APRIL 28, 2015
This Year, More Than 3,000 Students from New York City and the Upstate Watersheds Will Participate in the Environmental Education Program
Photos of the Trout Release Can be Viewed on DEP’s Flickr page
The
New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) today joined 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, and 50 pre-k and 6th grade students from P.S. 251 in Brooklyn and
the Academy of Medical Technology in Far Rockaway, to release juvenile brown
trout that the students have raised in their classrooms since October of last
year. Since 2002, DEP and Trout Unlimited 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, water quality, the environment and steps they can take to
improve the ecological health of the New York City watershed, which supplies
over 9 million people with a reliable source of high quality drinking water every
day. This year, more than 3,000 students from schools in New York City and the
upstate watersheds incubated trout eggs in their classrooms and raised them
into juvenile brown trout, which are also called fingerlings. The 6-month long
program culminates with students taking part in a field day, where they release
the fingerlings into New York City watershed streams in April and May. Today,
nearly 50 fingerlings were released into the Cross River where it passes
through the Ward Pound Ridge Reservation in Westchester County.
“The
Trout in the Classroom program provides a tangible and practical way to educate
elementary, middle and high school students about the importance of preserving
the rivers, streams, reservoirs, and lakes that supply the world class drinking
water we enjoy every day,” said DEP
Commissioner Emily Lloyd. “Since our partnership with Trout
Unlimited began 15 years ago, thousands of students from New York City and the
watershed have had a chance to gain an appreciation for our shared water resources
and visit the streams that supply their drinking water.”
“DEC
has been an avid supporter of the Trout in the Classroom program since its
launch in New York,” said DEC
Commissioner Joe Martens. “By raising fish from eggs for
release in local waters, Trout in the Classroom offers a unique way to actively
engage students in biology and environmental conservation. These types of
educational programs are valuable tools to help build the next generation of
aquatic resource stewards and ecologists.”
“Trout
in the Classroom in NYC is designed to connect students to their environment by
providing daily hands-on interaction in the classroom,” said Trout Unlimited’s Youth Education
Director Franklin Tate. “Students engage in STEM (science,
technology, engineering and mathematics) learning while developing a deeper
awareness and appreciation for the earth’s natural resources. Our longstanding
collaboration with DEP helps us to inspire thousands of students throughout the
southern New York area to become stewards of the environment.”
The
Trout in the Classroom Program in southern New York began in 2002 as a
partnership between DEP and Trout Unlimited and has become a prototype for
similar programs across the country. The program is flexibly designed to be age
appropriate as well as adaptable to individual classroom needs, enabling
teachers to cultivate a wide range of skills in their students, ranging from
reading and creative writing to scientific observation. Participating
classrooms receive trout eggs in October, giving students the opportunity to
monitor water temperature, clarity, dissolved oxygen, ammonia, and PH as the
eggs develop and grow into fingerlings over the course of the school year.
As
an aquatic indicator species, the trout also provide students the chance to
learn about water quality and the ecological importance of the streams that
feed New York City’s water supply and the nearby forest habitat. To learn more
about Trout in the Classroom in New York City and the New York City Watersheds,
sponsor a school, get a school involved, or volunteer at the next Trout Release
Field Day, visit the DEP website or
contact Lilli Genovesi at lgenovesi@tu.org.
The
New York State Department of Conservation (DEC) supports the program and sets
guidelines for raising trout in the classroom and releasing them into the New
York City watershed. Last fall, the DEC provided approximately 20,000 trout
eggs that were distributed for free to nearly 200 classrooms. It is estimated
that over 3,000 students from more than 150 schools in the southern New York
area will directly participate in trout releases this year.
DEP
manages New York City’s water supply, providing more than one billion gallons
of water each day to more than nine million residents, including eight 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 $14
billion in investments over the next 10 years that will create up to 3,000
construction-related jobs per year.
This capital program is responsible for critical
projects like City Water Tunnel No. 3; the Staten Island Bluebelt program, an
ecologically sound and cost-effective stormwater management system; the city’s
Watershed Protection Program, which protects sensitive lands upstate near the
city’s reservoirs in order to maintain their high water quality; and the
installation of more than 820,000 Automated Meter Reading devices, which allow
customers to track their daily water use, more easily manage their accounts and
be alerted to potential leaks on their properties.
For more information, visit nyc.gov/dep, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.