Harvey Elementary students wade into learning

Like parents sending offspring out into the world, a group of Harvey Elementary School sixth graders bid their “babies” (baby Chinook salmon, that is) farewell as they gently lowered them into the chilly waters of the Clinton River recently.

In what has become an annual life science project at several UCS schools, the students raised the fish from eggs over the course of several months, beginning last October.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources salmon education program supplies schools with fertilized eggs, or ‘eyed’ eggs as they are called. Michigan Trout Unlimited – Paul H. Young chapter provides tanks and equipment for school projects.

Once the eggs hatched, the students became responsible for feedings on an hourly schedule. They also monitored the water temperature to keep the tank at a steady 50 degrees.

Their vigilance paid off. According to Harvey teacher Bethany Swartz, the students started with roughly 200 pea-sized eggs, and succeeded in raising 171 smolt, or finger-length baby salmon, which is the right size for release.

On release day, April 24, the Harvey students, their teachers and other volunteers made the trek from the school to the river bank in nearby Farmstead Park with containers of smolt in tow.

The students each took a turn setting a salmon free, but not before wishing their charges good luck. Some of the students had named their salmon, so one by one, Sharkiska, Bay, Cupcake, Gandalf, Dodge, Little Tim and the rest quickly swam from sight, hopefully destined for one of the Great Lakes.

Sixth grader Akinnley Ackerman expressed pride in having so many healthy salmon to launch. She said she especially likes science because, “It’s life. Every day you learn something new and can see it happen.” Classmate Ryan Beaty added he was “amazed to see the fish develop and grow in such a short time. It was such a cool experiment and we got to do it all together.”

Both students said they expect to pursue STEM careers in college. Akinnley is interested in becoming a surgeon or a meteorologist, while Ryan has his sights on aerospace engineering.

This is the second year Ms. Swartz has led the salmon project at Harvey. She called it a perfect format for teaching biology and lifecycles because the growth from egg to smolt fits in with the school year. “The students also learned responsibility in caring for their fish and keeping the tank clean so the fish could thrive,” she said.

“Projects like this get students excited about science and their natural curiosity and questioning take over,” Swartz added. She hopes it will begin to instill in the students a love of lifelong science inquiry and learning.

The salmon released will swim out to the Great Lakes where they will feed and grow over the next few years. Eventually they will “smell” their way back to the Clinton River drop site to spawn another generation.

On hand for the launch was Trout Unlimited representative Bob Batchik. He said that in addition to working with schools to promote environmental education, his organization is involved in preserving and improving Michigan’s water ‘health,’ including working to maintain freshwater habitats for fish and wildlife across the state’s more than 11,000 inland lakes and streams. Learn more at www.michigantu.org.