The past week or so has been all about the brown trout.
Last week, Mike (FoTV) and Samuel (Groundworks CLM) visited Year 2 and 3 children at Dalton St. Michaels CE Primary School, were they talked to the children about what a brown trout was, what they eat, what eats them and all about a brown trout’s anatomy. Samuel and Mike also talked to the children about the tank and the equipment, that has patiently been sitting in the corner of the classroom, ready for the fishes introduction. The children were really well engaged and they asked so many excellent questions, which was absolutely fantastic. It definitely showed that they were taking it all in and are really interested in the project. Mike and Samuel can’t wait to talk to the children again in the new term.
This week, while the children are away for the half-term, saw the arrival of the trout fry to the classroom tank. Mike and Samuel travelled a total of nearly 5 hours to collect just over 300 trout fry from a specialist trout farm.
The return journey was a slow and steady one, as they made certain the small fish had a comfortable and safe ride. When they finally arrived at the school, checks were made to the water temperature, water balances and filters before acclimatising one hundred of the brown trout to the classroom tank and eventually releasing them fully into the water. The other two hundred were separated equally, with one half going to another schools classroom tank in Wigan and the other half going to a tank that has been set up in Samuels office, which will be a back-up tank for the two schools. The brown trout fry settled into their new home without fuss and seem very happy and content.
The children will be over the moon to see the little brownies when they return to school next week.
