Lansing Central School District students recently took a field trip to Salmon Creek to release trout into the water and learn about local ecology thanks to the Environmental Education service provided by TST BOCES Regional School Success.
Some of the elementary students raised the trout right in their classrooms as part of the Discover Cayuga Lake Trout in the Classroom program. The goal is that as the students learned to care for their trout, they will continue to care for their newly adopted streams.
“I was surprised by how big they got so fast,” said one participant.
Discover Cayuga Lake staff facilitated a walk through the area and educational exercises.
“As we walk along the stream, I want you to be really observant,” a representative said. “Pay attention to the things you see living around you and think about factors in the area that could be a potential threat to your trout.”
The children not only experienced releasing the trout into the river, which flows into Cayuga Lake, but also hands-on learning with organisms native to the environment, such as insects, plants, toads and crayfish. Representatives from Discover Cayuga Lake provided them with a key to macroinvertebrate life in the river so the students could identify each organism.
The experience was coordinated through the TST BOCES Regional School Success Environmental Education service, which is a shared instructional program for observing and demonstrating processes directly related to the environment, its abuse or enhancement.
Educators interested in providing similar opportunities in their classroom can find out more information at tstboces.org/RSS.