Fish Go to School
Monday 10th March 2008
Primary school pupils have been getting to grips with the local environment in a very hands on way thanks to the Fish Go to School project.
The education project, which has been taking place in eight primary schools since January 2008, has seen pupils raise Brown Trout from eggs in a classroom hatchery.
Thanks to the pupils' dedication dozens of eggs hatched and have been nurtured into fry which are ready to be released into the wild. You are invited to send a photographer to Deerpark Primary School on Tuesday 11th March from where pupils will be walking to the Brothie Burn where the fish will be released.
This project was launched in Clackmannanshire in January 2006 and has been a great success. A total of 18 primary schools in Clackmannanshire have taken part, with 22 classrooms becoming home to custom built hatcheries with 250 eggs in each. 592 pupils have cared for the fish and watched them hatch and grow. The pupils took responsibility for looking after the eggs and keeping the water clean and the temperature down, the crucial factors that dictate the survival of the eggs.
The latest group of pupils - 5 classes from 4 primary schools - have now seen the fruits of their labour and will witness the fish swim off on Tuesday.
Guy Harewood, Clackmannanshire Biodiversity Officer, said: "Pupils and teachers alike agree that this project has been a great success. It has raised the children's awareness of river ecosystems helping them understand the importance of conserving the natural environment and the implications human activities such as pollution, litter, loss of habitat can have on rivers in a way that no amount of book work could ever match."
Clackmannanshire Biodiversity Partnership successfully secured funding to run this education project for three years, with this the final year of the current funding. The project is run by the Clyde River Foundation, and is sponsored by the Forth Fisheries Foundation, River and Fisheries Trust for Scotland, Scottish Natural Heritage and Clackmannanshire Council.
Notes to Editors
Four primary schools - Banchory , Claremont, Abercromby and Park - will be taking part in tomorrow's event. Pupils will walk to the Brothie Burn from the bus drop off point at Deerpark Primary School to carry out burn dipping and then release their fish.
The first school to arrive at Deerpark will be Banchory at approximately 9.40am; Claremont will arrive at 11.15am; Abercromby will arrive at 12.30pm; and Park will arrive at 1.30pm. Each release will take around half an hour.
You may also be interested in...
Page & Site Tools
Contact information
For further information about this page please contact:
Strategy & Customer Services, Communications & Marketing
Greenfield House, Tullibody Road, Alloa, FK10 2AD
Tel: 01259 450000
Email: press@clacks.gov.uk
Or use the on-line contact form
