The following is a list of pre-approved release locations for TIC programs in the spring of each year.  Please note that this list is being looked at carefully by the state division of Fish & Wildlife with suggestions from Trout Unlimited to possibly expand as interest in the program continues to grow around the state.   We stress the importance of releasing our brook trout into waters that are suitable year round trout waters, meaning that we sometimes need to have our fish released a long distance from some of our participating schools.   New Jersey Trout Unlimited has committed to the state Fish & Wildlife that we will arrange all release permits.  Releases require a $2 permit and are arranged by our chapter TIC coordinators in the Spring of each school year for all TIC programs.  Currently approved locations are:

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We had an unfortunate situation last week where one of our schools that had 100+ fish lost all due to a tremendous spike in water temps.  That school was on winter recess and work was being done on the electric and/or heating for the school.  Security guards who were feeding and monitoring the fish came in one morning to find all the fish dead and water temps of 89.5 degrees.  Assuming nothing is wrong with the tank’s chiller, the teacher and students are working to get the tank back to operational status this week.

While I have a pledge from the Pequest Hatchery to replace the fish,  I would like some of you to consider donating some of your fish, especially those tanks that still have a lot of fish, to this school in Jersey City.  New York state does this in their TIC program and it fosters sharing amongst the schools and allows the donating school to see how their "extra" fish are doing in another location.  Please contact me here or via email or my cell if you feel your school would like to help out the Jersey City location in the near future.   Many thanks - Brian 

If you are an interested educator who is visiting our site for the first time and are making plans to launch TIC in your New Jersey school in October please contact me, Brian Cowden, via e-mail (brianmag@optonline.net) or on my cell phone at 201-230-3383.  I am trying to identify our newly interested teachers and schools so that I can plan to offer TIC workshops for new teachers (or current TIC teachers who want a refresher).  This year our plan is to offer 3 workshops in various parts of the state so that all who are interested will find a workshop near their school.  Also, if you are struggling with finances to get started with the necessary equipment, please contact me as I sometimes have the ability to steer teachers or schools to certain funding opportunities.  Trout Unlimited and the NJ state Fish & Wildlife Division are working with numerous partners to locate funding for some schools who are having difficulty in that area.  Certain opportunities do exist for funding from time to time so please check with me to see if I can help.  I also have a list of grant opportunities for science teachers that might offset the start-up costs as well.  If you have already been in contact with me, stay tuned for more information via this site and e-mail.  We are targeting 100 schools in New Jersey participating in TIC for the ‘07-’08 school year, up from our current 25 this year!  Thank you for your interest in this wonderful program!

Brian Cowden - NJ Trout Unlimited’s Trout in  the Classroom Coordinator

What do onion sacks have to do with raising brook trout?  Well, nothing and everything!  The famous onion sack project is simply a way for students to learn about in-stream entomology.  Trout feed upon numerous species of insects, most of which spend almost their entire lives underwater. 

In this project, TU volunteers fill empty onion sacks with leaves from the forest floor, tie up the bags, and anchor them to the bottom of a local trout stream.  After two or three weeks, the sacks are removed and placed into a container with enough water to cover each sack and brought into the classroom.  There, the students remove the contents and identify the various mayfly, caddis and stonefly nymphs as well as other squirmy creatures such as midge larva and maybe even a crayfish.  The students are always amazed at both the diversity and amount of insect life that is found with such a project. 

It is best to do this activity prior to the opening of fishing season when the rivers are full of anglers who might remove the sacks, thinking they are trash or trample on them without realizing they are in the stream.

Several teachers have expressed concern over mortality of eggs,  sac fry or alevins at this early stage.  What you are experiencing is mother nature at work.  It is perfectly normal to see losses at all stages of life.  I remember delivering between 350 and 400 eggs last year to Marilyn Steneken’s class and later releasing about 50 fish.  While that may seem like a large loss, I think Sparta Middle School would tell you that it was one of, if not the, best years ever for success!  Of course, we are seeing some losses due to high water temps, overfeeding, etc. and this too is a part of the experience.  One thought that my counterpat in NY gave me is to have schools who’ve experienced large losses share alevins from another school.  This helps build a sense of community with our TIC classes and I urge you to reach out to one another if you need help.  Of course, you can always reach out to yours truly.  Remeber that losses are a natural process and go a long way in teaching our students about life.  Just wait until it’s time for CANNIBALISM!!!  Again, a perfectly natural process both in nature and in our tanks.  Happy parenting.

I’ve been thrilled to meet many of you in your classrooms over the past month or two.  It is obvious how impactful this program is to both teachers and students.  Until yesterday, it never ocurred to me what TIC has meant to me.  I stopped by West Milford’s middle school to help Jeanne with a problem chiller and get her tank ready for fry.  I attended that same school oh so many years ago (mid to late ’70s).  While I never had a science class in Jeanne’s classroom, it struck me that I shared my first kiss with my first girlfriend directly in front of that same room.  Talk about a trip down memory lane!  I later reconnected with a teacher who later became my VP and later still, principal that was influential in my schooling at the elementary, middle and high school levels.  He is now the superintendent for that town and he and I seemed to grow up together.  He as a teacher and later administrator and I as a student.  Turns out that he is a fellow fly fishing addict  and we’re making plans to fish together next Spring.  It makes you realize just how connected we all are in life.  Many thanks to Jeanne for helping to provide this wonderful experience.  Best of luck to each of you during this time of Thanksgiving!