Mar 24 to Oct 25 TIC BLOG

A Morning at Flood Brook: Releasing Trout and Inspiring Stewards

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of joining Devon Broglie, my neighbor in Peru, and his 4th-grade son at Flood Brook Elementary in Londonderry, Vermont. We were there to support Jennifer Cox, the dedicated teacher who leads the school’s Trout in the Classroom program.

Back on January 7th, Devon and I had delivered about 100 brook trout eggs to Jennifer’s classroom. Since then, her students have cared for them by monitoring water quality, observing the hatchlings grow, and learning firsthand what it means to be stewards of coldwater ecosystems.

This week marked a milestone: the first release of 33 of the 50 or so surviving trout the students raised. The rest will be released in the coming days.

The group of students participating in the release included mostly 2nd graders, along with a few older students from 6th and 8th grade, and one student receiving special education services. It was a diverse and enthusiastic mix, with each child deeply engaged in this hands-on conservation moment.

Our local game warden, Kyle Isherwood, joined us to speak with the students about Vermont’s fish species and wildlife, share conservation tips, and assist with the release. Each student, along with Kyle, Devon, and I, received one young brook trout in a clear plastic cup. We followed a trail through the woods behind the school to Flood Brook.

There, along with some guidance from Kyle, we each found a quiet spot along the bank and gently let our fish slip into the stream, watching them dart into the current and begin their journey. It was a small, powerful moment that tied science, nature, and stewardship together.

Programs like this do more than teach. They create lifelong connections to our waterways. We’re proud to support Jennifer, her students, and moments like this, where conservation begins—one fish, one cup, and one child at a time.

John Livingston

 

Dear TIC Teachers,

It’s almost time for release day! This newsletter has information on catching your fish, getting trout to your release site, managing expectations and cleaning up.

Catching Your Fish

Catching your trout to put them into the transport container can be surprisingly challenging. The first time you dip your net in the tank, you’ll probably catch quite a few, but with each successive attempt the fish will become more skittish and better at evading your net.

Here’s some advice for how to make the tank-to-cooler transfer:

  1. You will want two nets, one large and one small (photo below), and three containers – the original tank, your transfer cooler or bucket, and a third container to count the fish from each netting before moving them to the cooler/bucket.
  2. Ideally, at least four people will collaborate on this project: two “wranglers” to work together to net the fish and put them into the third container and two “counters” to count the new additions and transfer them to the cooler or bucket you’ll be using.
  3. Turn off the chiller, filter, and aerator and remove them from the tank. Also remove any rocks or tank “furniture” you may have added.
  4. Use a ruler or other straight-edge to push gravel down to one end of the tank.
  5. Remove half of the water from the tank.
  6. Add some of that tank water to your transport container. If you’re using a cooler, fill about 1/3; if using a bucket, fill about 1/2.
  7. Start out with several cups of water in your third container.
  8. The fish wranglers should net several fish (any number up to about seven–more than that will be hard to count), put them into the third container, and hand that to the counting team. (Having two “third containers” would expedite the process.)
  9. The counters should count the new additions, record that number on a whiteboard or clipboard, pour the new fish into the cooler, put some cooler water back into the third container, and hand that container to the wranglers.
  10. Keep netting and counting.
  11. Netting the last fish can be challenging. The wranglers will have to work together, sometimes “driving” the last holdouts toward the big net.
  12. Even when you think you’ve got them all, check again, and again. There’s often at least one small fry hunkering down in the gravel. Stirring the gravel up a bit may allow you to spot them. If there’s any chance of water in the cooler sloshing around on the trip to the river, strap the cooler closed or fasten it with rope or duct tape.
Trout Dissection at the Mountain School in Winhall (May 2025)
I enjoyed leading another trout dissection at the Mountain School in Winhall. The students were enthusiastic. Teacher Joe Frigo loves providing this type of lesson to accompany the Trout in the Classroom program. Joe was the teacher who lost all of his fish. Thanks to several donations from area schools, he has been raising about 30 fry successfully.
Here are some pictures of the students during the dissection. The highlights included cutting open the stomach to see what the trout ate, dissecting the gills to show how they are affected when a fish is out of water and removing an eyeball to find the lens.
Bonnie

2025 MadDog TU Chapter Egg Delivery to School

VINS UPDATE DECEMBER 20, 2024

This is a reminder that eggs will be delivered in early January. Please refer to Chapter 5 in the manual for details on how to prepare for their arrival. Your Trout Unlimited liaisons will be in touch with more details soon.If you attended our workshop in November, please consider submitting your feedback using the provided Google Form.
Preparing for Power OutagesIt’s not too early to start thinking about how you will handle potential power outages this winter. Here are some important considerations:

  • Let your custodian know that your fish will be at risk during an extended power outage. Ask them to alert you if the power goes out and when it’s restored. If your equipment is plugged into a ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) receptacle, it will need to be manually reset after even a brief interruption. Ideally, have a staff member nearby who can reset the outlets.
  • The biggest threat to your fish is an extended chiller shutdown. While fish can survive temporary filter and aerator failures for a few days, water temperature is critical. If temperatures rise to the high 60s or 70 degrees, you could lose your entire population. To prevent overheating, keep frozen water bottles ready: fill plastic soda bottles 80% full with tank water, treated water, or stream water. As the bottles in the tank melt, replace them with fully frozen ones.
  • Consider purchasing battery-operated aerators from sporting goods stores like Dick’s. These can help maintain oxygen levels and are particularly useful on Release Day. For filtration, periodic water changes are the only alternative, which you should do if water chemistry becomes a concern.
Questions?Don’t hesitate to reach out!

Jim Armbruster: jarmbruster@vinsweb.org

VINS UPDATE November 19, 2024
Trout in the Classroom
Are you set up? All tanks should be set up and tested – so if you’re not there, please get going. If missing equipment is the hold up, please let your VT TiC volunteer or coordinator know! And, as always, feel free to email me if you have any questions.
Thank you to those teachers who attended the Training Workshop for the first time, to those who came to share their expertise, and to all our volunteers and coordinators who made it possible! It was a fun day of learning with and from fellow teachers, scientists, and members of the Trout Unlimited community.

Discussion about Tank Chemistry

Thank you to those teachers who attended the Training Workshop for the first time, to those who came to share their expertise, and to all our volunteers and coordinators who made it possible! It was a fun day of learning with and from fellow teachers, scientists, and members of the Trout Unlimited community.

Here is a link for the slideshows that were shown – we used the same ones as last year as they are still relevant. There is a section on tank set-up, tank chemistry, and more.
Start testing on Day 1! Seed it with Niteout II or Dr. Tim’s. If your water chemistry gets out of whack, you can always change the water, but well-balanced tank chemistry will reduce the need for this onerous chore. (For example, if you have to reduce a toxin by 50%, you can do this by removing and refilling 50% of the water – that’s a lot of water in a 60 gallon tank!)Please read Chapter 7 of the manual to learn more about tank chemistry. A few notes that I took include:

  • PH is the acidity. Numbers less than 7 are acidic, numbers higher than 7 are basic. 7 is neutral. Trout are fine in 7-8, but lower numbers would need adjusting.
  • KH is the carbonate hardness of the water. Trout like it to be 150 parts per million, but tapwater in Vermont can be as low as 80-100 ppm. Adding baking soda can fix this (1 teaspoon per 18 points of measurement.) Learn more in Chapter 7 and Appendix E.
  • Ammonia is the thing you should be most aware of as it high levels are fatal to fish. Ammonia is a byproduct of fish waste and has the chemical formula NH3
  • Bacteria eat the ammonia and convert it to Nitrites (NO2). Nitrite levels should be below 5 parts per million in a healthy tank. The hydrogen in NH3 floats in the water and adds to acidity.
  • Another bacteria consume the nitrites and convert to to Nitrates (NO3) Fish are more tolerant of nitrates, up to 40-50 parts per million.  If your test strips indicate 0 parts per million (not counting the first day), this indicates that either the nitrogen cycle isn’t functioning in your tank or you need new test strips. Both should be dealt with immediately!
Things to plan for:

  • Cleaning the tank
  • Tracking Temperature and Development Index (DI) every day
  • Your volunteer will tell you their DI when the eggs are delivered.
  • Observing fish for pathologies
  • Power outages
  • You can get battery powered aerators at sporting goods stores
  • You might have to reset things after the power comes back on
  • Feeding ideas:
  • You could train students to do this if they are old enough
  • Write sub plans ahead of time or coordinate with a partner teacher
  • Ask the custodian to feed them on vacations
  • It is ok if they aren’t fed on weekends, although you could ask the custodians to do this, too.
  • March Madness: 
  • Swim up is only about three days, but it is crucial you don’t miss it! Use the Swim Up calculator to plan ahead!
  • If the Development Index is over 85 and they haven’t gone through swim up, please contact your volunteer.
  • Release from Breeder Basket
  • Don’t do it too soon – alevin and small fry can get sucked into the filter! Additionally, after living in the tiny breeder basket, they don’t know where to look for food in the giant tank.
  • You can put mesh over the filter to prevent them getting sucked in: 15-16 holes per square inch.
  • Wait a minimum of two weeks after ALL the fish are feeding to release them.
  • You don’t have to do it all at once.

Resources and Ideas for Curriculum Integrations

Rent the VINS Stream Table: Stream tables can realistically and dynamically simulate a wide range of river processes, including sediment transport, meander development and movement, floodplain formation, flow around structures and fluid dynamics. Rental includes set up, tear down, 2 weeks in your classroom, and a brief lesson on how to use it for teachers and students.
Other Resources:

  • vinsweb.org>Education tab > Trout in the Classroom >Educational Resources
  • Swim up Tips > Temp and DI record and swim-up calculator
  • The VTTIC Manual
  • Many other resources
  • Macroinvertebrates.org (microscopic and larger photography) – opensource
  • Whiteriverpartnership.org > get involved > teacher resources
  • Waterbugs unit (low numbers this year because of flooding, recovery is about a year if healthy (messy) stream. 10 years if not)
  • Trout Unlimited
  • Trout in the Classroom Resources
  • VTTIC Blog
  • Mystery Science (if you have this curriculum)
  • Why do you have to clean a fish tank but not a pond
  • What would happen if you drink a glass of acid?
  • Brave Little State podcast on old rivers
  • If you need help for Release Day, try posting in your town listserv for community volunteers
  • Facebook TIC

Check out NGSS or Common Core for curriculum integration and alignments!

  • Writing:
  • Journal daily!, opinion pieces, small moments…
  • Students propose release location, make arguments for why their choice is better based on
  • Macroinvertebrates
  • Temp
  • Water chemistry
  • Write to sister school and/or do quilt project
  • Reading
  •  Many book options! But a good start is: world without fish
  • Ethics and governance 
  • should we stock fish? 
  • What are the positives and negatives of triploids (sterile trout)
  • History 
  • The effect of clearcutting on streams
  • Science
  • Labeling body parts
  • Communication
  • Observations
  • Graphing data
  • Dissecting trout (It’s stinky!)
  • Live Zoom dissection with Tom Jones (or youtube) – check folder
  • Social emotional
  • Art
  • Fly casting

VINS UPDATE September 25, 2024

Hello TiC Participants!

I will be taking over the role of State Coordinator from Eleanor this year and will be the VINS point of contact for Trout in the Classroom. While I typically work with raptors out in the field, I have some background in water quality monitoring, fish surveys, and macroinvertebrate sampling in streams and rivers throughout the state.

I am working on getting up to speed on trout in the classroom protocols and hope to eventually set up a tank here at VINS to serve as a model for prospective schools. It will also help me learn the ins and outs of this great program! Please bear with me as I work on catching up on everything.

Jim Armbruster, of the Vermont Institute of Natural Science, is State Coordinator for Trout in the Classroom in Vermont (TIC).

Jim can be reached by e-mail at jarmbruster@vinsweb.org.

Save the Date

We have scheduled the annual workshop for Saturday, November 2nd from 9am-3pm at the VINS Nature Center campus here in Quechee. We will send out the schedule once all of our speakers have confirmed in a later email. We hope to cover topics that are relevant for new and experienced teachers.

Please RSVP here or to jarmbruster@vinsweb.org.

If you haven’t already confirmed your participation in TIC this year, please fill out this form. It’s also a good idea to reach out to your Trout Unlimited Chapter Coordinator because they are your main point of contact for questions and concerns throughout the year

Updated Supply List

Attached you will find the updated supply list for 2024. It includes everything needed for a new tank set up, or a tank resupply. Please reach out to your TU Chapter Coordinators for help setting up tanks.

Chiller Only with Components

Vermont Start Up Kit

Vermont Refill Kit #1

May 21, 2024 From VINS

Catching Your Fish

Catching your trout to put them into the transport container can be surprisingly challenging. The first time you dip your net in the tank, you’ll probably catch quite a few, but with each successive attempt the fish will become more skittish and better at evading your net.
Here’s some advice for how to make the tank-to-cooler transfer:

  1. You will want two nets, one large and one small (photo below), and three containers – the original tank, your transfer cooler or bucket, and a third container to count the fish from each netting before moving them to the cooler/bucket.
  2. Ideally, at least four people will collaborate on this project: two “wranglers” to work together to net the fish and put them into the third container and two “counters” to count the new additions and transfer them to the cooler or bucket you’ll be using.
  3. Turn off the chiller, filter, and aerator and remove them from the tank. Also remove any rocks or tank “furniture” you may have added.
  4. Use a ruler or other straight-edge to push gravel down to one end of the tank.
  5. Remove half of the water from the tank.
  6. Add some of that tank water to your transport container. If you’re using a cooler, fill about 1/3; if using a bucket, fill about 1/2.
  7. Start out with several cups of water in your third container.
  8. The fish wranglers should net several fish (any number up to about seven–more than that will be hard to count), put them into the third container, and hand that to the counting team. (Having two “third containers” would expedite the process.)
  9. The counters should count the new additions, record that number on a whiteboard or clipboard, pour the new fish into the cooler, put some cooler water back into the third container, and hand that container to the wranglers.
  10. Keep netting and counting.
  11. Netting the last fish can be challenging. The wranglers will have to work together, sometimes “driving” the last holdouts toward the big net.
  12. Even when you think you’ve got them all, check again, and again. There’s often at least one small fry hunkering down in the gravel. Stirring the gravel up a bit may allow you to spot them.
  13. If there’s any chance of water in the cooler sloshing around on the trip to the river, strap the cooler closed or fasten it with rope or duct tape.

Getting Trout to Your Release Site

Depending on how far you have to travel and how much time will transpire before you actually release your fry, a container for transporting your fish to the release site might be very simple or a bit more complicated.

If your target stream is only 15 or 20 minutes away AND you plan to release your trout soon after arriving at the stream, you can probably use a conventional 5-gallon bucket (with top). If it’s a hot day, you should probably freeze a couple of plastic bottles of tank water and add those to the bucket to prevent the water temperature from rising.

If you have a longer trip or plan to release your trout at the end of a couple of hours of in-stream fun, it may be desirable to transport fish in an aerated cooler.

Here are instructions for modifying a standard 48-quart cooler for use on Release Day. (This could be done more simply, but I chose to take an approach that would allow our family to still use the cooler for picnics.) Here are photos of the modified cooler with a battery-powered aerator and digital thermometer.
You can also find a commercial version of this DIY fish transporter that looks like this.
This video of Release Day with former Mary Hogan School teacher Steve Hogan (available here) shows a creative way to keep trout in the stream for hours by fastening netting inside a milk crate. That’s a great way to do it!!While these tips and tricks are helpful, don’t forget to (re)read Chapter 9!

A Bittersweet Season

As exciting and fun as Release Day is for most schools, it can be a bittersweet time for a couple of reasons.

For one, every year a few schools lose all their fish and have nothing to release. (They could, of course, still spend a few hours at the brook where they had intended to release the fry and do everything else. e.g., collect macroinvertebrates, study the stream’s characteristics and habitat, play “Macro Mayhem,” etc.). Sometimes it’s obvious why all the fish died, but every year we’re left with at least a couple of mysteries. The teacher and the students seem to have done everything right, and yet there was a massive die-off. At best, we have hypotheses and guesses about what might have gone wrong, but it’s frustrating not to have a definitive explanation.

The other cause of bittersweet feelings is simply that, after living with and caring for these increasingly beautiful creatures for six months, we miss their presence when we return to the classroom on the first school day after their release.

End-of-Year Clean-Up

One way to distract yourself and your students from those sad feelings is to dive into the process of cleaning the tank and its equipment and packing it away until next year. (See Chapter 10 of the Manual.) It’s so much easier to clean the TIC components now rather than waiting do it in November after the grime and calcium have been able to harden in place for half a year.

While most Vermont TIC schools have what are called “drop-in” chillers (which are easy to clean by a process described in the Manual), some have “flow-through” chillers. These pump water out of the tank and through a mini-refrigerator and then back into the tank. Cleaning these requires a different process, which you’ll find described in this document.

All in all, 2023-2024 was a very successful year for our Vermont TIC schools!

Please send us some pictures or videos of your tank and/or your release day fun to education@vinsweb.org. We’d love to put together a slideshow and send it out in early June!

May 2024

Dear TU Conneticut River Valley chapter friends, 

Today was a very special and exceptionally beautiful day for the NewBrook Elementary school. Their teacher, Jason Gragen, arranged for release of the 91 to 95 surviving Brook Trout (close to 90% survival for this year and among the highest ever that Jason has seen that they had been raising since the eggs arrived last January). As you can see in the photos below, fun was had by all on a warm and sunny morning. 
The school administrators arranged to have a Brattlboro Reformer reporter and photographer present as well. So, look for their story on this very soon.
Thanks to Paul G and Jason G for contributing so much in order to make this happen. All the enthusiastic and inquiring fourth grade students helped with and — along with the trout— were stars of today’s show as well.  Please enjoy the photos and see the press release at the very bottom of the email that was prepared for the Brattlboro reformer today by the school’s administrators.
Tight lines!
Jack 

March 2024
From Danielle Fagan, Proctor Elementary School

  1. Here are photos and (below) a description of some of the activities that Danielle Fagan, of Proctor Elementary School, has had her students engaged in. (I usually discourage naming the fish because you never know which one of them will die, but apparently that works for Danielle’s class.) Here’s a link to the Stream Explorers collection Danielle referenced: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0Bz5COnxL8bHrNDFaZ3JPdE01Znc?resourcekey=0-3n_IWskFZChYdBoyQBJJJw&usp=drive_link.
  2. Several of our teachers have availed their classes of the knowledge and skills former science teacher volunteer Bonnie Daley has about trout anatomy and dissection. I don’t know how many other trout dissections Bonnie has time for, but I hear she does a very good job.
  3. Two of our SWVT schools lost almost all of their fish in the last few weeks, and this morning I went to the Eisenhower hatchery to get some replacement fry for Wallingford Elementary and the Mountain School at Winhall. In handing off the container of new fry to MS@W’s Head of School Margaret Schlacter, I learned that her whole school has enthusiastically embraced TIC. In fact, all grade levels will soon go together to the Bennington hatchery, and apparently the older grades will help hatchery staff stock two-year-old trout. What fun!

  4. Most of you will remember that four years ago, on 3/13/20, Governor Scott declared a pandemic emergency and shut down the state, including all of our TIC schools. That was a shock to say the least! Fortunately, many TIC teachers found a way to carry on the program in spite of the challenge and adversity.  One of those was Guy Merolle, of Castleton Village School. Eager to find a way to get his kids into nature, Guy quickly pivoted to producing a weekly Nature News video, which he also called his “phenology reports.” (I had to look up that phrase.) Check out this <https://www.vttucouncil.org/?page_id=768> collection of Guy’s videos. It may inspire you to do something similar. Lord knows, it’s important to get kids into nature, and this s the perfect time of year to emphasize that.

    This is from Danielle:

    Hi Joe- things are going well. Our trout have swum up and are eating successfully. My DI data is at school and I’ll try to remember to share it this week.

    We did trout stations this past week:
    Station 1: Observation station with magnifying glasses. Goal was to determine the life cycle stage trout are currently in.
    Station 2: How many eggs. We hadn’t yet determined how many eggs we initially received, but I had a picture. Groups counted as best as they could then we found the average (105 eggs).
    Station 3: Name that trout! This is a favorite. ‘Choose’ a trout, name it and decorate a name card.
    Station 4: Fish facts. Explore Stream Explorers site. Share out a fact you learned.