Trout are special fish, and trout fishing (and trout rearing) within the Benjamin Logan Environmental Science Club and in the school district is alive and well, officials noted.
Six members of the Madman Chapter of Trout Unlimited recently visited the Environmental Science Club members to provide instruction in fly tying and fly casting.
The session also complements the district’s participation in the Trout Unlimited program “Trout in the Classroom” for more than 10 years.
Tom Allen and Sam Hanna provided the fly casting instruction. The students learned the basics using a practice rod to establish rhythm and then progressed to an 8-foot fly rod.
Taking advantage of the high ceiling in the high school commons, many of the students became proficient enough to consistently hit the target laid out for them.
Fly tying vices were set up at tables in the commons. Students created wooly buggers under the tutelage of Kevin Ramsey, John Davis and Mitch Tucker. The students learned that flies could be created to mimic whatever the fish are feeding on at the moment.
At another station, Pam Allen taught the students how to identify macroinvertebrates in order to assess the health of an aquatic ecosystem.
In addition, the ESC members discussed the importance of the green corridor that should line a healthy stream; the riparian zone. Each student received an “Ohio Scenic Rivers Activity Book” courtesy of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.
Due to its special status as a cold water ecosystem, both brown trout and rainbow trout are found in the Mad River.
Benjamin Logan teachers Spencer Reames and Bruce Smith obtained initial funding for Trout in the Classroom through the Ohio EPA to purchase 55 gallon aquaria, one for each building in the school district, and special chiller units that provide the low temperature, high oxygen content water required by trout.
Each fall, Trout Unlimited members arrive on campus with eggs from Montana via the state hatchery in London, Ohio. The eggs hatch in the aquariums, and the students in each building care for the newly hatched alevin.
As the trout grow and develop, the students monitor water quality to maintain the conditions that the trout need in their natural ecosystem.
The Environmental Science Club is co-sponsored by the school district and the Logan County Land Trust and is in its fifth year of operation.
Approximately 40 students from fourth- through sixth-grades participate in activities weekly. The club hosts guest speakers, conducts learning activities such as the dissection of owl pellets, and participates in service projects, such as the establishment of a permaculture area in Ricketts Park in West Liberty.
The club is directed by Smith, Reames, Ryan Kerns and Bob Stoll. For more information about the Logan County Land Trust, visit www.logancountylandtrust.org/