Hogan prepares for yearly trout trip

Ninth grade life science and biology teacher, Jessica Hogan, will be taking her yearly trout trip to Henrietta, PA on May 24.

This will be the tenth year that Hogan has taken her students on this trip.

“My dad is a member of the John Kennedy/Blair County Chapter of Trout Unlimited, a local organization that promotes coldwater conservation and trout habitat. He’s a fly fisherman, and I grew up going fly fishing with him. He told me about the national Trout in the Classroom project and that his chapter was looking to get involved in schools to promote conservation efforts. I thought it was an amazing opportunity for real life biology in my classroom,” Hogan said.

Not only will the students be releasing the trout into a creek, there will be more educational stations.

“The main purpose is to put our babies, the trout fingerlings, into Clover Creek. Clover Creek is a rehabilitated trout stream and approved by the state for us to put trout in.  We have lots of other purposes,” Hogan said.

Students will participate in Enviroscape and MacroMania. They can sign up to learn to tie flies. Students are able to bring their own fishing rods and tackle boxes to fish. They can also hike and will be provided with a picnic lunch.

The students will leave during third period at 9:30 a.m. and will return at 2:30 p.m. during eighth period.

All of the students, including Hogan, are hoping for nice weather.

“Sometimes the weather doesn’t cooperate, but we make the best of it, get the fish in the stream and learn as much as we can in the environment. Last year, balance the water and our fish were not very genetically strong, so we unfortunately only had two to take on the trip.  Even so, we made the best of it and had a wonderful trip,” Hogan said.

Ninth grade biology student Caitlin Harshberger is excited to release and see the trout adapt to the pond.

“I think that this will be beneficial to students because we can learn different things about the trout such as how they adapt and what will happen after they’re all put together.  I also think it is beneficial for the students because of the different stations to learn certain things about the trout we have been raising this whole school year,” Harshberger said.

According to Hogan, this trip is very beneficial to the students. They learn about the conditions in which the fish live, and they enjoy their time there. She is excited to see the kids making memories with their classmates and spending time in nature.

Many students in class take turns feeding and caring for the fish. They also check for the water quality.

“Mr. Jerry Green from Trout Unlimited also comes in weekly to check on them, and he is very knowledgeable on solving any problems we have with the tank,” Hogan said.

Hogan and the students are excited to celebrate the tenth year of this trip.

“It’s so exciting that we’ve been able to have Trout In The Classroom for this long. I’m so grateful to the administration and faculty at AAJHS for helping me facilitate this project,” Hogan said.