WEYBURN – Kindergarten students from St. Michael School were excited to release the fingerlings of Rainbow trout on Friday, after raising them in their classroom since January.
Two Weyburn classrooms once again watched the cycle of life in the form of Rainbow trout eggs, hatching and growing into fingerlings, through the FINS (Fish in Schools) program from the Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation.
This was the second year in Candice Porter’s kindergarten class at St. Michael School, and the children were excited as Larry and Judy Olfert of the Weyburn Wildlife Federation delivered a container with 100 rainbow trout eggs in late January.
The kindergarten students watched as their teacher poured the eggs into the tank, which had to be kept dark and temperature-controlled until they hatched. Porter had some of the food on hand that the trout ate and had the children smell it, as they had the responsibility to feed the fish as they grew through the late winter and early spring months.
The Olferts also delivered eggs to the Weyburn Comprehensive School for their fish tank. Both schools participated in the program last year and this year, and the kindergarten class then released the fingerlings into Rafferty Reservoir at Mainprize Regional Park on Friday.
“Today we released the fish, enjoyed a barbecue lunch provided by the Weyburn Wildlife Federation, and enjoyed some fun at the beach before returning to school,” said Porter of the special trip to release the fingerlings.
