Grade 6 student, Nilan Peck, listens to Cape Breton Wildlife Association volunteer, Brent Baker, explain how the little brook trout will live and grow in the stream now that they have been moved from a 40-gallon tank in the classroom into their natural environment outside. Nilan was one of the students who helped raise the trout from an egg stage to a small “fry” stage over the past school term at Eskasoni Elementary and Middle School. ROSEMARY GODIN/Cape Breton PostArticle contentThere’s the birds and the bees and there’s the fish and the kids. Real-life experience and a big fish tank in their classroom are teaching children at Eskasoni Elementary and Middle School about the cycle of life – from birth to death.THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY.Subscribe now to access this story and more:Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsSUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES.Subscribe or sign in to your account to continue your reading experience.Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsRegister to unlock more articles.Create an account or sign in to continue your reading experience.Access additional stories every monthShare your thoughts and join the conversation in our commenting communityGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorArticle contentFor the past 10 years, the school has partnered with the Cape Breton Island Wildlife Association, to teach its small-fry about – well – small-fry. And late in the school year, a class of Grade 5-6 children saw the results of their tender care of Brook Trout fish eggs reach its culmination when they released the “fry” of about three centimetres long into the brook that runs beside the school.Article contentArticle contentArticle contentWith the help and support of the wildlife association, the class of 11-12-year-olds has been raising the fish since February from their egg stage. Members of the association helped deposit the eggs into a 40-gallon aquarium that sat in the classroom until the end of the school year when students released the tiny fish into a nearby brook that runs into the Bras d’Or Lakes system.Article content Brent Baker, member of the Cape Breton Wildlife Association is one of the volunteers who helps take care of the “Fish Friends” program in some Cape Breton elementary schools. Above, he helps Eskasoni Elementary and Middle School student, Sam Francis, excitedly release the brook trout Sam raised from the egg stage to the 3-cm fry. The tiny fish were released in a fast-moving stream that runs past the school. ROSEMARY GODIN/Cape Breton PostArticle contentBABY TROUTArticle contentPrincipal Dawn Stevens says every year, students at all levels are welcome to come in and sit beside the tank and watch during the days and weeks as the eggs turn into baby trout.Article contentThe eggs came from the Department of Inland Fishery Hatchery at Margaree. The department supplies eggs to several schools around Cape Breton Island if staff request them.Article contentStevens says there’s always a certain amount of mortality in nature. She says there’s an important lesson for students to see birth, life and death happen naturally. This year, they only lost about five of the 300-400 eggs as they morphed into fry.Article contentArticle content“And every time one died, the students held a little funeral over at the sink,” Stevens smiles. “It was the way they show respect to them. I learned so much from them.Article content“They even taught me how to feed the fish.”Article contentBrent Baker, a Wildlife Association member from Louisbourg said he and others teach the students how to feed them and especially, how important clean water is for all life.Article content A group photo of most of those who took part in last month’s fish release beside the Eskasoni Elementary School includes staff, students and Cape Breton Wildlife Association volunteers. From left to right are: student Nilan Peck and Sam Francis; Cape Breton Wildlife Association volunteer, Brent Baker; teachers, Sarah Jaarsma and Annie Denny; students Ekkian Denny and Chelsea Stevens-Poulette; Wildlife Association volunteer, John Garcia; school principal Dawn Stevens, and student, Chuck Johnson Jr. Brook trout were raised from egg stage to 3 cm. “fry” stage in the classroom and released in late June into a nearby brook. ROSEMARY GODIN/Cape Breton PostArticle contentFISH FRIENDSArticle contentBaker says the program involving students is a provincial one called “Fish Friends.”Article contentClassroom teacher, Sarah Jaarsma, says the fish tank is a popular attraction in her room.Article content“We have a lot of the little ones come down and check the fish out,” she says. “There are a few who will come down and just sit and watch them and relax.”Article contentJaarsma says the class watches for the yolk sac to appear on the egg and then they know it’s time to start feeding them – which they do every day. She says it’s exciting for the students to watch them grow.
Fish Friends teach Eskasoni students about nature’s life cycle
