The Kettle Creek Watershed Association and Trout Unlimited are excited to offer this educational, watershed based, interdisciplinary program for students within Renovo Elementary School this year.  This program will meet student and teacher educational needs, and will expand the goals of Pennsylvania’s State Education Standards.  This pilot program will pave the way for other schools throughout Keystone Central and throughout Pennsylvania to build upon the resource manual created during the next few months.  The resource manual will be a building block for others to utilize within their classrooms, reaching Pennsylvania’s education standards through an experiential, all inclusive, exciting program which will ultimately connect students to their community through the study of Pennsylvania’s native trout and the watersheds they reside in.  Expanding this program in terms of school curricula has potential for many extensions and applications. 

The Trout In the Classroom program has been implemented and successful in states such as Oregon, Washington, New York and internationally as well.  This program is a conservation oriented environmental education program for elementary through high school students.  Throughout the year, trout are raised from eggs to fry.  Their history, habitat, lifecycle and watersheds are researched and studied both in and out of the classroom and at the end of the school year they are released into approved coldwater streams.  The students will utilize math, science, reading/writing, environment and ecological, art, public speaking and research skills throughout the term of this program.   This program will also expand the roles of problem solving, integrative, and multi-disciplinary approaches to education.  Along with these skills students will become more aware of their surrounding community, watersheds, the important interrelationships between the two and career opportunities.  Kettle Creek Trout In the Classroom Discovery Program will help foster a conservation ethic within participating students and encourage them to develop an understanding of their surrounding communities and water resources. 

We have begun the program with 250 brook trout fry and 4 adult brook trout donated by the Cedar Run Trout Hatchery and Western Clinton County Sportsmen’s Association. Other civic groups that are involved in this program are the PA Fish and Boat Commission, Kettle Creek TU chapter, Lloyd Wilson TU chapter, Northwest Chapter of TU, Erie Casting Club, Tiadaghton TU Chapter, Pugsly’s Pet Store, DCNR, Lock Haven University, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Clinton County Conservation District, PA Game Commission, local municipalities, and local volunteers.  

Through this program students will gain increased interest in Kettle Creek watershed health along with continued support for conservation projects throughout the watershed.  All monitoring data collected by the students, any outstanding poems, projects or ideas will be placed on the Kettle Creek Watershed Association’s website and Renovo Elementary website where the public can view their progress with the program for years to come.  This will be extremely beneficial for the watershed association, local community and agency personnel. 

This program will provide a comprehensive watershed study that links the health of local streams, including their chemical, physical and biological characteristics, to the history and lifestyles of the watersheds’ residents.  The key to this program is its emphasis on creating a “learning community” that includes all sectors – students, parents, community groups, government and non-government organizations and businesses- that possess the skills and knowledge to understand the issues, shared vision and motivation necessary for changes within communities.

THANK YOU TO ALL OF OUR SUPPORTERS and PARTNERS!!
Supporters	Kettle Creek Watershed Association National Trout Unlimited Northwest PA Trout Unlimited Chapter Erie Casting Club Lloyd Wilson Chapter of TU Tiadaghton Chapter of TU Kettle Creek Chapter of TU Cedar Springs Trout Hatchery Western Clinton County Sportsmen's Association Pugsly's Pet Store
Partners	Clinton County Conservation District PA Fish and Boat Commission DCNR NRCS Penn State Cooperative Extension LHU Keystone Central School District