BELLEFONTE – It takes a lot of care and supervision to raise trout in a controlled setting, and that’s exactly why the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission has postponed its Trout in the Classroom program.
As schools across the state face stages of operation – some are open, other are shut down and more are running under a “hybrid” partial week schedule – the agency decided it to postpone the shipment of trout eggs to participating teachers until late January. Amidea Daniel, the Northcentral Region Outreach and Education Coordinator, said approximately 400 teachers have signed up for the TIC program this year, and many of them aren’t sure to what degree their schools will be open after the holidays.
Participating classes receive shipment of rainbow trout eggs and raise the fish to fingerling size before releasing them in a Stocked Trout Waterway. If schools close after the eggs have been shipped, the resulting fry would perish if teachers or students weren’t able to provide daily care.
“That’s the risk right now,” Daniel said, adding there is time for the program to be implemented in schools this year.
“As long as we can ship eggs or fry by the end of January or into February, they will be able to raise and release the rainbow trout into a Stocked Trout Waterway.”
While the eggs are on hold, the educational component offered by the program is up and running.
The PFBC, which partners with the Pennsylvania Council of Trout Unlimited to operate the TIC program, has created a weekly newsletter and an extensive virtual component to keep educators and students engaged in the process.
In addition, Daniel said the a new Trout in the Office concept is underway, which allows viewers on the agency’s YouTube channel to follow the life stage development of rainbow trout being raised in an aquarium at the Centre Region Office in Bellefonte.
The TIC Weekly newsletter, which is sent to participating classes and TU chapters every Monday via email, contains life stage and water quality videos, lesson plans for teachers and virtual field trip videos.
“We’re getting good feedback on TIC Weekly,” Daniel said. “With many schools throughout Pennsylvania either being virtual or on a hybrid schedule, our staff wanted to ensure that our almost 400 participating TIC classrooms could continue to learn about trout and the importance of coldwater resources.”
And when schools do reopen and stay that way, Daniel said the traditional TIC program will be ready to launch inside classrooms once again.
But the virtual concept made necessary due to COVID-19 won’t entirely disappear.
“TIC Weekly will definitely stick around because it’s become another supplemental piece of the program,” Daniel said. “The COVID-19 situation is an unfortunate circumstance, but it’s also an opportunity for us to look outside the box when it comes to education.”
The TIC program is designed for students in grades 3-12, and includes elements of conservation, water quality and enhancing coldwater resources in addition to rearing trout. The program was started on a limited basis in 2006 with approximately 40 teachers participating. In 2008 it was switched to a statewide offering with 90 teachers participating that year.
- This story originally appeared in PA Outdoor News.
