The OFAH and the Lake Ontario Atlantic Salmon Restoration Program (LOASRP) recently received a three-year, $307,300 Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) Grow Grant to expand and improve their popular classroom hatchery program over 2018-2021.
The funding will allow for the hiring of a full-time classroom hatchery coordinator who will develop curriculum-linked teaching materials, produce technical and educational videos supporting the program, and be a resource person for participating teachers.
Additionally, the grant will fund 10 new hatcheries annually in Durham Region, providing an additional 1,500 students with the opportunity to engage in hands-on science and contribute to an important restoration effort. Each classroom receives 100 Atlantic Salmon eggs in January and as they watch their fish hatch and grow over subsequent months, students learn about the species and conservation efforts to restore the species to Lake Ontario.
At the end of the school year, the class embarks on a field trip to a Lake Ontario stream to release the fish, which serves as a culmination of their months of work.
“Raising and releasing fish into a local stream empowers children with a sense of stewardship for our fisheries and the habitats that support them,” says Kathryn Peiman, OFAH Atlantic Salmon program coordinator. “This OTF grant will give us a much-needed boost to improve the environmental education value of the program and tackle a very long waiting list of schools for it.”
The OFAH is a lead partner of the program, alongside the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, while the program is also supported by lead sponsor Ontario Power Generation and more than 40 other partners.
Peterborough MPP and Minister for Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs Jeff Leal presented an OTF plaque to OFAH Executive Director Angelo Lombardo at a January event celebrating the news of the grant, along with Grade 6 students and staff at St. Catherine Catholic Elementary School.
Did you know?: LOASRP also stocks millions of Atlantic Salmon, restores the habitat needed to support them and other fish, and provides cutting-edge research and assessment technology, such as the video fish counter installed in the Ganaraska River in 2016.
The OFAH reminds you: Our members carry $5 million in public liability insurance: www.ofah.org/insurance
Originally published in the April 2018 issue of Ontario Out of Doors
Contact Information
PO Box 2800 / 4601 Guthrie Dr.
Peterborough, Ontario Canada K9J 8L5
Phone: 705-748-OFAH (6324)
Fax: 705-748-9577
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