Spring is here!

For our Trout in the Classroom crew, the start of Spring means a chance to get back into the water!  It's not time to get the Teal out on Cayuga Lake, but classes are signing up for "Stream Ecology" studies, and that means we get to go out and collect samples from local streams to take into the schools!

I got the honor of collecting our first macroinvertebrate sample of 2023 at Lower Enfield Creek on the very first day or spring this year.  Water temperature a balmy.... 42 degrees!

Students at EA Clune Montessori School got to investigate this stream sample and found an incredible diversity of insect larvae and other invertebrates, along with a salamander, two black nosed dace and a fantail darter.    Their consensus?  This is a healthy stream, and a suitable habitat for growing trout!

Stay tuned for more posts from classes, and from Katie and Astrid who will soon be joining me in waders out here.  And, not to worry- all creatures were returned safely to their chilly but healthy home in Enfield Creek at the end of the day!

Bill F.

Ithaca Fishing & Conservation Day 2023

 We had a blast at Ithaca Fishing & Conservation Day this past Saturday!

Boynton Middle School 's cafeteria was filled to the gills with activities, gear, displays from local conservation orgs, fly tying lessons and old friends. Additionally, the always incredible raffle of fishing gear and outdoors paraphernalia raised nearly $2000 in support of Trout in the Classroom and local outdoor education activities for kids!!

SPECIAL THANKS to Phil, Rick, Mike, Liz and all our friends at the Leon Chandler Chapter of Trout Unlimited for reviving this great tradition! Our advise? If you couldn't be one of the several hundred to attend this year, mark you calendars for Fishing & Conservation Day 2024!

Osprey On Their Way Back to Cayuga Lake

Around Cayuga Lake, we know Spring has arrived when Osprey return to their nests in late March. The birds return to the same nest with the same mate each year. Since last August, Cayuga Lake's Osprey population has spent their winter season in South America, typically as far South as Argentina where it the climate is warm enough. 

There are around 150 pairs of Osprey around Cayuga Lake, and last year most pairs had about 2-3 chicks in their nest. So that means there could be up to 450 Osprey flying around Cayuga Lake in the near future.

Osprey are tertiary consumers in the aquatic food chain around Cayuga Lake. They prey on bigger fish swimming in the lake, while those big fish hunt for small fish, and the small fish searches for bite-sized zooplankton (floating animals). Phytoplankton (floating plants) makes up the very bottom of the food chain. They are the primary consumers that use the sun's energy to create food, otherwise known as photosynthesis. 

From the phytoplankton all the way to the Osprey, every aspect of the aquatic food web is essential to a healthy ecosystem. This includes the trout that are swimming in all of our tanks, soon to make their way into the streams in a couple of months. 

When you observe your trout and consider what all you have learned about their habitats, consider what your trout needs in its future habitat in the wild in order to survive and be a healthy member of the aquatic food web.