The PA Bass students just finished “reeling” in an incredible week, and we couldn’t be more proud of them. This week the students engaged with professionals and immersed themselves into bass, stream ecology, habitat, watersheds, and warm water fisheries conservation. As we celebrate this week’s class of Conservation Ambassadors, take a look at the highlights from PA Bass!
On Tuesday, the Bass students settled into field school and got acquainted with their peers. They jumped right into learning about bass anatomy with a necropsy, a parasitology lesson, and a session on what bass eat.
Getting to know each other.
Bass necropsy!
The students assessed stream health on Wednesday with a macroinvertebrate survey. The afternoon featured an electrofishing demonstration by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission and water quality testing!
Macroinvertebrate collections for stream assessment.
PFBC electrofishing demonstration.
Team building!
Thursday was a favorite amongst the students as they traveled to Bald Eagle State Park. They built turtle basking platforms with the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, and then enjoyed a boat ride to place them around the lake. It is safe to say that everyone had a blast fishing in the evening. Many students caught their very first fish this week!
Habitat construction!
The students started off strong on Friday morning with a career panel stacked with experts to answer all the questions they had about their futures. They then participated in a mock town hall meeting focusing on controversial conservation issues. The afternoon “Tips and Tools of Being a Naturalist” session was a hit as students learned about the importance of connecting with their surroundings. In the evening, students constructed their trifold projects on a topic that they learned this week. They will take these trifolds home with them to use in their future outreach endeavors.
We are excited to celebrate this week’s class of Conservation Ambassadors. The PA Bass students will return home to conduct outreach projects – sharing what they learned at field school with others. Thank you to all the students, professionals, and volunteers who made this week “fin-tastic”. We can’t wait to see how these students will continue to make waves in their communities!
PA Bass – Field School Highlights
Posted: June 29, 2024 by Katie Mace
The PA Bass students just finished “reeling” in an incredible week, and we couldn’t be more proud of them. This week the students engaged with professionals and immersed themselves into bass, stream ecology, habitat, watersheds, and warm water fisheries conservation. As we celebrate this week’s class of Conservation Ambassadors, take a look at the highlights from PA Bass!
On Tuesday, the Bass students settled into field school and got acquainted with their peers. They jumped right into learning about bass anatomy with a necropsy, a parasitology lesson, and a session on what bass eat.
The students assessed stream health on Wednesday with a macroinvertebrate survey. The afternoon featured an electrofishing demonstration by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission and water quality testing!
Thursday was a favorite amongst the students as they traveled to Bald Eagle State Park. They built turtle basking platforms with the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, and then enjoyed a boat ride to place them around the lake. It is safe to say that everyone had a blast fishing in the evening. Many students caught their very first fish this week!
The students started off strong on Friday morning with a career panel stacked with experts to answer all the questions they had about their futures. They then participated in a mock town hall meeting focusing on controversial conservation issues. The afternoon “Tips and Tools of Being a Naturalist” session was a hit as students learned about the importance of connecting with their surroundings. In the evening, students constructed their trifold projects on a topic that they learned this week. They will take these trifolds home with them to use in their future outreach endeavors.
We are excited to celebrate this week’s class of Conservation Ambassadors. The PA Bass students will return home to conduct outreach projects – sharing what they learned at field school with others. Thank you to all the students, professionals, and volunteers who made this week “fin-tastic”. We can’t wait to see how these students will continue to make waves in their communities!
Daily Highlight Videos
See the Bass students in action! Check out the highlight videos from each day of field school this week!
Day 1: Getting to Know Each Other, Fish Identification, and Team Building
Day 2: Stream Assessments, Electrofishing, and Macroinvertebrate Survey
Day 3: Habitat Construction, Casting Lessons, and Evening Fishing
Day 4: Mock Town Hall Meeting, Tips and Tools of Being a Naturalist, and Trifold Projects
Day 5: Closing Ceremonies
Category: Youth Blog Tags: bass, featured, field school highlights