“We found them!”

Zofia took her grandparents to Fuller Farm to show them where she and her fellow classmates had released brook trout the previous week. Much to her surprise, (and mine) the 500 or so trout that had been released were still hanging around in the pools and currents in the Nonesuch River below our release site.

Third- and fourth-grade students at Wentworth Elementary School recently completed a watershed/raising trout project. About 500 trout were released in the Nonesuch River at Fuller Farm. Courtesy photo

The project began by applying for a grant from The Scarborough Education Foundation. Ms. Chin and I had raised brook trout once before but Cumberland County Soil and Water Conservation District had managed the whole process and provided all the lessons and equipment. After attending a three-day watershed workshop at The Ecology School in Saco this past summer, we wanted to take another shot at it and purchase our own chiller/ aquarium set up and teach the lessons ourselves.

The goal was to help students become familiar with the environment in their community. We began by using the town maps of the 16 watersheds in Scarborough and identifying which watershed each student lived in. We brought the lens out further, to look at watersheds in Maine and finally the Gulf of Maine watershed, which includes our southern neighbors in New Hampshire and Massachusetts and our northern neighbor, Canada.

The watershed study helped students understand the connectivity of our environment. The impact of humans was traced through developments/ construction, transportation, chemicals that we use on our lawn, vehicles, storm water drains and human and animal waste.

We prepared the tank for the trout three weeks before they arrived. The tank had to be enclosed in Styrofoam on all sides, with an aerator, filter and chiller coil. We had to make sure the water was conditioned and the chiller was holding the required temperature for the eggs: 33 degrees Fahrenheit.

In February, the eggs were delivered by Cumberland County Soil and Water Conservation District from Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. They handled the necessary permits to raise and release the trout. They were in a water bottle and only took up about a third of it. We took photographs to count the eggs and estimated around 550.

Third- and fourth-grade students at Wentworth Elementary School recently completed a watershed/raising trout project. About 500 trout were released in the Nonesuch River at Fuller Farm. Courtesy photo

The eggs slowly developed over the next month and a half. Our classes took turns monitoring the temperature, pH and removing any dead eggs. This is normal for some of them to die and we used a turkey baster to clean them out. Overall I think we lost about 40 eggs/hatchlings.

We broke students into research groups of their choice to dig deeper into the science of this species. The goal was for the students to prepare a lesson that they could then teach other students. The topics included, life cycle, habitat, diet, anatomy, history and taxonomy.

The week before April vacation, they began to hatch. They are very unusual looking because their egg sac remains attached and that is how they get their nutrition until they are released.

We began comparing the water in nearby streams and rivers so that their tank could be the same. During the last week, we began removing the Styrofoam so that they could have natural light as well.

The students examined several watersheds and rated them in terms of suitability for the trout, clean water with minimal runoff from roads and housing developments, shade and trees to provide cool filtered water. The Nonesuch River Watershed was the first place followed by Scarborough River Watershed.

On May 2, we had a field trip to Fuller Farm with our STEM teachers, Sarah Athearn and Brandon Johnson. Students looked for macroinvertebrates and indicator species, measured the turbidity, pH and oxygen levels and completed a checklist of habitat requirements before each student released several trout.

Third- and fourth-grade students at Wentworth Elementary School recently completed a watershed/raising trout project. About 500 trout were released in the Nonesuch River at Fuller Farm. Courtesy photo

As we approached the river, we saw the native yellow trout lily (erythronium americanum) blooming. They are named so because of the mottled leaves that resemble the markings on the trout.

The fact that Zofia was excited enough to share her experience with her family and that they actually found them, filled our hearts as teachers. We feel fairly certain that this group of students will become good stewards of our community.

Catherine Hewitt is a teacher at Wentworth Elementary School in Scarborough.