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Celebrating Learning and Salmon

Jenny Neyman

Education made a splash this week for school kids across the Kenai Peninsula at Fish and Game’s annual Salmon Celebration on May 11.

It was an enthusiastic, if somewhat confusing, introduction to their new home for rainbow trout smolt released into Johnson Lake in Kasilof on May 11.

Over 900 Kenai Peninsula elementary school students attended the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s 16th annual Salmon Celebration and got to release a fish — or two or three — into the lake as part of the department’s sportfishing stocking program.

Credit Jenny Neyman
Spin and fly casting was one of many activities at the Salmon Celebration.

For the students, education came in many forms. There were booths and activities spread throughout the campground, everything from juvenile and adult salmon identification and salmon lifecycle displays, to water quality testing, water and wildlife safety, stream flow demonstrations and many more, operated by Fish and Game staff, Alaska State Parks and several other organizations.

The macroinvertebrate touch tank saw a steady stream of traffic. Dana Nelson, an environmental education specialist with the Kachemak Bay Research Reserve, had magnifying glasses, test tubes, ice trays and bug viewers at the ready for anyone brave enough to sift through the trays of brackish water.

Nelson: “Oh, yeah. My favorite is when — it’s usually someone, probably 5 or 6 years old at first — they’re like, ‘Eew this is gross.’ And then find one of those macroinvertebrates and they’ll use their hands or the spoon and they’re just like, ‘Wow, look what I found!’ And they’re way into it.”

Salmon, of course, were the stars of the Salmon Celebration, but Nelson said the program is a great way to teach kids all about the salmon’s environment, and that includes thinking about what else is in fish-bearing waters.

Nelson: “It’s nice to let all the kids know, and parents know, about these macroinvertebrates so then they, hopefully, won’t pollute the different waters or they’ll be concerned about the water system, and they’ll know a little bit about what’s going on within their water.”

Credit Jenny Neyman
Students from Sterling Elementary School help scoop rainbow trout into containers for other students to release into the lake.

The main event, though, was the fish release. Fish and Game sent a tanker truck full of hatchery-raised trout smolt, ready to be rehomed in the lake. Staffers scooped the fish into 5-gallon buckets, then helpers from Sterling Elementary used nets to fish out individual fish and put them in clear plastic containers, about the size of a cowboy hat. Students walked the containers down to the water’s edge, taking care not to spill the contents. Sometimes, the thrashing fish made that a little difficult.

Once at the water, it was time to release. Some students waded out a few steps and dipped their containers carefully into the water, allowing the fish to swim free. Some upended the contents at arm’s length, not wanting to get splashed, and a few launched their package with all the strength they could muster, giving their fish a feel for aviation before it return to its aquatic lifestyle.

Lily Craig is a homeschool student in Soldotna. It was pretty fun to learn about the life cycle of salmon.

Lily: “Um, eggs. No, wait. First, they’re redd eggs, then they turn into eggs. Hmm, they turn into these thingies that have a huge thingy right here. And then after that, it’s like a lunch box attached to them. And then, after that, I think they eat it up, and then they turn into this silver thing, and then they turn into an adult.”

Lily’s mom, Jill Craig, said she thinks she learned even more than her kids.

Craig: “Especially because we’re new to the area, so it’s been educational for me just as much as it has been for her. I find myself asking a lot more questions than the kids.”

The Salmon Celebration is the culmination of the yearlong Salmon in the Classroom project, where students learn about fish biology and ecology. Several schools raise coho salmon fry in the classroom from an egg take held in October. Those get released into Arc Lake in Soldotna.

But there will be another batch of fish to raise and release next year, and more schools of kids ready to learn about them. Just like the salmon, the Salmon in the Classroom program will continue its cycle.