HEGINS - About 50 brook trout fingerlings found a new home in the welcoming waters of Pine Creek.
Students in Pam Ulicny's environmental science classes at Tri-Valley High School assisted with the release May 8 into the creek, located at the school's environmental site.
They were joined by Mark T. Pisko, Waterways Conservation Office with the state Fish & Boat Commission, Southeast Region; and John Bondura and Tony Mione with Schuylkill Trout Unlimited.
The brook trout fingerlings were raised from fertilized eggs which were delivered to Ulicny's classroom last November. The brook trout is the state fish, and is native to Pennsylvania. Tri-Valley's participation in the Trout In the Classroom program was made possible through a partnership between the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission and the Pennsylvania Council of Trout Unlimited.
Students involved in the project helped to set up the tank, test the water, create a hatching basket and maintain the trout throughout the school year. This was the second year Tri-Valley has participated.
"We had more experience and we learned a lot from last year," Junior Brandon Fosmire said. "We had a lot of growth and less death."
Junior Josh Morgan attributed the fish's low morbidity to more attention to nutrition.
"We were able to feed them on a regular schedule. They had pellets, but this year we also added crickets and mealy worms," he said.
Along with studying fish embryo development, students also learned about water quality, watersheds, water pollution and trout anatomy.
"We had many opportunities to watch their development, including looking at them under a stereomicroscope when they were just hatching. The eyes, vertebrae, blood vessels and a beating heart were all visible," Ulicny said.
Before placing the fish in the creek, students looked under rocks in the water and used a kick seine (netting) to capture a sample of what life was already surviving there and what feeding material was available for the trout.
Students found a mix of Class 1 and Class 2 macroinvertebrates. Class 1 macros are pollution intolerant, and Class 2 macros are somewhat pollution tolerant. The number and diversity of macros in the stream determines stream health and formulas have been developed to rank overall stream health based on the macroinvertebrates found there, Ulicny said.
Caddisflies were there, Bondura said, as he told students it indicated good water quality and a healthy stream. The caddisflies are a natural food source for the trout.
More information about the Trout in the Classroom program can be found at www.patroutintheclassroom.org.