Clearwater Chapter Trout Unlimited

Trout in the Classroom (TIC) is a program where students raise trout from eggs to fingerlings. It fits well in the NYS school curricula, with lesson plans, science, English, and art units. students learn about watersheds, ecosystems, water quality, the fragility of the trout's world, and more. Trout eggs are hatched, cared for, fed, provided with a careful environment, and eventually their release into a local stream helps students become attached to that stream where their trout live. They are able to witness the life cycle of trout and gain an understanding of the trout’s requirements for clean, cold, and unpolluted water. Participants engage in stream habitat studies to connect with and gain an appreciation for their local water resources.

For more information or to get involved with the Trout in the Classroom program in our area, please contact Ron Dorn - Phone#: 598-8789.

The 2011 New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYS DEC) trout stocking permit application for Regions 2, 3 and 4 is now available online. If you are planning a trout release in a Region 2 (NYC), Region 3 , or Region 4 please complete the application at www.troutintheclassroom.org. Trout releases taking place in all other regions please contact your local TU Chapter or appropriate NYS DEC regional office.

Free Scholarships to DEC Summer Camps for students ages 12-14 are now available through Trout Unlimited and Theodore Gordon Flyfishers. Camp DeBruce, located on 300 in the southern Catskills, is near the village of Livingston Manor (Sullivan County). Camp activities include everything from pond exploration to fly-fishing. If you know a young person that may be interested in attending the week long program this summer, with all expenses covered, please fill out the online application and email/mail it to lgenovesi@tu.org.

Join the Google Groups network of TIC teachers and supporters from across the nation on our online listserve. Apply for membership directly by visiting our Google Group page and following these three easy steps: Create a Google Groups account by clicking on the blue "Create an Account" link on the bottom right corner of the screen (you do not need a Gmail account to join Google Groups). Register with Google Groups using the e-mail address that you would like the listserv e-mail delivered to. Create a password for this account (This does not create a Gmail address).

Join Fin Pals: An exciting joint project where students from various classrooms partner to write letters about the challenges and successes in raising and releasing trout. Contact lgenovesi@tu.org to find a partner classroom from New York or across the nation.

The weather is fine and it's a great time to visit NYC DEP's Newtown Creek Visitor Center and Nature Walk in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.

The center will be open on Fridays and Saturdays from 12 pm - 4 pm. School groups will be able to visit on Tuesdays and Thursdays by appointment only. Those interested in scheduling a tour should contact the DEP Education Office or call 718-595-3506.

The nature walk is open daily from dawn to dusk (weather permitting). For more information, visit the NYC DEP website.

Book a trip for your students to the NYC DEP's Visitor Center at Newtown Creek.. School groups will be able to visit on Tuesdays and Thursdays by appointment only. The Visitor Center is also open to the public on Fridays and Saturdays from noon to 4 p.m. Visitors will learn about the NYC water supply and sewer systems. Those interested in scheduling an educational program at The Visitor Center should contact the DEP Education Office at or 718-595-3506. All programs are free of charge.

The nature walk at Newtown Creek is open daily from dawn to dusk (weather permitting). For more information, visit the NYC DEP website.

TIC has just launched the new online community bulletin board. All TIC participants including teachers, volunteers and students may post questions and ideas about TIC or share their expertise with others.

CLIFTON PARK - A Shenendehowa science class is partnering with the town of Clifton Park and a national conservation group to bring hands-on lessons to students and environmental help to the town. Kelsi Backus' Gowana Middle School science classes have been raising a tank of Brook trout in the classroom since fall. The tank of fish is part of the non-profit group Trout Unlimited's "Trout in the Classroom" program.
Original Article

After a year of studying and monitoring them the students will release the trout this spring into the Dwaas Kill Creek. Last week two members of Trout Unlimited gave a brief presentation to approximately 60 students on how the fish will survive once they are released. "Our number one goal is getting you people and your trout and developing a relationship with the Dwaas Kill," said Mike Walchko. "Even though it runs through your town it's still a good environment for Brook trout."
Walchko and fellow Trout Unlimited member Stan Duncan belong to the non-profit's Clearwater Chapter.

They explained to the students what the trout will need to survive once released and why the Dwaas Kill was unique. "While monitoring the stream we were surprised to find naturally spawning Brook trout in a stream running through an urban area," Duncan said. "It's very unusual. Brook trout are the barometer of the environment. They are the canary in the coal mine. They tell us if things are still in balance."

Usually, he told the students, pollution and runoff from all the miles of pavement put an end to having any trout in urban area streams. At the Jan. 21 after-school session the two men explained why the trout will need cool and clean water, food, natural cover, and fine sand if they are to survive in the Dwaas Kill. "We have temperature loggers recording the water temperatures there every six minutes," Duncan said. "High temperatures mean less oxygen and fish, just like us, need oxygen. The Dwaas Kill though is in surprisingly good shape."

With the stream running behind so many students' homes Backus felt establishing the trout program in her classroom just made sense. After several trips to the SUNY Cobleskill fish hatchery she returned to school with 600 free fertilized eggs. From the eggs the class watched as 200 very small trout began moving about the class room tank. "We use it on a daily basis," Backus said. "We've used it to study cell division, ecology, the nitrogen cycle and evolutionary theory. Having it here just makes teaching so much easier."

The trout program has also benefitted from Clifton Park's environmental awareness. Town Planning Department director John Scavo and town supervisor Philip Barrett attended the school presentation to demonstrate their support for the program. "We're pleased to partner with the Shen science department, Miss Backus, Trout Unlimited and the Shen students on this important project to preserve and protect Clifton Park's natural resources," Barrett said in a statement. "The 250-acre Dwaas Kill Nature Preserve was purchased back in 2006 with projects like Trout in the Classroom in mind. The town will continue to work with community groups to enhance and improve our open spaces." Scavo said the planning department and the town planning board closely review any potential impacts proposed projects may have on the town's streams and tributaries whether or not the waterways contain trout. "We take the extra step with thermal impacts from things like runoff," Scavo said. "We monitor the discharge water rather than just making sure of its intended destination."

The Trout in the Classroom program began in New York City as a way to connect city residents with the watershed providing them their water and as a way to bring ecology into the classroom. The program started with the sponsorship of the city's Theodore Gordon Flyfishers club but has now spread across the country. Duncan and Walchko were happy to have the opportunity to bring the program to Clifton Park. "If we can help the community understand the issue the better support there'll be in protecting the environment," Duncan said.

In 1997, TIC was started in New York through the efforts of the late Joan Stoliar, volunteers from Trout Unlimited and the Theodore Gordon Flyfishers. Participating students from K-12 learn the importance of water quality and connect with their watershed by raising trout from eggs to fingerlings and then releasing them in a clean, cold stream in the spring. The program is a partnership between Trout Unlimited, the Town of Clifton Park, and the Shenendehowa School District. Students will release the brook trout into the Dwaas Kill, a local trout stream, in the Spring.

National\State level TIC Contacts

Trout Unlimited's TIC program is here for you. Please feel free to call or email the persons listed below with concerns or comments about the TIC program. We love to hear what we can improve and what you enjoy about TIC.

For technical support regarding tank setup, maintenance and care, email\call John Fischer.
- Cell: 516-425-4198

For questions regarding NYC DEP presentations, material requests and other education resources contact Kim Estes-Fradis, Deputy Director of Education and Outreach.
- Office: 718-595-3506

For all other TIC related questions and concerns, email\call Lilli Ayvazian.
- Office: 718-595-6706

Kelsie Backus (Shenendehowa Middle School), Sean Powers (Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk), and Frank Hohman (Schenectady) attended the Fall TIC Teacher conference in Hyde Park, along with Ron Dorn from Clearwater. They met with Lilli Ayvazian and John Fischer of Trout Unlimited's TIC program, who are technically with the NYC region, but have provided immediate assistance to us on matters like getting copies of Stream Explorer newsletters.

Trout Unlimited is also picking up on the success of TIC programs with a new youth membership category called Stream Explorers. Last year we also had a lot of help from Union Street Aquarium in Schenectady who helped the Schenectady TIC program achieve an unprecedented percentage of live trout survive.

Brent Lehman and Professor John Foster of SUNY Cobleskill have held field trips and provided trout eggs for area TIC teachers, and other sources of eggs were the DEC at the Fall Hyde Park conference and the Rome Hatchery has also provided eggs to Ron Dorn to deliver to area schools as late as December.

Dave Somoza is is a fifth grade teacher at the Stevens Elementary School in Burnt Hills School District who has been conducting the Salmon in the Classroom (SIC) program for nine years starting in Vermont where he started the program. He works with a hatchery up near Willsboro to get his eggs and stocks them into a tributary of The Great Sacandaga Lake and has done so for several years. This program is coordinated with DEC with all required permits. Dave takes the students on a field trip to the tributary to stock the fish in the
spring, as well as many of the children's parents. The students are very enthusiastic and they participate fully with questions concerning things they always wanted to know about salmon. Dave breaks down the equipment and explains it all the kids and then has them assemble it under his guidance. His aquarium is about 25 gallons, with external circulators and he has devised a system of floor screens to keep the water clean during the hatching process which also protects the small salmon from the cleaning system and circulation system.