By Helina Bailey
Union County High School is buzzing with excitement as students work on various projects throughout the campus. I visited the school this week to introduce myself to the staff and was given a little tour, to see the various departments. While I was there, I stopped by the agriculture department and met with Mr. Edwards, who has recently taken over one of the agriculture classes.
He has been faculty at the school for the past decade, but he was in the science department. With a background in biology and hands on experience with husbandry (he raises sheep and goats), he has smoothly transitioned into the department this year and is off to a running start. His students have been engaged in a multitude of projects since the semester began, such as plant propagation, growing lettuce and spinach in a hydroponic system, creating terrariums, and caring for faculty members’ ferns.
Right now, the students are raising brown trout in a tank they built themselves. Mr. Edwards reached out to Trout Unlimited, which is a non-profit organization for the conservation of trout and other fish, earlier in the school year. Through them, he was able to procure trout eggs and most of the items necessary to raise the trout, at no cost to the school. The students have worked diligently since the trout eggs arrived, ensuring that they maintain the water temperature and quality required for the fish to thrive.
Although Mr. Edwards oversees the project and cares for the fish over holidays and breaks, the students are ultimately responsible for its success and raising the trout. Thus far, the students have done a spectacular job and have not suffered a single tragedy. Since hatching two months ago, every brown trout has been thriving. As they grow, they create more waste, which adds ammonia to the water. Too much ammonia in the water makes it toxic and will kill the brown trout.
The students have added bacteria to their filter system in order to regulate the ammonia. However, as the trout continue to grow, so will their waste output. In order to combat this, the class is working on creating their own aquaponic system. They are in the beginning phases, still brainstorming how to set up the system and deciding which plants to use, but the class is as excited as they are hopeful about the project.
The students, along with Mr. Edwards, will continue to monitor their trout as they grow. Depending on size, they will release them in the spring. If they outgrow their tank, they will release them sooner, but the goal is to keep them until the spring as the longer they stay, the better the chances of survival in the wild. For now, the class is looking at releasing the brown trout into the Norris Reservoir, but they will seek out guidance from Trout Unlimited before doing so. Because trout have a difficult time spawning here, adding trout is necessary to help keep the population up. To learn more about this or to get your own trout eggs for a classroom project, contact Trout Unlimited at tu.org