On Friday, half a mile up Green Canyon in Logan, the excitement was mounting. Jittery fifth graders from Providence Academy gathered at a small pond to release nearly 50 fish they had been raising in their classroom aquarium.
“We got to watch them grow and we got to take care of them and learn all about them,” said fifth grader Brenley Crosby.
She and her fellow classmates in Tayo Anderson’s class have been tending to the some 300 triploid Rainbow Trout fish eggs since they were brought to her classroom in early January. Now, the fish that survived those first few months were introduced into their new home.
Anderson said she had been interested in bringing the Trout in the Classroom program, which is a partnership with Trout Unlimited and the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, to her school for years. She said it’s been a good way to bring some of the school’s core subjects to life.
“I’m sure this is their favorite part, being able to come out here and release the fish, yeah this is definitely their favorite part,” Anderson said.
Before the fish were released into the small pond, they had to be acclimated to the water, which on that sunny spring day is 15 degrees warmer than the water in the tank. After a few minutes, the kids said goodbye to the fish they had raised and cheered for them as they swam away.