CENTERVILLE, Va. — Sixth-grade students at Centerville Elementary School are participating in a project called- Trout in the Classroom.
Maryann Settlemyre is the STEAM and Outdoor Education Specialist at Centerville Elementary School.
“We participate with Trout in the Classroom, which is a nationwide program to raise our student's awareness of the environment," Settlemyre explained. "We do it with the fish because trout are a great indicator of the health of a stream.”
Settlemyre is joined by Terry Gray, the sixth-grade math and science teacher, to help guide the students through the program. They teach them about data collection, proper environmental practice, and how to best care for the fish in each stage of its life.
“It's a great program that not only helps the students work together but it also connects them to the environment in real ways and helps them understand what's going on with our environment and how they are actually helping," Gray said.
Students prepare the tanks early in the school year. They learn how to keep the water at the right temperature and PH for the best trout health. The fish are then delivered as eggs and the students raise them until they are large enough to be released.
“We take trout eggs, and we raise them in classrooms and then the goal is to release them into streams in Virginia to help replenish the stock and help increase the health of those streams,” said Gray.
In April the trout will oh-FISH-ally find a new home when the students release them in a stream near Elizabeth Furnace Park.