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Take Me To The River: Mountain View Students Say So Long To Some Fishy Friends

By Kate Elizabeth Queram, Daily News-Record
Posted 2010-03-20 at http://www.dnronline.com/details.php?AID=45554&CHID=2; Reposted here with Permission

RAWLEY SPRINGS - Thanks to 25 fourth-graders from Mountain View Elementary School, the brook trout population in the Dry River is a bit bigger today. The students released 25 of the fish, each about an inch long, into the river Friday as part of a nearly yearlong class project.

The students raised the trout from eggs, watched them grow in a 55-gallon tank and learned about their life cycles before releasing them. The release was originally slated for June, said fourth-grade teacher Jeff Peake. But the fish tank was becoming too crowded, so Peake selected 25 students with high honors in science to free some early, he said.

"We need to thin our tank out," Peake said. "We have so many fish that are thriving."

The trout-release project, currently taking place at eight other Rockingham County schools, has been in place at Mountain View for five years, Peake said. It costs the schools nothing as Trout Unlimited, a national conservation group, donates the fish eggs and food. Peake pays for other materials - including waders for the children and water-testing supplies - using local grant money.

The teacher said it's all worth it, because raising and observing the fish give the children a unique look at science and its real-world applications.

"I think that nothing beats kids getting a hands-on learning experience. We're bringing them outside, showing them how the world works," he said. "I wish I had participated in something like this when I was a kid." 

Testing the Environment

Before releasing their fish on Friday, the students performed a variety of tests on the river water to make sure it would provide a hospitable environment. They tested water samples for levels of dissolved oxygen, phosphate, nitrate and pH balance, all of which were normal. Finally, the students examined the river's insect life, to ensure the trout would have enough to eat.

Chaperones waded into the water holding large nets as the students jumped and danced in front of them to dislodge rocks, dirt and, hopefully, bugs.

"I feel like an Oompa Loompa!" shouted one boy, his waders ballooning around him as he wiggled back and forth.

Once the nets were filled with rocks and leaves, chaperones spread them on the riverbank. Students crouched over them and poked through the debris, occasionally yelling when they made a particularly good discovery.

"We found a mayfly!" yelled Amber Peake, 10, daughter of Jeff Peake. The bug-hunting was especially fun, she added, "because it's nice to see what the fish will eat."

Crouched next to her, 10-year-old Ella Godshall made a face.

"I would never eat this," she said. 

Releasing the Fish

Once the students were satisfied that the Dry River would be a good home for the trout, it was time to let the fish go.

Using plastic bowls made from the bottom half of 2-liter soda bottles, volunteers from Trout Unlimited scooped the fish out of a blue Igloo cooler and handed one to each student.

Eli Roeschley, 10, was first. Cupping the bowl carefully in his hands, he walked slowly to the river's edge.

"I like having the fish in our room," he said as he waded in. "But we have to let them go because we have too many."

Carefully, Roeschley bent over and dipped the bowl in the water. Then he stood still, feet firmly planted.

"You don't want to step on them," he explained.

One by one, Roeschley's classmates joined him in the water. A chorus of "Bye-bye, fishies!" arose from the river. Within a few minutes, all the trout were gone.

"It's so sad!" said Alli Seifert, 10. "Especially if you named it. I named mine Liza."

But despite her sadness, Seifert said raising and freeing the fish was a fun learning experience.

"It's not something that most kids get to do, so it's extremely special," she said.

Next to her, Hunter James, 10, agreed.

"My trout was a good trout," he said thoughtfully. "I knew him for a whole 10 seconds." 

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Contact Kate Elizabeth Queram at 574-6272 or kqueram@dnronline.com

Pictures by LD Graham