Help from a neighboring school district allowed for Mars Area Middle School students to continue with a conservation education program after an unfortunate incident.
Seventh and eighth grade science students have been participating in the Trout in the Classroom program to raise brook trout from eggs to fingerlings in a classroom aquarium.
However, the school’s 150 rainbow trout were lost as a result of a planned power outage during construction on the school’s ongoing renovation project.
A teacher at a Pine Richland elementary school heard about the situation and his class donated 25 rainbow trout fry so that the Mars students could continue their observations and water quality testing until replacements could arrive from the PA Fish and Boat Commission.
The two groups of students plan to continue to keep in touch through the conclusion of the program. Trout in the Classroom uses ecology, environmental science, chemistry, and math to help students study how resource management and protection impacts on local water life.
