Trout in the Classroom

Trout in the Classroom is one of Trout Unlimited’s largest youth education initiatives.  The Mountain Bridge Chapter of Trout Unlimited (serving the greater Greenville-Spartanburg area) provides funds and volunteers to set up aquariums in the classrooms so students can raise trout from eggs during the school year.  Caring for the fish fosters a conservation ethic in the students, and walking to a streambank and directly releasing the fingerlings in the water makes a concrete connection between caring for the fish and caring for the water.  The program also assists teachers in meeting their STEM requirements.

Mountain Bridge has participated in the Trout in the Classroom projects for over ten years in Greenville County schools directly impacting thousands of students.  This program involves science teachers and students in elementary, middle, and high schools including public, charter, and private schools.  The students learn about the environment, trout life cycle, water chemistry, etc. as they raise trout from the egg stage to fingerlings.  Eggs are delivered to aquariums in November and grown into fingerlings which are released in early Spring.  Releases are by students into Carrick Creek at Table Rock with teachers, MBTU volunteers, and park rangers.

Mountain Bridge depends on donations to purchase the initial setup cost for the equipment which is approximately $1750 per school for a 55-gallon glass aquarium and wood stand, chiller and pump, biofilter, tubing, thermometers, air bubblers, foam board insulation, etc. Mountain Bridge owns this equipment so we bear the cost of any replacement items such as the chillers which now cost about $700 each. Additionally, each year it costs about $300 per school for new chemicals (including test kits for monitoring pH, ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, and water hardness), biofilter internals, tubing, new foam filters, and replacement parts for the pumps. Volunteers provide their services free to assist the teachers and to install any broken parts or replacement of equipment.

Please donate to the Trout in the Classroom program at Mountain Bridge Chapter of Trout Unlimited to keep this wonderful program going.

Contact Gary Davis at  garyjdavis46@gmail.com or 636-346-0413 for further information.