By Alice Hotopp, Fisheries Assessment and Science Communication Specialist
It’s midsummer, which means ice cream, river swims, and, most importantly, no school. While lessons may be the last thing on kids’ minds, we at DSF believe that learning is a core component of environmental stewardship, so we wanted to share about some of the fun ways we worked with students at Cherryfield Elementary this past spring.
Fish Friends
In the Fish Friends program, participating classrooms raise about 200 salmon from eggs to fry, releasing them into rivers come spring. This program, first designed by the Atlantic Salmon Federation, allows students to witness juvenile salmon development first hand and play a role in protecting the species.
In partnership with Cathy Lookabaugh at Maine Coast Heritage Trust (MCHT), DSF ran the Fish Friends program in two classrooms at Cherryfield Elementary. Cathy and I made several visits to each classroom, delivering equipment and ~200 salmon eggs, leading games about the salmon life cycle and conservation challenges, and eventually releasing the fry in the Narraguagus River in May.
My favorite part of the program was seeing the excitement on the kids’ faces as they gathered around the tank to get a better look at the eggs, asking question after question.
Photo by Sandy Alley
“The work we did with our “fish friends” solidified the learning that we would have only read about in our text. The tanks with the eggs, the hatching of the alevin and then later on the release of the fry gave hands on understanding of the salmon life cycle.”Â
– Sandy Alley, Cherryfield Teacher
Kindergarten and middle school students work together to learn about the life cycle of Atlantic salmon. Photo by Sandy Alley
Students releasing fry into the Narraguagus River. Photo by Sandy Alley.
Photo by Sandy Alley
Field Trip!
The Narraguagus River runs through the heart of Cherryfield. To help students connect with their local river and learn about the replacement of the Cherryfield Ice Dam with a nature-like fishway, DSF and MCHT hosted the entire Cherryfield Elementary student body for a field trip to Cable Pool Park.
The students learned about the history of the dam as well as plans for restoring fish passage in the river and adding enhancements to Cable Pool Park such as a natural play area and outdoor classroom. We also played games that demonstrated threats to salmon survival, had a few moments of quiet journaling and drawing by the river, and showed the students the river herring harvest.
We plan to bring the students back to the park to see the river once the nature-like fishway and park enhancements are completed—it’s our hope that seeing the river before and after restoration will help the kids feel proud of their river and its importance to the region.
Documentary Stars
Cherryfield has three debut movie stars! As part of a documentary about the restoration project happening at Cable Pool Park, videographer Tate Yoder interviewed Gracie, Lilly, and Briar, kindergarten students in Mrs. Alley’s classroom. He asked them about what they love about the Narraguagus River and their thoughts about the restoration project happening at Cable Pool Park.
The documentary will tell the story of the restoration project, from the history of dams on the river to the impact of restored connectivity on the river’s sea-run fish and the Cherryfield community. Stay tuned for the release of the documentary in the next couple of years!
Videographer Tate Yoder sets his camera up for an interview with Cherryfield Elementary student Gracie at Cable Pool Park.