Thousands of New York Students Raise Trout in Their Classrooms to Learn About the Importance of Clean Water
November 8, 2019
Students from More than 200 New York City and Upstate Schools Will Raise Trout in Their Classrooms and Learn About the Shared Water Resources that Supply Nearly 10 Million New Yorkers with the Best Tap Water in the World
Photos are Available on DEP’s Flickr Page
The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) last week joined Trout Unlimited, the Cold Spring Harbor Fish Hatchery and students from Brooklyn and Manhattan to kick off the Trout in the Classroom Program. Now in its 17th year, the eight-month environmental education program teaches young New Yorkers, ranging from pre-K to grade 12, about the connections between trout, the New York City water supply system, water quality, and students from both sides of the water tunnel. Trout thrive in clean waters and their presence serves as an important indicator of the health of the City’s watershed streams and reservoirs.
On Friday, the students and teachers received their fertilized trout eggs and will now spend the next six to eight months raising them in their classrooms. This includes daily monitoring of the water quality in the tanks in order to ensure the health of the trout. In the spring, the juvenile trout will be ready to be released into New York City watershed streams in Westchester County.
“The Trout in the Classroom program provides a tangible way to educate elementary, middle and high school students about the importance of preserving the rivers, streams and reservoirs that supply the world class drinking water we enjoy every day,” said DEP Commissioner Vincent Sapienza. “Since our partnership with Trout Unlimited began, tens of thousands of students from New York City and watershed towns have had a chance to gain an appreciation for our shared water resources and visit the streams that supply their drinking water.”
Since 2002, DEP and Trout Unlimited, a national grassroots non-profit organization whose mission is to conserve, protect, and restore North America's cold-water fisheries and their watersheds, have worked together to educate students in New York City and watershed communities about the importance of protecting our shared water resources through the Trout in the Classroom program. The conservation-oriented environmental education program teaches young New Yorkers, ranging from pre-K to grade 12, about the connections between trout, the New York City water supply system, water quality, and students from both sides of the water tunnel. This year, thousands of students from schools in New York City and the upstate watersheds incubated trout eggs in their classrooms and raised them into juvenile trout, which are also called fingerlings. The 8-month long program culminates with students taking part in a field day, where they release the fingerlings into New York City watershed streams from April through June.
DEP manages New York City’s water supply, providing approximately 1 billion gallons of high-quality drinking water each day to more than 9.6 million residents, including 8.6 million in New York City. The water is delivered from a watershed that extends more than 125 miles from the city, comprising 19 reservoirs and three controlled lakes. Approximately 7,000 miles of water mains, tunnels and aqueducts bring water to homes and businesses throughout the five boroughs, and 7,500 miles of sewer lines and 96 pump stations take wastewater to 14 in-city treatment plants. DEP has nearly 6,000 employees, including almost 1,000 in the upstate watershed. In addition, DEP has a robust capital program, with a planned $20.1 billion in investments over the next 10 years that will create up to 3,000 construction-related jobs per year. For more information, visit nyc.gov/dep, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.