine classrooms in Potter, McKean and Cameron counties. Bierbower will deliver the baby trout to the schools on Oct. 30.

"They will be just about to hatch and this is the safest time to transfer them," Bierbower explained. "The young will hatch and feed off of their yolk sac for about a month before they will start feeding."

Students will monitor water quality and the general health of the trout from the day they receive them until May when they will release them into a stream approved by the Fish & Boat Commission.

"It was an amazing experience for the students last year," Metzger explained. "They looked forward to coming to the classroom every day and caring for the fish."

In addition to Coca-Cola and the Fish & Boat Commission, Trout Unlimited has been heavily involved in the program.

"Our goal from the beginning was to get Trout Unlimited involved so they could share their knowledge with the students." Bierbower said. "It is really working out well for us."