Students release classroom-raised fish into the wild through conservation partnership program

NORTHFIELD — As 55 students from Southwick Elementary School gathered around Knowles Pond, to release the trout they raised for more than four months, one of them exclaimed, “This is the best day of my life!”

The group had arrived by bus at 9:30 a.m. on April 16, accompanied by STEAM teacher Brian Winslow and several teacher chaperones, chattering excitedly along the trail to the release site. The fish they raised from eggs in Trout Unlimited’s Trout in the Classroom program had reached the fingerling stage where they would be able to find food on their own.

Staff of the NH Fish and Game Department approved the release location. Brian LaRoche, a member of the Sanbornton Conservation Commission and the Winnisquam Watershed Network, said, “They provide us all the detail on what’s an acceptable body of water: Have there already been fish released there by other people, or are there other types of fish that are in there that may not be conducive — you know, a predator kind of situation? We’re actually issued a license from DES that allows us to release the fish.”

Trout Unlimited has been sponsoring the environmental education program for more than three decades, with New Hampshire participating for more than 20 years. Originally, the state used salmon, but then switched to brook trout, the state’s freshwater game fish.

The Winnisquam Watershed Network, in partnership with the Sanbornton and Northfield conservation commissions, became co-sponsors of Trout in the Classroom last year, working with Fish and Game and Trout Unlimited-New Hampshire to bring the program to Sanbornton Central School. The program also includes Southwick School in the Winnisquam Regional School District, along with the private Sant Bani School.

Fish and Game’s New Hampton Hatchery provided the 200 eggs for the program on Dec. 8. Because trout are cold-water fish, they have to be raised in chilled tanks to maintain temperatures in the 40s. Trout Unlimited provided the chillers, with the local organizations purchasing the fish tank, filters, food, and aerators, with support from the NH Wildlife Council and Fish and Game.

“Because the tanks need to stay so cold, we actually have to build insulation around the tank,” LaRoche said.

From there, under Winslow’s supervision at Sanbornton Central and Southwick, and under STEAM teacher Jess Boynton at Sant Bani School, the students monitor egg development as they hatch and until they reach the level of maturity to be released into the wild. As they observe the fish developing, the curriculum gives students the opportunity to learn the importance of a healthy ecosystem.

The releases were scheduled on successive days: April 14 on Salmon Brook for Sanbornton Central; April 15 in Weeks Brook for Sant Bani School; and April 16 on Knowles Pond for Southwick.

About 30 fourth grade students from Sanbornton Central released their trout from 205 Johnson Road, the property of the Carpenter and McFadden families, who were hosts for last year’s release, as well.

Fifteen seventh grade students from Sant Bani released their trout from the school’s extensive grounds alongside Weeks Brook, in Sanbornton.

In addition to the students and chaperones on hand for the Knowles Pond release were Fish and Game’s watershed education specialist, Kayla Marshwood, Northfield Conservation Commissioner Charlie Page, Sanbornton Conservation Commissioner Dave Perry, Northfield Police Chief Mark Lewandoski, and Northfield Town Administrator Stephanie Giovannucci.

The consecutive fish releases produced their own challenges: In order to transport the fish from the classrooms, they needed a special aerated cooler to provide the oxygen fish need to stay viable.

“We purchased it specifically for this purpose,” LaRoche said.

Once Sanbornton Central completed its release, the cooler had to be cleaned and taken to Sant Bani; then cleaned again, and taken to Southwick, in time for their release.

Marshwood, who oversees the program across the state, noted some school districts were not as successful with their fish. In one case, the tiny fish were sucked into the tank filter, and in another, a donated used tank apparently had not been properly cleaned, and the fish did not survive.

That was not the case for the local students, with enough fingerlings produced to allow each child to release a cupful into the water, and watch them swim away to a new life in the wild.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to clarify NH Fish and Game approves the location for the release, and this is not the first year Southwick School has been involved.