TroutKids Release involves local students in restoration of Trout Brook

When: Thursday, May 22, 2014

10:15 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.

Small Elementary School, South Portland, 5th Grade

Thursday, May 29, 2014

9:45 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Skillin Elementary School, South Portland, 4th Grade

Where: Trout Brook Nature Preserve.

As South Portland students release hundreds of baby brook trout into a local stream in the culmination of the Portland Water District’s TroutKids Program, they will also gain insight into local water issues!

Students from Small Elementary and Skillin Elementary schools have been raising brook trout since January. During the project the students have studied watersheds, the water cycle, the trout life cycle, and related environmental topics such as stormwater runoff. The trout are now at the “fry” stage and are ready to be placed into a suitable river or stream.

In South Portland, their new home will be Trout Brook, which flows into Mill Creek. Students will perform water quality tests and macroinvertebrate sampling, and conduct shoreline assessments to ensure the new habitat is healthy for the trout. Then each student will release a trout fry into the river. By involving local students in the project, they can connect to the stream and take a role in its future protection.

Trout Brook has been declared an impaired stream, but amazingly a small population of brook trout have been observed living there. The Portland Water District is organizing the trout release as part of its education programs, and will be joined by local partners currently working on restoration efforts, including the City of South Portland, the Cumberland County Soil and Water Conservation District, and the Casco Bay Estuary Partnership.