Education About the Life Cycle of Trout for Elementary and Middle School Students

HomeEducation

Educational Foundation Vision Statement:

To become a Bay Area leader in educating youth about the life cycle of salmonid species and how to preserve them and their habitats.

Mission Statement:

Grow next generation of stewards for conservation of habitat and clean water for all species of salmonids

2022 Operational Plan:

The Flycasters of San Jose are now sponsoring the “Trout in the Classroom” program, also referred to as Classroom Aquarium Education Program (CAEP), in coordination with the Department of Fish and Wildlife in the Santa Clara County region.

You may have already heard about this exciting program, but it you haven’t, please read on. Note: Over 400 schools are currently benefitting from this program in other Bay Area locales. The Flycasters desire is to become a Bay Area leader in educating youth about the life cycle of salmonid species and how to preserve them and their habitats. We endeavor to grow next generation of stewards for conservation of habitat and clean water for all species of salmonids. CAEP is a community-based program which allows students to experience firsthand the delicate balance needed for animals to survive in aquatic ecosystems through a classroom experience of hatching fish eggs and coordinated activities. Students experience first-hand the value of aquatic environments, the balance that must be met to maintain and preserve California's fisheries and aquatic habitats, and how their personal actions affect these valuable resources.

In this program, typically instructors and their students set up an aquarium in the classroom, receive fish eggs under a special CDFW permit, and observe the fish as they hatch and develop. Ideally, the experience culminates in a field trip to a local lake or waterway where the fish are released. This is a hands-on, interdisciplinary project for grades K-6.

We understand that in this age of Covid, it is difficult to make future plans when things are so unsettled. We are presently working with CAEP to provide two clear choices for schools. First, for those schools operating in a hybrid mode (mixture of in-class and out-of-class teaching), we will provide support for raising the trout in the classroom. Secondly, for those schools still teaching primarily in the out of class mode, we will offer a comprehensive set of videos and teaching aids to deliver the program content remotely. We will be sharing a live fish rearing experience with another club that will enable the kids to see the fish and see their development over the course of the five-week program before they are ready to release them into a local lake or stream.

Key program benefits:

Provides a positive learning program for classrooms on the value of aquatic ecosystems through the hatching and release of trout.
Helps students learn about their local watershed and how human activities affect the quality of water in local streams, lakes and the bay.
Provides support to teachers to enable them to participate in this learning experience.
Strives to become a Bay Area leader at connecting families with conservation and preservation of cold water salmonids and their habitat.
Helps to grow the next generation of stewards for conservation of habitat and clean water for all species of salmonids.

We have attached a link to a PDF describing the CAEP program in more detail. Although there is still uncertainty regarding how the upcoming school year curriculum will be implemented, we would like to add your name to the list of interested members. If this sounds interesting to you, please contact Ken and/or Mike at email addresses below and let them know you want to be on the list.

Thank you for your interest in this exciting program. We look forward to hearing from you.

Mike Culcasi and Ken Imatani

Flycasters of San Jose, Education Committee, please respond to:
mculcasi@sbcglobal.net
kenimatani@gmail.com

Education efforts of the Flycasters club are handled through its sister organization, the “Conservation and Education Foundation, Inc.” a tax exempt, §501(c)(3) not-for-profit foundation. Contributions to this entity are tax deductible (subject to current income tax code limitations).
FEIN 77-0283713.