BIDWELL—Brows furrowed in concentration, Grade 3 and 4 students from Assiginack Public School and Grade 7 and Grade 8 students from Lakeview School in M’Chigeeng used eye droppers and spoons to insert 10,000 brook trout eyed-eggs into Scotty boxes for planting in the streambed at Norton’s Creek.
In what has become an annual event, the students were taking part in a Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry supported project to reintroduce the popular sport fish into the region. Joined by members of local fish and game clubs, the Lake Manitou Association and a host of retired teachers and local conservationists, fertilized eggs supplied by the ministry’s Hills Lake Englehart hatchery are gently placed into the 200 chambers of the plates that are later assembled into packs of 10. Each of the egg chambers have small holes at each end to allow the cold fresh water of the stream to flow through the chamber. Once the eggs hatch, the tiny fry can swim out of the holes and into the wild. Proper placement of the block-shaped Scotty boxes is critical, as they must be located in sufficient water flow to keep the eggs healthy and with the escape holes for the fry at the bottom so that any sand or silt that drifts in on the current falls out through the hole instead of blocking the exit.
photos by Michael Erskine
Once the boxes are loaded with eggs and placed in coolers ready for transport to the stream, the students and adults warm up with chili, hot dogs and hot chocolate beneath propane patio heaters before venturing out to plant the boxes in the stream and to learn more about conservation efforts.
Retired MNRF biologist Bob Florean delivered an enthusiastic lecture on the denizens of the creek, wading into the water to overturn boulders and introduce the students to the various crustaceans and invertebrates who make their home beneath the surface.
“We would like to thank Leslie and Delmer Fields and Alice and Burke Pennie who helped set everything up as well,” said Ms. Deschenes. “Leslie and Alice provided cookies, chili and hot dogs for lunch to feed everyone who took part. Matt King, who is the son-in-law of (the late) Bob Hutton, was able to come up to the event along with his two sons to participate.” A new outdoor classroom is being built on the Hutton family property where a memorial plaque will commemorate the contributions of Bob Hutton.
Ms. Deschenes explained that the brook trout planting program has been carried out since 2009 and some 50,000 brook trout have been stocked in Norton’s Creek. “We did an electro-fishing program this fall with College Boreal and numerous brook trout were found in the system,” she said. “Once we get all the statistics from College Boreal it will show if the numbers are growing and if there is a sustaining population of brook trout.”
Prior to 2009, a study of the creek failed to find any indication of a brook trout population. Today, not only can brook trout be found within the confines of the stream, but a significant population has anecdotally been reported by local fisherman within the lake.
Rainbow District School Board trustee Larry Killens was on hand for the event as well. “Look around the room,” he said. “Look at all the retired teachers that you see here today, that really says something about the caliber and dedication of our teachers.”
Plans are in the works to include other area schools in the program.
“If you teach kids about conservation at this age, it stays with them for life,” said Assiginack Mayor Paul Moffat, who has been an enthusiastic supporter of the program since its inception.
