Third grade students at Apollo Elementary School said goodbye to about 230 Coho Salmon that they released into the Issaquah Creek March 18 as part of a “Salmon in the Schools” project.The event was also a fundraiser for the ailing program, which is in need of funds and volunteers.
About 150 kids ran squealing around the property of Pickering Barn in Issaquah, eager to get Salmon Release Day underway. When it was time, they pushed and squeezed into four lines in front of their teachers, who manned painter-sized buckets full of tiny fish.
“Well, today’s an amazing day because we’re having the chance to release salmon into the creek and I think that’s a rare time,” said third-grader Max Novak.
He and other students were given cups containing fish to walk down to the creek and release into the wild waters below. It was an activity that took about 10 minutes for the students to complete, but they’ve spent months prior to the exercise learning about the lifecycle of Coho Salmon.
“It’s a great culminating project to integrate all the domains of science, physical science and earth science for our third-grade curriculum and it’s really a great opportunity for the community,” said Lauren Screibers, third-grade teacher at Apollo.
In January the salmon arrived at the school as eggs and the students have been watching them grow ever since. There are 155 schools that participate in the “Salmon in the Schools” program. Each school gets 250 salmon eggs to raise. Teachers are given online access to the curriculum, when they enroll in the program.
The program is administered by the Friends of Issaquah Salmon Hatchery (FISH), which is the fiscal agent and regional liaison between schools and the state Department of Fish and Wildlife. In 2011, a coalition of educators, agencies and advocates came together to continue the program, which was nearly wiped out because of state budget cuts. The coalition is called the Salmon Education Alliance.
Now, 25 years after the program’s inception, the equipment is beginning to fail and there are program costs beyond what FISH has allotted, Suzannah Cox said.
She is a FISH education coordinator.
“So we’re constantly having to go out and find funding to keep the equipment running in these various schools,” said Cox.
Apollo raised close to $140 in donations for the project that day, with some of the money coming from whatever change the students had to contribute.
“Being able to take ownership of raising salmon is hopefully creating a lifelong stewardship and impact on the students,” said Cox.
Campbell Hill Elementary plans to release Kokanee Salmon in April as part of the same program. FISH is also in need of volunteers, who are responsible for going into the classrooms and making presentations in some cases. FISH is currently funding low income schools with salmon setups for next year, but most schools need to raise the initial startup moneys and designate upkeep funds as well, she said.
For more information email education@issaquahfish.org.
