Schoolchildren at Kettlewell Primary School in North Yorkshire are getting a first hand experience of wildlife, as part of the Environment Agency’s Trout in the Classroom project.
Trout in the Classroom gives school children the opportunity to learn about life-cycles, food chains, habitat and conservation as they rear fish from eggs to young fish in specially designed tanks within the school. The project is a partnership between the Environment Agency and Jet Set UK.
Children at Kettlewell Primary School have created a photographic diary, following the trout as they hatch from their eggs and grow in the classroom tank.
The trout eggs for the project came from a hatchery at Bolton Abbey and hatched in the classroom tank this month . Once the trout have grown and they are ready to go back to the river, they will be put in to the River Wharfe, which runs in front of the school.
John Littlewood, Environment Agency fisheries and recreation officer, said: “Once the young brown trout are big enough to survive in the wild, we’ll help the school release them back into the River Wharfe.
“We hope to expand the project to other schools in the area this year, to help improve the brown trout stocks in local streams in the area.”
Tracy Briggs, administrator at Kettlewell Primary School said: “This is a really exciting project for the children and the staff too. Three weeks after the eggs arrived they started to hatch and the fish started to swim around. First thing every morning the children can’t wait to see what is happening next. The tank is causing great excitement and the children are very proud to see the fish growing every day.”
Schools wanting to find out more about how they can get involved in the Trout in the Classroom project should see www.jetsettroutintheclassroomuk.org
