Trout raised by River Bend students released into state park waters

River Bend Middle School students released 98 trout into the river at a state park Friday.

The students raised the fish in the classroom from eggs provided by Hickory Trout Unlimited from the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission hatchery.

Each classroom started with 150 eggs. Krystal Luce’s class was able to successfully raise and release 65 trout, and Stoney Turner’s class released 33.

At Stone Mountain State Park, where the trout were released, the students explored the water, flipping over rocks to find insects and crawfish. The students learned how to identify the insects and to create fishing flies to mimic the bugs found in the area, which several students said was their favorite part. The students also were taught how to cast a fly rod.

Eighth-grader Anna Sigmon, 14, said she enjoyed getting to hold crawfish during the release. Eighth-grader Kylie Killian, 14, said she enjoyed getting into the water, but that it was really cold.

Seventh-grader Riley Hefner, 12, liked how the patterns on the fish’s scales would change as they grew in the tanks. All three girls took the lead in the classrooms as caretakers of the fish as they grew.

Hefner said the fish would come to her when it was feeding time. She said the fish did the same when they were released into the water. When Hickory Trout Unlimited President Jackie Greene asked the students what the fish did when released into the water, all of the student said the fish wouldn’t move.

Greene said trout need cold, clean water to survive. The tanks used in the classrooms had devices to keep the water cold. The students and teachers monitored the tanks’ pH balance to keep the trout healthy. Luce said she noticed when the trout would get stressed, they would turn black.

Hickory Trout Unlimited is looking for more schools to participate.

“It’s definitely something that’s doable for any science teacher in the classroom,” Luce said. “It’s not super time consuming, and the enrichment piece that it brings along by far outweighs how much work goes into it. And I would also say that it fits in beautifully with the eighth-grade curriculum.”

Luce said the eighth-graders spend nine weeks of the school year learning about aquatic ecology and water quality. She said raising the trout has helped students retain the information by allowing them to put the information to use. She said the program also benefits students by teaching them about environmental stewardship.

Hickory Trout Unlimited is part of a national organization devoted to preserving rivers and the aquatic wildlife living there, Greene said.