Kindergarteners Getting Ready for Fish

After doing "research", meeting with experts, and visiting Petland, K students are ready to welcome fish.  Here they are getting the tanks ready.  Fish will be in tanks week after Spring Break.

Trout Go Camping with Fourth Graders

Each of the four buckets held about 40 brown trout.

March 14th brought over 20 inches of snow to Olivebridge, New York...the site of the Ashokan Camp.  But that didn't stop 100 fourth graders and 160 trout from heading upstate the following morning.  The trout farewell ceremony had to be curtailed, however. Instead of each student releasing a trout, we had to say a group goodbye.  Ashokan staff, worked to clear a path to an open spot of water...but it could only hold a few adults.

Trudging down the path.  Hard to walk.  Imagine digging it? 

Acclimating temperature to water temp of 5 degrees Celsius

A tiny opening in the Esopus Creek.

Don't fall in!

Ashokan staff.

Two days later, before leaving for home, a team of teachers and one student went to check on our trout. 

Hard to see any trout.

Lucky a BNS kid was with us. He threw some snow in the water.
Startled trout swam away!

Happy releasers celebrate spotting living trout

As Jessica pointed out, it was very fitting that the water formed a heart shape because a lot of love went into raising those trout.

Earlier Blog Entry

Stormwater Runoff

Fourth Graders modeled the problem and the solutions based on a New York City Environmental Protection Agency activity.

Straws stand for pollution.

Make it rain on a typical urban hardscape.  (We switched sprayers out.  Instead we used 250 mL cup of water poured into a cup  with holes.)

Next step:  Measure how much rain ran off.  Then use sponges to stand for features such as tree pit bioswales, green roofs, blue roofs, permanent pavers, rain water collection system.

Make it rain again.  Remeasure water. 

 New York City Environmental Protection Agency Lesson Plan.

Go Green Cars Go

Found Materials. Wind Power.  Repurposed Wood.  How green can first graders go?