Our work has Just BEGUN!!!

Written BY: Katherine Mary B. Conner K. Tatyana S. Ben S. Leigh N. and Gabby M.
With Support from the entire Research and Development Team and Mrs. Agner


PART 1: WHAT’S THE ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUE?

Our group TEAM TROUT have planned to restore the Pennsylvania State fish, the Brook Trout to our local Darby Creek Watershed. Since our 7th grade integrated learning program monitors water quality and participates in several community action restoration projects, we have realized the importance of restoring wildlife, and recently the native Brook Trout to our waterways. Brook trout are extremely important to the eco-system in our Watershed. They are an indicator species who have been declining in population numbers due to habitat loss and destruction. Non-native trout species have been taking over the Brook trout’s waterways and the Brook trout population is suffering. We will raise our young trout in the classroom to the crucial fingerling stage of life – this will ensure a better chance of survival. As part of our release plan, we will work to restore local creeks and streams including the Darby Creek, a major waterway in our Watershed. Focusing our restoration efforts on the riparian zone and channel characteristics will help us to provide a clean and healthy habitat to release our trout in. By releasing the Brook Trout into a safe environment, we hope to kick-start the eco-system in our very own Watershed. As always it will be important to us to share what we are doing with the community.
We chose the Trout in the Classroom project after hearing a presentation by a second grade teacher in our district. He had attended a Trout in the Classroom teacher’s workshop and he asked our class if we would be interested in the project. We maintain a stream table and a creek lab in our classroom. The idea of receiving 300 trout eggs from PA Fish and Wildlife to raise and release appealed to our group because we value clean water and work to restore habitat and improve the riparian corridor in our own Darby Creek Watershed.




PART 2: WHAT’S YOUR PLAN?

GOALS
Our goals are simple and clear – In order to accomplish our primary goal of replenishing the local water ways with our native Brook trout, we must focus on the aquatic habitats in our area. We hope to release our young trout into the best possible habitat – and this means monitoring the four major needs of a trout – food, water, shelter, and space. Educating the community is an equally important part of our plan.


Immediate:
· Raise a clutch of local Brook Trout eggs for release into a local waterway we have helped to restore.
· Understand connections between trout, healthy watershed, eco-systems and people
· Recognize trout as an important indicator species
· Cultivate an appreciation of trout and the need for coldwater conservation!!
Long Term:
Foster environmental stewardship and community involvement
Enable students to make informed decisions and create action plans about rescuing our aquatic resources

Step-By-Step

Research
Acquire and set up Trout in the Classroom Tank
Daily Tank Maintenance
Daily Water Quality Testing
Weekly Field Studies to determine need for restoration
Grow native plant species in classroom for future planting
Monthly Field trips for progressive restoration project focusing on the 4 elements trout need to be successful:
1. Food Source
2. Shelter
3. Clean Water
4. Adequate Space

Support needs of Trout in classroom including daily feeding and behavior monitoring
Educate Community about Coldwater Conservation and the Native Brook Trout
Prepare final release site
Release Trout in Spring
Continue to Monitor Stream Quality in the following years


Team Members
· Katherine-Mary – Education Director: Creates and executes lesson plans on Trout Life Cycles, Health and Behavior Monitoring, and Field Studies to share with parents, community members and classmates. Creates and distributes press releases to spread the word on our action plan.
· Ben, Nina – Goalie: Helps to determine the goals and purpose of our projects. Works with research and development team to stay focused on the daily tasks. Creates schedule and timeline for goals.
· Connor – IT Director: Organizes and develops resources in the form of an interactive BLOG: http://watershedtrout.blogspot.com/. Maintains daily online records and updates development posts. Creates power point presentations to share with the community. (Assisted by Leigh N.)
· Mitchell/Tom – Chemist: In charge of daily monitoring of water quality and tank maintenance.
· Will – Picture Sifter: Takes pictures of students in action and sifts through pictures to determine which ones should be used in presentations to the community. Works with all team members on research and development.
· Gabby – Ichthyology Curator: Studies behavior and health of trout through out various stages of their life cycles.
· Aubrey/Kyle/Tatyana – Stream Stewards : Go on weekly Stream Surveys to determine a future location for trout release.
· Tyler – Fern Maniac: In charge of the growth and care of vegetation in preparation for future alteration of stream bank repair.



Measuring Success/Quantifiable Results

Because this is an involved and ongoing project, the measurable impact of our efforts will not be fully recognizable until we are able to complete our plan. (Please see the Extra Credit graphs charts.) Along with the obvious impact of helping to increase the population of an important native fish – we will be permanently altering the eco-system with in our watershed. We know the importance of a clean and healthy watershed - restoring and cleaning up our local waterways impacts not only our immediate area but the entire Watershed. Understanding the connection between people, wildlife and water is more important than ever because we now know we have the power to make a measurable change in the world. Sharing this realization with our peers and community is empowering and allows us to continue in our journey of making a difference.


PART 3: YOUR PLAN IN ACTION: HOW DID YOU IMPLEMENT YOUR IDEAS?

On November 4, 2008 over 300 eggs of Pennsylvania Brook Trout arrived at our classroom. We are looking forward to a spring release date in a very clean section of Darby Creek which we have helped to restore. We are working with the community under the direction of Kevin Fryberger, Brandywine Conservancy Preserve Manager at Waterloo Mills, and we plan to release the trout in the spring in an area that we will be continuing to restore and plant with native plants. We have been diligent in our daily monitoring of the health of our trout and tank systems. We have been conducting weekly stream surveys and graphing the results of our restoration. As our trout grow and flourish we have been focusing our efforts on spreading awareness of the need for Watershed restoration. We have been holding open house for parents and community leaders and hosting elementary school children here in our classroom. During these events we talk about our research, show field studies results, conduct lesson plans and songs on trout life cycles and what role they play in the eco-system. We have distributed press releases under the direction of Katherine Mary and conducted power point presentations created by our Goalies. The blog has been a crucial part in generating interest in our projects.



PART 4: EVALUATE YOUR PLAN: WHAT ARE THE RESULTS?

We feel successful because of the tremendous effort we collectively have put forth. We have worked together to overcome challenges and our trout survival rate is significantly higher then the average. Some of the challenges we faced were learning about how to take the chemical tests, setting up the tank, if there was an unusual result in the chemical tests to find the problem and fix it, and finding a stream suitable to release the trout in. The positive outcomes are that we have raised awareness in the community, educated a 2nd grade class, parents, and community leaders at open house forums. We have paved the way for a brighter future for the watershed curriculum, for 2nd graders to get involved, and for community leaders to take action. We learned to take responsibility for aquatic ecosystems, water testing (chemistry), animal care (zoology), Brook Trout life cycles, and patience waiting for them to grow, to appreciate the need for replenishing native species, and how to carry out an environmental plan.
We continue to learn so much from this project. We have discovered within ourselves patience, responsibility, cooperation, understanding, and a new found faith in the future of our natural world. We have found ways in which we can truly make a difference. We want to thank our resident Marine Biologist Mrs. Agner, our tireless dedicated teachers Mrs. Ackerman, Mr. Savitch, and Trout Unlimited, our fabulous sponsor.