Discovering underwater world

Photo by Samantha Davis
Left to right, eighth graders Angie Villeda, seventh grader JJ Johnson and Scarlett Leos of Lynd Public School catch something in the Redwood River at Camden State Park Monday afternoon in a trout study, where students caught macro invertebrates to test the health of the water.

LYND — Seventh and eighth graders of Lynd Public School stepped away from the classroom and into the Redwood River at Camden State Park’s trout designated stream Monday afternoon to begin their trout study.

Science teacher Martin Boucek partners with Trout in the Classroom, an environmental education program, which is a part of Minnesota Trout Unlimited that allows students to study the growing process of trout, maintaining a healthy ecosystem and engaging in lessons in local rivers and streams. The first step of the process was getting in the water to test various organisms.

“They’re (the students) going to go search … and they’re going to try to catch these macro invertebrate insects that live in the water,” Boucek said. “They use that to indicate whether the quality of the water is still suitable for fish, like trout.”

This is the second year Boucek is working with Trout in the Classroom, which has been around for three decades and works with schools across the state. The river they are working in is also only for trout.

The program will provide trout eggs to the class in December, and they will then go back out in the spring to release them, meaning the students participate in helping the DNR as well by stocking the river with fish.

“We raise the trout from little eggs in our classroom … Then we actually go fishing here as well,” Boucek said. “Once they hatch, the kids feed them, change their water and all that, and kind of observe how they grow. They do grow rapidly.”

As kids dressed up in waders before walking into the river, Minnesota Trout Unlimited educator Jim Emery briefed the students about the invertebrates, which they later studied at the end and identified each one.

“It’s a beautiful, fall day. We’re getting some color,” Emery said. “This is about as sweet a location as I get to. A lot of times, I’m in the Twin Cities area.”

With trees turning colors in the surrounding hills and the sun beaming down, the students took their nets and buckets and spent the hour gathering insects and creatures. A few students even found some frogs, offering some humor to the afternoon.

“It’s a learning opportunity, but it’s a good indicator. This area actually has some of the cleaner water,” Boucek said. “I don’t know what kid would say, ‘I don’t want to do that.’ Even kids that would be putting their head down (in the classroom), now they’re freely walking into the river.”

Emery also enjoys seeing the students he works with across Minnesota get inspired by the Trout in the Classroom program.

“It’s just fun to get out with the students and find stuff in the water,” Emery said. “When we start identifying what they find, they really look at them and pay attention. They’re pretty fascinated by this whole world that is under the water.”

Emery also detailed they work with over 70 schools. Although the class found good, healthy invertebrates in the water, he said examples of problematic organisms can be leeches or scuds, which are like tiny shrimp.

Boucek also said they receive local support in donations as well, including Cabelas and Runnings, to help support their educational trips and experiences like going fishing.

As the students helped one another up and down the river and filled their buckets with creatures, they ended the day with studying and learning about what they caught.

“Every year is new, and they all deserve the best experiences,” Boucek said. “We try to give them that, and it really gets them super excited.”