Last October, New Jersey’s Trout in the Classroom (TIC) delivered 350 brook trout eggs to West Belmar Elementary School. Throughout the school year, West Belmar students engaged in the trout rearing process through hands-on-activities which included: raising trout eggs and watching them hatch from fry to fingerlings, monitoring tank quality, engaging in stream habitat studies, learning to appreciate water resources, fostering a conservation ethic, and growing to understand ecosystems.
Of the 350 trout eggs, supplied free of charge by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) Division of Fish & Wildlife, 225 eggs hatched and developed from fry into fingerlings. The trout-rearing program culminated on May 19, 2014, with the 5th graders releasing their brook trout at Brice Park, a nearby, state-approved cold-water stream.
TIC is a supplementary environmental educational activity made possible through a partnership between the NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife and the conservation group, Trout Unlimited. Trout in the Classroom (TIC) is a conservation-oriented environmental education program for elementary, middle, and high school students, which encompasses science, language arts, mathematics, social studies, and art.
