Imagine walking into your science classroom and finding a “living dinosaur” swimming in a large fish tank.
Lake sturgeon fish have roamed the Great Lakes for centuries and for this school year, a group of Jenison High School students will be responsible for the livelihood of one of them.
Science Teacher Dan Ruberg said his classroom, which features freshman biology and AP biology students, was selected to raise a juvenile lake sturgeon from this fall through next spring.
His students recently welcomed the fish provided by Sturgeon for Tomorrow and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. The fish lives in a large tank in the front left corner of the classroom. After a voting process, they named him “Swim Shady.”
Students as caretakers
From that moment on, the fish has been theirs to look after.
That's the heart of Sturgeon in the Classroom, a program built around a single goal: instilling conservation stewardship in the next generation, according to their Web site. Rather than just reading about environmental responsibility in a textbook, students live it every day.
Ruberg will weave in hands-on, place-based lessons that help students understand why conservation matters and how their choices affect the environment around them.
He said lake sturgeon are a native fish species that was overfished and is now considered a threatened species in Michigan. Ruberg is excited to help students understand that bad environmental choices can be reversed and environments can recover.
As the school year progresses, students will maintain the fish’s tank, test the water quality, and feed the fish.
Staying connected after release day
Near the end of the school year, in May, the moment everyone has been working toward arrives: the lake sturgeon is released into the wild. In this fish’s case, it will be released into the Black Lake Watershed in Northern Michigan.
Before it goes, the fish is fitted with a Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT) tag, a tiny chip that gives it a unique ID. Each time the lake sturgeon is recaptured, the school is notified with where it was found and an update on its growth and health.
That means the connection doesn't end on release day. Future classes can keep following the fish's story for years to come.