Chinook salmon program brings wildlife education into Heritage Elementary classroom
Students will care for eggs before returning them to Mokelumne River
Janine Jacinto’s fifthgrade class at Heritage Elementary School began to get a close look at the local ecosystem on Thursday.
For the next 30 to 40 days, the class is taking part in a program to raise Chinook salmon from eggs, giving the students a chance to learn about their life cycle.
Small groups of students in Janine Jacinto’s fifth-grade class at Heritage Elementary took turns gathering around a small aquarium Thursday morning, waiting to catch their first glimpse of some juveniles that had just arrived to their new home.
Jacinto had just dropped small, roundish orange eggs into the tank, letting them gently settle on the rocks covering the bottom. The tank, on loan from the Delta Fly Fishers, is wrapped in Styrofoam to keep a cool temperature of around 55 degrees, but had been uncovered for the big occasion. A chiller was also connected to help ensure the cool climate in the tank.
“I want to know how long it will take for them to turn into fry!” Alex Bahena, 11, said, as the class was asked what they were hoping to learn while watching the eggs develop.
“Will it change color?” Yadhira Ramirez, 10, wondered.
“Will they all get along?” Crystal Torres, also 10, inquired.
All those questions will hopefully be answered as the class will spend the next 30 to 40 days observing the 35 Chinook salmon eggs, which will hatch during their stay, and live off their yolk sacks before the class will return their charges to a spot just downstream of their place of origin, the Mokelumne River Fish Hatchery.
Eggs were also delivered to five other local schools on Thursday.