A fishy farewell
LISA JAMES/Press Student teacher Julia Schatz helps Ramsey Magnet School of Science second-graders Nick Smith and Jheris Ward release one of the rainbow trout they started raising in January into Hauser Lake on Thursday. Volunteers from Kootenai County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue also did demonstrations with the students on how to stay safe in the wilderness.
LISA JAMES/PressSecond-graders from Ramsey Magnet School of Science released the rainbow trout they started raising in January into Hauser Lake on Thursday, about 100 in all.
LISA JAMES/PressRamsey Magnet School of Science second-graders from left: Reese Herrera, Ashton Budd, Owen Derry, Nick Smith and Jheris Ward, draw maps of Hauser Lake and describe the environment the rainbow trout they started raising in January will encounter after it is released into the lake on Thursday.
LISA JAMES/PressRamsey School of Science second-grader Marek Parson draws a rainbow trout being preyed upon by a larger fish as part of the release of the trout he and his classmates raised into Hauser Lake on Thursday.
LISA JAMES/PressSecond-graders from Ramsey Magnet School of Science and parents listen as student teacher Julia Schatz, left, explains how they will releas one of the rainbow trout they started raising in January into Hauser Lake on Thursday. Volunteers from Kootenai County Sheriff's Search and Rescue were also on hand to give demonstrations on how to stay safe in the wilderness.
LISA JAMES/PressRamsey Magnet School of Science second-grader Carsyn Rahn takes the fishing net from student teacher Julia Schatz to release one of the rainbow trout they raised into Hauser Lake on Thursday.
LISA JAMES/PressRamsey Magnet School of Science second-graders Reese Herrera, left, and Annabelle Louviers, get help from student teacher Julia Schatz releasing one of the rainbow trout they started raising in January into Hauser Lake on Thursday, as classmate Marek Parson watches.Volunteers from Kootenai County Sheriff's Search and Rescue also did demonstrations with the students on how to stay safe in the wilderness.
LISA JAMES/PressKootenai County Sheriff's Search and Rescue volunteer Colleen Alton, and her rescue dog Bailey, demonstrate to Ramsey Magnet School of Science second-graders how Bailey finds a lost person by tracking human scent during a demonstration at Hauser Lake on Thursday on how to stay safe in the wilderness. The students were at Hauser Lake to release the rainbow trout they started raising in January into the lake.
LISA JAMES/PressRamsey Magnet School of Science second-grader Jasmine Daffer finds shelter from the rain in a Hefty bag during a demonstration by Kootenai County Sheriff's Search and Rescue volunteers at Hauser Lake on Thursday on how to stay safe in the wilderness. The students were at Hauser Lake to release the rainbow trout they started raising in January into the lake.
By BROOKE WOLFORD
Staff Writer
A moderate wind blew cool, crisp air across the park Thursday morning at Hauser Lake. There was no noise, apart from chirping birds. That soon changed as three buses full of second-graders arrived. The first few kids stepped off the bus and raced toward the nearby park, eager to begin the day’s activities.
The 135 students from Ramsey Magnet School of Science in Coeur d’Alene were there to release roughly 100 rainbow trout into the lake.
Amanda Weber, a second-grade teacher at Ramsey, organized the Trout in the Classroom program and incorporated it into the curriculum’s conservation unit. Weber brought the program with her from her time teaching in Lewiston.
“When I came up here last year I thought, ‘This would be perfect for here, and for the school.’ So, we had to write an Excel grant to get the funding for it,” Weber said.
The $7,000 grant from the Excel Foundation, a private nonprofit that offers grants for teachers to use in Coeur d’Alene classrooms, allowed Weber to buy the tank and equipment needed to raise the rainbow trout and teach the kids about their life cycle and the various factors involved in their development.
The students learned the different stages in the life cycles of salmon, kokanee salmon, and rainbow trout, as well as the necessary conditions for their survival.
“The kids are learning about species that are really around here and what it takes to make those species populate,” Weber said. “A lot of our kids fish or have families that fish. And we really let them explore their natural curiosities with it.”
Not only did the students learn in great depth about the fish and their habitats, they taught the rest of the school by creating iMovies about what they learned.
“With each stage came a new iMovie,” Weber said.
Jack Cunningham, a student in Weber’s class, explained what the iMovies were about.
“We’ve been making a lot of videos about them (the fish). Like, what they’re doing and facts about them and their different stages,” Jack said.
Idaho Fish and Game provided the fish eggs and a biologist to assist in teaching. It has agreed to continue to support the program in the future, Weber said.
The Ramsey Parent-Teacher Organization and Kootenai Environmental Alliance provided additional funding for regular tank maintenance and transportation to Hauser Lake.
Hera Vulles, also a student in Weber’s class, made it clear she and her peers really took interest in this project, and thoroughly enjoyed learning about the fish.
“When there’s nothing to do, we can just go in the hallway to just observe them,” Hera said. “And we really like them because they help us keep learning.”