Trout in the Classroom – Evergreen 4th Grade
Evergreen Elementary teachers Kevin Tomlinson and Kelly Voicheck wanted to engage their students innovatively through Trout in the Classroom. Both teachers wanted to provide their students with hands-on, exciting experiences to foster awareness of coldwater conservation and encourage participation in cold water resource projects and recreation programs. Tomlinson and Voicheck presented their proposal at the Foundation’s March 2022 meeting. After hearing their proposal, Perkiomen Valley School District Foundation knew we had to be a part of making this a reality.
The Pennsylvania Trout in the Classroom program is an interdisciplinary environmental education program where PA schools can raise trout from eggs to fingerlings. Tomlinson and Voicheck plan to provide this hand on experience to fourth graders at Evergreen Elementary with opportunities for the rest of the school to observe, study, and interact with their coldwater ecosystem.
Students participating in Trout in the Classroom have already prepared for the trout by setting up the tanks and preparing the materials needed for a wonderful habitat. In January, students will receive trout eggs and begin to learn how to care for trout as they watch them grow. Students and families are excited for the trout eggs to arrive when they return from the holiday break.
Stay tuned for updates!
Evergreen Elementary Trout Timeline
This year’s batch of fish eggs arrived! 141 eggs were counted and put into the tank. Students are excited to watch the eggs hatch and grow.
Our student tour guides started running tours of our fish tank! Students can share with younger classes about the program, information about the fish, and what they do to keep the fish healthy and happy.
Jake Grey and Sarah Stover became our first Tour Guides as they lead Mrs. Moyer’s class through a tour of our fish tank. The tour guides shared details regarding the equipment, fish life cycle, and Trout in the Classroom program. They fielded questions from the tour group, then provided an extension opportunity as students left with a Mad Libs and Wordsearch to further explore the topics. Tours are currently scheduled with multiple grade levels and special areas over the next week, as the students are excited to share their learning.
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SKIPPACK TWP., Pa. – A cooler full of baby trout and a Montgomery County creek served as a classroom Thursday.
For Evergreen Elementary 4th graders, part of the Perkiomen Creek in Skippack Township became a welcomed release from the confines of school.
Hundreds of baby trout were released into the creek Thursday morning, the culmination of a yearlong class. From feeding and changing the fish tank, the students cared for the trout since they were eggs.
Teacher Kevin Tomlinson says they partnered with Trout Unlimited for the experimental education.
“The last couple of years, we’ve had kids in front of the screen a lot. And our goal really was to find a way to kind of break that, get kids outside,” he said.
From learning about macro invertebrates to making a fly and casting a line, Trout Unlimited’s Jim Coffee says the course’s goal has impacts far outside the classroom.
“Water quality in the United States is improved. But it really was improved because people demanded it. You know, things don’t happen unless the average everyday citizen demands it or works towards that, and that’s what we want these kids to do,” he said.
For student Hannah Felty, it’s a lesson in saying goodbye.
“It’s a little sad just because like when we go back to our classroom, there’s going to be nothing in the tank,” she told us.
It’s a curriculum for conservation.
Baby trout released in creek in Montco, after students spend year caring for them (includes news segment)
Students share the data they’ve collected over the past 14 weeks.
The fish are now out of the nets and are fully swimming around the tank! One of our student projects involves creating news updates on the fish’s progress, which we are sending to Evergreen. Here is the first video!
The trout eggs have arrived! Students are excited to welcome the trout into our classroom and watch them hatch and grow!
The supplies we need for the trout arrive. To learn more about everything necessary to keep the trout healthy, Mr. Tomlinson and Ms. Voicheck displayed all of the products for their students to gain familiarity.
Students begin setting up for PA Trout in the Classroom! The tank will be in precycle mode until the trout eggs arrive mid-January.
We are truly thankful for the support and generous donation to get our Trout in the Classroom grant approved by the PVSD Foundation. While exploring various new initiatives, we were drawn to hands-on experience, a broad range of learning outcomes, and real-world application that our idea would include, but finding funding for a startup our program would be challenging. In bringing this idea to the Foundation, they were so positive and encouraging throughout the process. We couldn’t help but smile and laugh as we shared our excitement with them regarding the positive impact that we felt like this would have for us, our classrooms, and our community. The Foundation’s support went towards the purchase of an aquarium tank, and many necessary pieces of equipment that will help us raise trout over the course of the school year. As students learn about watersheds, water quality, ecosystems, habitats, and other content, we’ll make plans to release our trout into our local Perkiomen Creek later this year. We look forward to the setup of the tank later this fall, the egg delivery in January, and all of the learning and excitement that will come through this school year, and hopefully the years to come! We can’t speak highly enough of the positive, welcoming, and supportive team that we have in working with the PVSD Foundation!