A special batch of Chinook Salmon that were hatched from eggs and raised in classrooms were released at Riverbend Park into the Clinton River on Thursday (May 9, 2024). Students at Martell, Boulan, Larson and Athens harvested eggs from fish in their classrooms starting in November and watched as the eggs morphed into the sack stage where they hatched. Teachers who had tanks this year:
- Michelle Dodson- AHS – approx. 150 AP Environmental students
- Nate Reynolds- Boulan – approx. 125 7th grade students
- Colleen Cain – Larson – approx. 125 7th grade students
- Scott Binford- Martell- 24 4th grade students
Students began feeding them, now called smolts, and closely monitored their classroom tanks to make sure they were exactly 52 degrees. They then carefully modulated the water temperature to match the Clinton River Watershed, where 250 fish were released into the wild, guided by Conservation Officers from the DNR (Department of Natural Resources).
The young fish will spend up to two months in the Clinton River before migrating to Lake St. Claire to grow and hopefully to a Great Lake. They will face many challenges and predators, but for the ones who make it two years or more, they will return to the waters of Riverbend Park to find their environmental imprint, and to spawn the next generation…completing the cycle of life. “This was a fantastic vertical project that spanned from Elementary to High School with students connecting at all levels. The High School students even came and taught lessons to the Middle School and Elementary School students!” said TSD Science curriculum and instruction specialist Marie Woodman.
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Photos courtesy of the Troy School District
