Scholarship applications are being accepted for trout in the classroom

LINCOLN — Six $1,000 scholarships are available to Nebraska schools starting up Trout in the Classroom, a science-based program that allows students to explore aquatic ecosystems, life cycles, water quality and the scientific process by raising trout from eggs.

Scholarship applications, as well as program participation applications, are due Aug. 31, 2020.

Nebraska Game & Parks Commission educators designed Trout in the Classroom curriculum as an opportunity for scientific learning for students in second through twelfth grade. Participating educators receive curriculum; training for setting up their cold-water aquarium and caring for their fish; and technical assistance throughout the school year. After the aquarium is set up in a classroom, Game and Parks provides participating schools rainbow trout eggs.

While caring for their new “class pet,” students learn how all aspects of a trout’s life cycle, food web, and habitat are interconnected and affected by the environment. Students take ownership of caring for both their trout and the aquarium habitat by testing water quality and feeding the fish while monitoring their growth and development. As the program progresses, students see connections between their trout, water resources, the environment and themselves.

Nebraska Trout in the Classroom is sponsored by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission with funding from the Nebraska Environmental Trust and Nebraska Trout Unlimited Chapter 710.

For more information, visit www.outdoornebraska.org/TroutInTheClassroom or contact Grace Gaard at grace.gaard@nebraska.gov.