In case you Louts haven’t checked it out yet, you should know that Float King has been on a do-gooder kick recently as the catalyst for an important new Trout Unlimited initiative to teach conservation education to New Jersey middle- and high school students.
Trout in the Classroom is a nationwide TU program where local chapters sponsor teachers who agree to install fish tanks in their classrooms. New Jersey’s Fish & Wildlife authorities supply each class with brook trout eggs in the fall, and the kids get to watch them mature into regular little aquatic predators. During their academic interval, these fish will inspire participating teachers to create lesson plans involving stream habitat, fish biology, various modes of scientific inquiry, art, literacy, and more. Fish that graduate will be released into the wild in the spring, so you big eaters among us shouldn’t get too many ideas unless you plan to fish for these hatchery babies!
Aside from leading the charge in making New Jersey’s program one of the largest in the country, Brian’s vision as NJ State TU Trout-in-the-Classroom Coordinator was to create a common web “lab notebook” where teachers and students will compare notes and observations throughout the 2006-7 school year. I was fortunate enough to get the gig for web design and development.
Check out the site when you get a moment and be sure to pass along an attaboy or two for Brian’s initiative.