The most popular thing in Happy Valley Elementary these days may very
well be in the form of nearly one hundred tiny coho and chum salmon fry in a
tank sitting at the end of the hallway.
These tiny celebrities are being
cared for under the eyes of the students, teachers and parent volunteers in
preparation for release into Connelly Creek in late March as a part of a
program by the Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association called “Students for
Salmon” emphasizing salmon and their life cycle.
The program, kick started at Happy
Valley by the help of an anonymous $1,000 donation by a Happy Valley family,
has been implemented on and off for the past seven years. The family who gave the donation wished for
it to be used for salmon education so that children grow up with an
understanding of the salmon said Principal Karen Tolliver. The money was first used for the purchase of
the tank and now is used for general maintenance.
Tentatively set for March 19, the
salmon release celebration at Connelly Creek this year will be like it always
has been, full of fanfare.
“We have a special ceremony, with songs, and usually invite an elected
official to witness it and say a few words,” said volunteer Wendy Scherrer in
an email.
Each student will get their own fish, name it, and give it a wish as
they release it via a PVC pipe slide into Connelly Creek, a tributary to Padden
Creek, which eventually leads to Bellingham Bay. Tolliver’s favorite part about the ceremony
is seeing the sparkle in the kid’s eyes when they are talking about the
fish. She stressed the importance of the
event as a way to make an impression for the kids.
“We’ve had people from city council come and
some people to add to the formality of it. It’s more of an event. I think it helps them remember when you add
in songs or a speech or a poem that the kids wrote, some pictures, they’re
really a part of it,” she said.
She releases a fish every year and
plans on naming this year’s fish, “Swimmy.”
In the past, salmon education was
limited to a few classrooms. This year
however, the program will reach all children at Happy Valley.
“The energy and excitement around
it has really grown to the point where this year we decided to make it a school
wide project.”
The expansion in the program
requires teachers to contribute extra time outside the classroom.
“A project like this takes a lot to
put together.”
Teachers such as fourth grade
teacher Patsy DeCastro, who has been the main teacher spear- heading the
program since it came to Happy Valley Elementary, maintain the tank and look
after the fish.
DeCastro has been involved with
salmon since her move to the Northwest 17 years ago. She feels it is important to pass on
knowledge about the salmon considering its impact as a keystone species, a
species that plays a critical role in maintaining the structure of an
ecological community.
“We’re trying to foster ownership
to the environment in which they have some responsibility,” she said. “If [I]
can get them interested then I’ve done my job.”
DeCastro said she will continue to head
the program as long as she is teaching at Happy Valley.
Volunteers also help, most notably
with the exchanging of the tank water.
Scherrer has been volunteering with
the program for the last three years and is the one who provides Happy Valley
with the salmon eggs, which she gets from Bellingham Technical College’s
hatchery on Whatcom Creek.
The water must be taken from
Connelly Creek and transported to the tank in order to gradually introduce the
salmon to the water at the release location.
Students accompany parents to get the water from the creek so as to be
more involved with the process.
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