Dan Andrews Posted January 30, 2009 Report Share Posted January 30, 2009 Picked up an Atlantic Salmon Hatchery today. Was nice meeting Kyrsten Burns from the OFAH at an Oakville School where she was setting up another classroom hatchery today. Those kids can practically just walk their salmon to release them into Bronte Creek when it comes time. I'll be assisting the Friends of Fort Erie's Creeks to set it up at St Joe's in Stevensville in the morning. The kids really eat this stuff up. They can hatch and monitor growth of fish and learn migratory life cycles then release those fish and watch them swim away. The kids will learn the importance of clean water and the need to protect and enhance buffers around waterways not develop them. Even if a fishery never materializes, we are instilling a moral conscience in our youth through direct participation that they will carry into their adult lives.......... we hope This fits the Friends of the Creeks mandate well as education is a key factor to protect our water courses. The NPCA did a good job with the Yellow fish road project ( http://yellowfishroad.org/ ) and if it was combined with this program could not only inspire our future CO's and wildlife Biologists but might spark outrage over things like simply pumping raw sewage into our creeks instead of fixing the leaky infrastructure. The bigger picture for me here is to buy the hatchery unit when we are done with the A.S. then raise Rainbow trout to release into our nice clean creeks. http://www.bringbackthesalmon.ca/Classroom.cfm I will add a few pictures as we go and hopefully the hydro stays on for the duration of the classroom project. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Andrews Posted March 31, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 31, 2009 I'll be looking for sponsors real soon to send the kids on a bus to Bronte to release their fish. The cost is about $650 (*Quote*Dunn the Mover). The OFAH is kicking in 100 but it would be nice to see that stay in the program. Any businesses wishing to donate may get a tax receipt and will be added to the website as a friend to the program. Hopefully we won't have to leave these kids sitting in the classroom while someone else releases their fish. If you wish to donate, please call me direct 905-994-7684 and if I'm not home, please leave a name and number. Thank you Dan Andrews Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokin Joe Posted March 31, 2009 Report Share Posted March 31, 2009 Hey Dan I'm not a business or anything but I'll help out any way I can. I'll toss in a few $$ for the great cause and I'm sure other's will too, this is our future as fisherman You have my #. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Andrews Posted April 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 9, 2009 $650-$400=$250 to go Fort Erie Conservation Club $100 Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters $100 Member from Niagara River Steelheaders $50 Fishin Niagara $50 Friends of Fort Erie's Creeks $100 Thank you to everyone who offered donations so far. We'll be booking the bus for sure next week Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Andrews Posted April 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 9, 2009 Here they are getting ready for the big weekend. Today Unfortunately the 2 headed salmon died. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Andrews Posted April 11, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 11, 2009 $650-$460=$190 to go Fort Erie Conservation Club $100 Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters $100 Member from Niagara River Steelheaders $50 Fishin Niagara $50 Friends of Fort Erie's Creeks $100 Racefan from Niagara River Steelheaders: $60 Thank you to everyone who offered donations so far. We'll be booking the bus for sure next week Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Andrews Posted April 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 22, 2009 Today, front page in the review http://niagarafallsreview.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1532949 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Andrews Posted May 26, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 26, 2009 Well unfortunate news came from the school. The kids won't be making the trip as all the fish contracted some disease and died. I will be offering an alternative use for the funds donated to the class or returning the money to the donors. Those who donated who wish for their funds to be returned should PM me. The alternative use for the funds would be a wetland prayer garden behind the school. The loss of the fish was not the loss of the purpose of the whole class project. The fish, 100 in total, was a very small part of the lesson although it was very important to the kids. I now have the task of explaining to them the value of their effort despite not releasing any fish. What did they learn? They learned about the history of a very important species and the mistakes that can't be repeated again. They gained an appreciation for a native species of fish that they otherwise might not have even known about. They learned and charted the life cycle of a salmon and witnessed the hatching first hand. They saw first hand that even in a controlled environment, fish are fragile. They gained an attitude for stewardship to maintain clean water They were part of a huge effort from across the Province to better something somewhere other than their home town. The list can go on and on. Despite the set back, these kids should be proud. I just hope some of them, even one of them take the lesson home and pass it on later in life. Bless them for trying and hopefully they learned the importance of trying. http://www.waterkeeper.ca/2009/05/19/resto...rightful-place/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik.T. Posted May 27, 2009 Report Share Posted May 27, 2009 i remember doing fish stocking/tree planting but I was kinda like the anti-christ of our class in the eyes of the stocking program leaders (i was marking off fishing spots while stocking the fish) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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