Trout in the Classroom

Trout in the Classroom is a TU program in which TU members work with classrooms to raise trout. Students in the program learn:

• Fish biology

• Water chemistry

• Stream ecology

• Coldwater Conservation

Currently Shenandoah Valley TU oversees 17 tanks in the area. Each classroom has a 50 gallon tank, a chiller to keep the water at the cool 55 degrees trout love, a tank thermometer, and a bubbler to oxygenate the water.

TU chapters work with teachers and generous donors to raise funds for each program (around $1000 per tank). Classrooms receive eggs from VDGIF usually in October, and the fish grow to be about 3 inches long by May, when the children release them into VDGIF-approved waterways.

If you'd like to start a TIC program in your school, contact Doug Stegura at stegura@comcast.net. Find more information about trout in the classroom, including technical information and teaching resources on the national TIC website at: http://www.troutintheclassroom.org/. You can also find information on TIC programs across Virginia at the Virginia Council of TU TIC website. Resources for TIC classrooms, including our manual "How to Raise Virginia Trout", can be found in Attachments at the bottom of this page.

A TIC tank. The black tube that ends in a square sponge is the filter intake. The oval on the left side is the chiller coil. The blue bar at the bottom of the tank is the oxygenating bubbler, and the vertical tube at the back is the thermometer. There are about 120 trout in the tank.

Stump 5th grade students cleaning their tank.

Stump Elementary students releasing their brook trout in Coyner Springs, Waynesboro, VA. May 2010.