By Amber Taylor, Education Program Supervisor

Welcome back to school! It’s Trout in the Classroom’s (TIC) 18th school year in Minnesota! In 2007, the Headwaters Chapter and a teacher from Bemidji’s elementary school got approval from the Minnesota -DNR to have a trout tank in the classroom, where they raised lake trout fingerlings. The program was a hit with teachers, students, administrators, and chapter volunteers alike. Thanks to three state grants (ENRTF) secured by MNTU, TIC has grown exponentially.  MNTU has been able to add and support a dozen new schools each year since 2018. As you read this, 85 excited teachers in 74 schools around the state are kicking off their school year by introducing students to Trout in the Classroom and all of the awesome things they will be getting to do, see, and learn about in the coming year.

Teachers that bring TIC into their classrooms are on another level. This program requires a lot of time, energy, independent learning, communication, preparation, and planning to be implemented successfully as a component of their curriculum and daily classroom routines. It is not easy and they constantly amaze me with the innovation, drive, creativity, and hard work put in to providing this educational opportunity for their students. The number of teachers that integrate TIC into their agriculture curriculum continues to increase each year. They use the trout to teach about real world and ongoing current issues threatening trout habitat, and our own water supply, such as neonicotinoids and agricultural runoff.

Humboldt High School in St. Paul has been home to a trout tank since 2015. Lead teachers Brad Novacheck and Andrea Nthole incorporate TIC into most of their middle and high school classes. Read more about how students engaged with TIC during the 2024-2025 school year below.

At Humboldt, the TIC program is a vital part of many classes in our department. Currently, the trout are used for several sections of classes that include: Intro to Environment (MS), Exploring Agriculture (MS), Small Animal Care (MS), Intro to Ag (HS), Natural Resources (HS), and Sustainable Food Production (HS). Our FFA Chapter also interacts with and completes maintenance on the trout and tank. In total, the trout interacted with over 300 students over two semesters, which is our highest number yet. In the past, the TIC program has been used to teach water quality and ecology, while that still happened, we also taught aquatic animal management, conservation, and even looked at ways for food production. Some of our Natural Resources students also received certifications for Ducks Unlimited for Conservation through the iCEV curriculum.

Our management is getting better every year. This year we only lost 21% of the trout that hatched. We have mastered methods in counting using photos, having an accurate data log of numbers for toxicity, feed ratios, and plans for general maintenance.

We went to the Belwin Conservatory for our field days and have done both ecology and water quality with them. This year our FFA Chapter also completed the Fish and Wildlife Career and Development event to enhance knowledge on the MN DNR, nature resource career opportunities, and conservation. Each year we build upon what we are doing with our students.

Our students are wonderful and look forward to this program every year. It is a major component in what we do for our classes, and Andrea and I continue to build on and utilize them each year. The more hands on we get, the most student success we build, and Trout in the classroom is major part of it. Humboldt is thankful to continue to do this program each year and our administration backs us 100%.

Interested in volunteering to help with Trout in the Classroom? Fill out this form. Current and potential Trout in the Classroom volunteers are invited to attend a teacher training being held Saturday, September 21^st from 9AM-3PM at the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge in Bloomington. New and returning teachers from around the state will be in attendance to learn about fish and tank care, integrating TIC topics into their classrooms, and conducting aquatic insect studies with students. Check out this map of TIC schools in Minnesota to see if there is one near you! Contact Amber, [email protected], if you’d like to attend this training.