"Trout in the Classroom" is an environmental program which helps teach young people about trout and the environment in which they live through the process of raising trout from eggs.

Saluda River Chapter helps to support this program in cooperation with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources in schools across the midlands of South Carolina.  We provide the equipment (tanks, coolers, filters, etc.) along with assisting teachers to deliver a successful program.  The students  raise trout from eggs to fingerlings.  School children from elementary, middle, and high school participate in caring for the fish with lessons in trout anatomy, habitat, and water chemistry.  

 

Prior to the arrival of the eggs, teachers participate in educational workshops hosted by SCDNR and partners on fisheries management and fly fishing.  Eggs are typically delivered in the first week of December. 

 

The students watch the eggs develop and hatch into fish and care for them until spring, when the students release the fish into local streams. Students learn first hand about fish development, various areas of science and the environment, responsibility, as well as gaining a respect for living things. 

As in real life, the important factors for a successful program include keeping the fish fed and the water clean, cold (58° - 62° F is ideal) and well oxygenated.