Coal Creek Health Day 2009
The search for
rainbow darters and trout
23 October 2009
See lots more photos below!
Read Bob Fowler's story in the
Knoxville News Sentinel and
watch video
Rain began about halfway through our adventure today, but that sure didn't slow down the fun and learning. Our goal at Health Day 2009 was to find rainbow darters and rainbow trout, which would document progress in the on-going restoration efforts in Coal Creek.
Two years ago, Briceville students assisted UT’s Erin Schiding and others from UT, TVA, and TDEC in releasing tagged rainbow darters to Coal Creek as shown at http://www.coalcreekaml.com/NativeFishRestoration.htm. At last year’s Health Day 2008, we found untagged rainbow darters, indicating that natural reproduction is occurring.
This past spring, science teacher Gladys Stooksbury and her students raised rainbow trout from eggs and released them to Coal Creek as shown at http://www.coalcreekaml.com/BricevilleFieldTrip2009.htm in an effort to stimulate trout spawning in Coal Creek.
The search had to be postponed until next year due to the rain today.
As always, the Clinch
River Chapter of Trout Unlimited
volunteered along with our friends from TVA and UT. Also,
thanks to Carah Beals Ferry from Anderson County
Schools The LEARN Center who brought 11th graders to assist us with the
students today.
The creek that gives the area its name, Coal Creek, runs right beside Briceville School. It's a living laboratory!! Tables were set up at the creek to display fish and critters collected by the students. The lessons taught the kids how the health of the creek is assessed by studying what lives in it.
Inside the gymnasium, fly tying stations were equipped and rods and reels were available for casting instructions. An aquarium was filled with creek critters when the rain began and they were displayed in the gym.
Thanks so much to Briceville School Principal Sandra Patton and all the teachers for allowing us the pleasure of spending the day with their well mannered students. And, don't forget the cafeteria ladies who fed us lunch and Bobby McCoy whose famous shiny floors we got wet and muddy.
Check out a new online slideshow of photos at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/42856846@N07/sets/72157622652294010/show/
See list of the great volunteers who made the day so educational and fun!
