Stream Savers - 5th Grade Instructional Seminar
Stream Savers of AES worked to understand the importance of stream health by looking for real evidence of a healthy stream while raising trout from egg to fingerling. The trout served as a real connection to the impact we have on water quality and the fragility of the stream habitat.
Paint a Rainbow...TROUT! - To start out, we examined the beauty of the Rainbow Trout and then used watercolors to create our own version of a beautiful Rainbow Trout.
Little Critters - In order to understand a healthy stream habitat, it was important to learn about the macroinvertebrates that inhabit a healthy ecosystem. We worked in small groups to conduct a simulated stream sample to determine how healthy our hypothetical streams were. Knowing our trout needed a good supply of macroinvertebrates to thrive made it much more meaningful to learn about these little critters and what could affect them.
The Eggs Are Coming!!!! - The day was finally just about here! It was time for our Rainbow Trout eggs to arrive!
THEY'RE HERE!!!!!!!!!!
Caring for our Trout - Students worked hard from January through May to ensure our trout had a healthy tank environment. Four tests were conducted regularly in the morning before school and during recess: pH, ammonia, nitrites an nitrate. Our trout THRIVED due to the care provided by our fifth grade Stream Savers!
Stream Survey Tutorial & Hip Boot / Gloves Trial - It was just about time to get into the stream to take our first real survey. But first we watched a video of others in action to better understand how to pull it off. Then it was time to give the hip boots and gloves a try!
Time to get in the Stream! - We are so lucky to have a beautiful stream on our school grounds to use as an extension of our classroom learning. It was finally spring - time to get into the stream and see what we could find.
So What IS in the Stream??? Once we caught some macroinvertebrates in the stream, it was time to try to identify them so we could try to evaluate the health of our stream.
Board of Ed. Recognition! - The Howard County Public School System is proud of our Stream Savers' efforts to monitor a waterway in our local watershed. Four of our Stream Savers went to a Board of Ed meeting in May to stand and be recognized for their dedication. Mrs. Lancaster and Mrs. Young were very proud!
Another Trip to the AES Stream - We're trying to fit in as many surveys as we can before the end of the school year.
Mentoring the Next Generation - As the end of the school year came closer, it was time to help a fourth grader understand the responsibilities of caring for our trout.
Finally Fingerlings - Our trout did so well, they successfully made it to the fingerling stage of development, which was the phase they would make it to for their release into the "wild." Our trout are said to be one of the best batches from the 13-14 school year. We are proud! Our Stream Savers did a magnificent job!
The BIG RELEASE! - It was bittersweet - a day to release our precious trout into the "wild." We traveled less than a mile from school - just down Edenbrook Road to the Middle Patuxent River, where we were lucky to have the Trout in the Classroom Volunteers manage four stations for us to engage in - Fly Tying, Fly Casting, Trout Release, and Macroinvertebrate Identification. Fun was had by all as we wished our trout a good life!