PUPILS SALMON SUCCESS
PUPILS SALMON SUCCESS
Pupils from Adderlane Academy in Prudhoe have spent the morning releasing their stock of successfully hatched salmon eggs into the river at Haydon Bridge.
The juvenile fish known as fry were hatched on school grounds in Prudhoe as part of Tyne Rivers Trust, Salmon in the Classroom project which has been funded by local health and hygiene company, Essity
The Trust uses the lifecycle of the North Atlantic Salmon to connect school children to their local river, learning about fish migration, lifecycles, food chains and healthy river environments.
Last month, the Trust set up a tank containing salmon eggs in the school hall. Year three and four pupils have helped to look after the eggs by monitoring water temperature within the tank and have watched the eggs hatch into alevin and then fry.
Today pupils enjoyed a trip to the riverbank at Haydon Bridge to release the salmon fry back into the river while enjoying an outdoor lesson and some river dipping.
Simone Price, Project Officer at Tyne Rivers Trust says: “The children have done a great job in looking after the eggs and it’s been fantastic to reward them with a trip to the river bank where we’ve done some very practical learning about the creatures and plant life that help the salmon fry to exist and mature into adult salmon.
“It’s great to harness the enthusiasm and energy that young people have for the environment to help them understand the importance of looking after our rivers.”Headteacher at Adderlane
Academy, Emma Potts says: “It’s great to see the children engaging in such a hands-on learning experience that really brings the science behind the River Tyne to life.”
Essity’s Cath Frost added: “All of us at Prudhoe Mill are excited at the prospect of the salmon fry being returned to the river. We’re the second-biggest user of water from the Tyne, and what goes on in the river is critically important to our business.
“We abstract water at the back of our site, use it in our tissue manufacturing process and then return it to the river – cleaner than it was before. But this fascinating educational initiative has helped us, as well as the kids, to understand the importance of a healthy river to the life cycle of its flora and fauna.”
Tyne Rivers Trust is the only environmental charity dedicated to looking after the River Tyne and improving its habitat for the benefit of the whole region.
