JOURNAL COMMUNITY
Small fry enjoy Trout in the Classroom Trout fingerlings, just before their release into Carrick Creek.
Christ Church Middle School students help Ranger Ed Moorer test the creek water at Table Rock State Park.
Deborah Davis’ Christ Church Middle School science students trekked up to Table Rock State Park last week to deliver a precious cargo: brook trout fingerlings raised from eggs at the school. Gordon Anderson, of the Mountain Bridge Chapter of Trout Unlimited, said the Trout in the Classroom program sponsored by his organization has been one of the great success stories they have had in conservation education. “The kids get the chance to monitor vital water quality measurements while the eggs hatch and the young fish grow,” he said. “Once the fry have absorbed their egg sacs, they are ready to be released into the wild.” The wild, in this case, is Carrick Creek, which feeds the main lake at the park. The stream starts high between Pinnacle and Table Rock mountains and is a good spot to stock the environmentally endangered brookies, Armstrong said. Once the kids arrived at the park, they headed upstream from the lake, led by Park Naturalist Scott Stegenga, and released the young fish at Carrick Creek Falls. The tiny fingerlings quickly spread out and the group divided into two groups – an environmental education session led by Stegenga, and a hands-on lesson in measuring stream water quality led by Ranger Ed Moorer. Armstrong said the program has been so popular with the two schools now participating that Trout Unlimited plans to expand the program to other schools in the district. CHARLES SOWELL | STAFF
csowell@communityjournals.com
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