Education Programs
For more information on Education/TIC Programs contact
Jim Valuckas - 215-208-3873 - [email protected]
TVTU Teaching Kids to Fish at the Audubon Society Day CampOur presentations at the Floating Workshop received such good reviews that the Audubon Society Kids Day Camp contacted us the following day and asked if we could help teaching kids to fish,
Although it was short notice, TVTU managed to get four members to attend. There were twelve kids ages six to nine and they had been practicing casting with spinning rods in the camp driveway. This was the first time that many of them had ever fished. We all met at the Hampton Reservoir and the kids were split up in groups of three between TVTU members Ray Schaefer, Gary Lussier, Charley McCaughtry and Bruce Danielson. They fished with worms and bobbers and fortunately the Calico bass were biting and the kids had a great time. |
Spey Casting Clinic with Bill Keister May 13th, 9:30 am - 3pm
Bill Keister a Federation of Fly Fishers (FFF) certified Master Casting Instructor (MCI) provided “words of wisdom” and a brief overview of Spey casting (single or two handed) and followed with a demonstration of Spey and Skagit casting and techniques. This was a hands-on clinic with plenty of time on the water with individual instruction and help as require. After a fine lunch and conversation there was additional practice and instruction time. A very informative and fun day learning another way to pursue our passion of cold water fisheries. Eastford TIC Fly Casting Class
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Trout in the Classroom (TIC)
Trout in the Classroom is an environmental education program that can be used in any school, in grades K-12, and applied across the curriculum. It has been a huge success in the schools that are involved. Basically, teachers set up an aquarium and incubate trout eggs in their classroom, under the guidance of a Trout in the Classroom coordinator (a TU member). Together, they ensure that all of the equipment has been purchased and is assembled early in the school year. The teacher and students are responsible for daily maintenance and observation of the eggs, while the coordinator is responsible for guidance and delivering the eggs and food. The final result is an aquarium full of trout fry that are released into a trout stream during a class field trip in late May to early June. Trout in the Classroom is an extremely rewarding program for everybody involved, whether student, teacher, or mentor. The program can be set up in one school or as collaboration with many different schools. Our goal is to have the program in at least one school in every town in the Thames Valley Chapter area. This can be achieved and can only be reached with continued support from TU members and others in the community.
Presently we have 14 schools enrolled in TIC. They are: Chaplin Elementary, Eastford Elementary, E.O. Smith Alternate High School (Storrs), Windham H.S. (Willimantic), C.H. Barrows STEM Academy (North Windham), Lisbon Central, Griswold Elementary, Killingly Intermediate, Nathan Hale-Ray (Moodus), Lyman Memorial High School (Lebanon), West Side Middle School (Groton), Lillie B. Haynes Elementary (Niantic), Wheeler M.S., (North Stonington), and Franklin Elementary.
How do I get involved? Get a teacher interested. Donate towards the cost of equipment. Become a mentor for a school near you. Share your knowledge of trout and their habitat by making a presentation to a school. These are a few of the possibilities.
TIC has a initial cost of about $1500 but maintenance is not expensive. The chiller is the most expensive item on the list, amounting to more than half the total needed for a set-up. Trout Unlimited Thames Valley Chapter is seeking Sponsors to finance our Trout in the Classroom Program.
If you would like to donate, mail a check to Trout Unlimited Chapter #282, PO Box 2181, Columbus, CT 06237.
Mark your check or include a note stating that the donation is for Trout in the Classroom. For more information on TIC contact Jim Valuckas -215-208-3873 - [email protected]
Trout in the Classroom is an environmental education program that can be used in any school, in grades K-12, and applied across the curriculum. It has been a huge success in the schools that are involved. Basically, teachers set up an aquarium and incubate trout eggs in their classroom, under the guidance of a Trout in the Classroom coordinator (a TU member). Together, they ensure that all of the equipment has been purchased and is assembled early in the school year. The teacher and students are responsible for daily maintenance and observation of the eggs, while the coordinator is responsible for guidance and delivering the eggs and food. The final result is an aquarium full of trout fry that are released into a trout stream during a class field trip in late May to early June. Trout in the Classroom is an extremely rewarding program for everybody involved, whether student, teacher, or mentor. The program can be set up in one school or as collaboration with many different schools. Our goal is to have the program in at least one school in every town in the Thames Valley Chapter area. This can be achieved and can only be reached with continued support from TU members and others in the community.
Presently we have 14 schools enrolled in TIC. They are: Chaplin Elementary, Eastford Elementary, E.O. Smith Alternate High School (Storrs), Windham H.S. (Willimantic), C.H. Barrows STEM Academy (North Windham), Lisbon Central, Griswold Elementary, Killingly Intermediate, Nathan Hale-Ray (Moodus), Lyman Memorial High School (Lebanon), West Side Middle School (Groton), Lillie B. Haynes Elementary (Niantic), Wheeler M.S., (North Stonington), and Franklin Elementary.
How do I get involved? Get a teacher interested. Donate towards the cost of equipment. Become a mentor for a school near you. Share your knowledge of trout and their habitat by making a presentation to a school. These are a few of the possibilities.
TIC has a initial cost of about $1500 but maintenance is not expensive. The chiller is the most expensive item on the list, amounting to more than half the total needed for a set-up. Trout Unlimited Thames Valley Chapter is seeking Sponsors to finance our Trout in the Classroom Program.
If you would like to donate, mail a check to Trout Unlimited Chapter #282, PO Box 2181, Columbus, CT 06237.
Mark your check or include a note stating that the donation is for Trout in the Classroom. For more information on TIC contact Jim Valuckas -215-208-3873 - [email protected]
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Trout in the Classroom Egg Delivery January 7th, 2020
TVTU volunteers delivered the eggs and supplies to our Trout in the Classroom schools Tuesday, January 7th. Thank you to CT DEEP, Dave Parry, Charlie McCaughtry, John Preston and Gary Lussier for stepping up to make the deliveries. Our volunteers deliver to 13 schools from Griswold, Franklin, Lisbon, East Lyme, North Stonington, Windham, Lebanon, Eastford, Mansfield, Chaplin, and Willington. The photos show the delivery to at Lisbon Central Elementary school science teacher Stephen Brown who has been longtime support and advocate for the TIC program there. His eager students will be monitoring lifecycle of trout while learning about habitat and ecosystems. Also, a special “Thank You” to Stephen Brown and his classes (he teaches to several grades) for taking on an extra portion of 200 eggs (for a total of approximately 4000 eggs) due to an administrative glitch. I was amazed at the questions and answers from his student’s during half hour classroom discussion… quite advanced for I believe was a 3rd grade class.. |
Lisbon Middle School Trout In the Classroom (TIC) - Trout Release 2019
The looks on these kid's faces says it all! This is why we do this! |
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Trout in the Classroom (TIC) Trout Release - Niantic Center, East Lyme April 29, 2018
The planned release at Gordon Pond of 40 trout raised by the First Grade class of Diane Swan didn't go as expected. It seems that the Friday before the release on Sunday all the fry had died because of a yet to be determined cause. But to the credit of the class they did a herculean job to raise to 40 fry from the the initial 200 eggs provided. But Diane turned disappointment into a valuable lesson on how our environment can be impacted and the consequences of many factors (know & unknown) in the life-cycle of living organisms. Many of the children and some parents participated in leaning a little about fly casting. Interestingly they were mostly girls who took on the challenge of fly casting 8 1/2 foot fly rods at such young ages... all perform quite well. Please see the very nice article in The Day that covered the trout release. |
TIC - Westside Middle School, Groton, CT - Trout Release Slide Show
Devil's Hop Yard State Park - 7 May 2015 85 Westside Middle School students of TIC teacher Martha Parker released 128 trout that they had raised from 200 eggs they received in November 2014. You could see from the faces of the students there was mixed emotions of joy, pride and anxiety as they released their "babies" into the cool water of the Eight Mile River. Students later took part in some stream assessments with Patricia Young, Program Director of the Eight Mile River Watershed: a hike led by Rob Smith (former Park Manager) to the falls and nature trail; and, a little fly casting instruction from TVTU volunteers (Charley, McCaughtry, John Manfred & John Preston). |
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