This month, students from nine schools will bid adieu to their aquatic classmates in the highlight of the Portland Water District's TroutKids Program - the release. Before releasing their Brook trout fry, students will determine if the location is clean or polluted through various tests. Students will test the stream for dissolved oxygen, pH, conductivity, turbidity, flow, and temperature and collect aquatic insects which are indicators of water quality.
Classes have spent the winter nurturing baby Brook trout eggs in chilled incubator tanks while learning the basics of water quality protection.
The TroutKids Program combines hands-on learning with study of a range of subjects, including ecosystems and biodiversity, water quality and pollution, habitat protection, trout anatomy and life cycle, data collection and analysis, and watershed protection. Many students have experience fishing for Brook trout; a species native to Maine.