Stamford students release classroom

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Westhill High School environmental science teacher Carley Grant, left, and her students Harrison Tronick, center, and Keith Bruno collect specimens to examine from the Rippowam River at Mill River Park in Stamford, Conn. Tuesday, June 6, 2023. Westhill biology students released juvenile trout that they hatched and reared into the Rippowam River, followed by a riparian ecosystem exploration where they examined the health of the river.

Westhill High School science teacher Sean Otterspoor examines the landscape of the Rippowam River with biology students at Mill River Park in Stamford, Conn. Tuesday, June 6, 2023. Westhill biology students released juvenile trout that they hatched and reared into the Rippowam River, followed by a riparian ecosystem exploration where they examined the health of the river.

Westhill High School science teacher Jennifer Leveille measures water quality of the Rippowam River with her biology class at Mill River Park in Stamford, Conn. Tuesday, June 6, 2023. Westhill biology students released juvenile trout that they hatched and reared into the Rippowam River, followed by a riparian ecosystem exploration where they examined the health of the river.

Westhill High School freshmen Blake Cortell, left, and Mahir Kaida collect specimens to examine from the Rippowam River at Mill River Park in Stamford, Conn. Tuesday, June 6, 2023. Westhill biology students released juvenile trout that they hatched and reared into the Rippowam River, followed by a riparian ecosystem exploration where they examined the health of the river.

Westhill High School environmental science teacher Carley Grant shows students macroinvertebrates to look out for while examining the quality of the Rippowam River at Mill River Park in Stamford, Conn. Tuesday, June 6, 2023. Westhill biology students released juvenile trout that they hatched and reared into the Rippowam River, followed by a riparian ecosystem exploration where they examined the health of the river.

Westhill High School freshman Paul Ferris examines specimens collected from the Rippowam River with his biology class at Mill River Park in Stamford, Conn. Tuesday, June 6, 2023. Westhill biology students released juvenile trout that they hatched and reared into the Rippowam River, followed by a riparian ecosystem exploration where they examined the health of the river.

Westhill High School science teacher Jennifer Leveille measures water quality of the Rippowam River with her biology class at Mill River Park in Stamford, Conn. Tuesday, June 6, 2023. Westhill biology students released juvenile trout that they hatched and reared into the Rippowam River, followed by a riparian ecosystem exploration where they examined the health of the river.

STAMFORD — As rain came down at Mill River Park on Tuesday morning, a huddled group of Westhill High School students took turns releasing a collection of about 50 fingerling trout they helped raise into the Rippowam River.

The students were each handed a plastic clear cup filled with water and one small trout measuring three-to-four inches in length to pour into the river.

"I didn't expect them to get that big," said student Niko Mischkulnig, about the growth of the trout from their days as eggs — when they resemble caviar — and then as sac fry, the name given to recently hatched fish larva.

"It's cool to see them grow from babies," said student Ruby Jimenez.

The class of science teacher Jennifer Leveille released the trout and then took part in a handful of activities in and around the river to study the riparian ecosystem, or the environment near the shoreline of a river or stream.

The trout release was the culmination of a process that began in January, when trout eggs arrived in Leveille's class from organization Trout Unlimited, based in Virginia. Over the course of several months, students studied the development of the eggs, and then observed as they hatched and slowly turned into the fingerling trout they released on Tuesday.

Leveille, who has kept aquariums since she was a young teenager, said adding trout to the Rippowam River is beneficial to the ecosystem in a variety of ways. For one, it restocks the waterways for recreational fishing. Trout are also known as a "keystone species," meaning their existence is critical to a specific environment thriving.

Further, trout are also known for being an "indicator species" that can provide valuable data to ecologists as they are highly sensitive to water quality, pollution and the impacts of climate change.

"Their presence and ability to thrive can tell you whether or not the rest of the ecosystem is thriving and healthy," Leveille said.

The first year Leveille ordered the trout eggs for her class from Trout Unlimited was 2019, but after COVID-19 caused school buildings to shut down during the second half of that school year as well as keep students quarantined from each other, Leveille had to release the grown-up trout along with Milt Buchta, a coordinator for the Trout in the Classroom initiative within Trout Unlimited.

This year was the second year in a row she was able to release the fish with the students. Leveille said the experience was a valuable one for the students, who seemed to relish the opportunity to engage in hands-on learning.

"After a year of just grinding them with curriculum, they got to see the things we were learning about all year long," Leveille said.

Shane McCaghey helped raise trout when he was a student at Wilton High School, which also had a partnership with Trout Unlimited at the time. Now, McCaghey is a summer intern with the company, and helped Westhill students release trout at Mill River Park.

"You’re the ones taking care of the fish and then you release them into the river," he said, of his own experience as a student. "Of course, you’re learning about all the different nutrients in the water. You can't have a lot of nitrogen, you need to have a lot of dissolved oxygen, you have to keep the water cold. That whole experience makes you really appreciate what's in the river more."

On Tuesday, Leveille was leading a group of students in a lesson on the health of the Rippowam River stream that runs through Mill River Park. She tested the water pH level, and got a result of six, meaning the water was acidic.

The science teacher than asked the students if they knew why the color of the water was a light brownish hue.

"It has kind of a tea-like color to it," she said. "Do you guys know where it gets that color from?"

One student said the dirt, another said rocks and yet another said leaves, the correct answer.

"When you put dry leaves in water, what happens?" Leveille asked. "You make a tea, it's like a tea."

When the leaves dry and fall in the river, they release tannins into the water, turning it into the tea-like brown color.

Carley Grant, environmental science teacher at Westhill, was one of four teachers from the school who accompanied the students on the field trip. She talked to students about stream ecology and helping them conduct a study of micro and macro invertebrates.

"We can sit in a classroom, we can learn about it all day, but I think when we bring them out into nature and start talking about stream health and stuff like that, it definitely drives it home," she said. "In science, the more hands on you can be, the more meaningful it's going to be."