Trout in the Classroom - Monthly Chapter Meeting

Jim Greene, Alan Burrows, and Chuck Dinkel will give a presentation on "Trout in the Classroom" during our March meeting. They will give us a better understanding of the great work that is done through this program. Trout in the Classroom (TIC, www.troutintheclassroom.org) is more than twenty years old and is an environmental education program in which students in grades K-12 . . .

• raise trout from eggs to fry to fingerlings.
• monitor tank water quality.
• engage in stream habitat study.
• learn to appreciate water resources.
• begin to foster a conservation ethic.
• grow to understand ecosystems.

The history of TIC in Maryland owes its start to three elementary schools ten years ago. From those three elementary schools, TIC has grown to 88 programs in elementary, middle and high schools plus - for the first time - a college. This academic year alone, 3,000 students will be actively involved in raising trout from fertilized eggs to releasing them in our local streams. This success of the TIC program in Maryland is almost entirely due to the efforts of PPTU's members and enormous support!

In the words of Jim Greene, "What's important about TIC is that it's essentially a conservation rather than a hatchery program. Trout are like the canary in the mine; their health is an indicator of water quality". Trout in the Classroom helps to establish a connection for students between themselves and the natural world in which they live.