The North Thurston Public Schools, Nisqually Tribe, and Nisqually Clear Creek Hatchery have partnered on a salmon project since 2007. The project involves high school students traveling to Clear Creek Hatchery, owned by the Nisqually Tribe, to assist with hatchery operations like capturing salmon eggs and sperm. Students then dissect salmon in their science classes. In 2015, over 75 middle and high school classes with about 2,100 students participated in the project, with students from four high schools assisting at the hatchery and dissecting salmon donated from two hatcheries to study ecosystems and cell structures.

1. Salmon Project
 North Thurston Public Schools,
 The Nisqually Tribe, and the
 Nisqually Clear Creek Hatchery
Project History:
• 2007 – First received fish from Clear Creek Hatchery.
• 2009 – 3 high school crews, expanded program.
• 2011 – NO VISITS - Hatchery access restricted.
• 2013 – NO VISITS – I was not available.
• 2015 – Reestablished the Salmon Project.
A Project with Two Parts:
PART 1 - Getting “Crews” to Clear Creek Hatchery
PART 2 – NTPS Student Salmon Dissections

2. Clear Creek Fish Hatchery
Nisqually Tribe
Dept. of Natural Resources
Salmon Enhancement Program
Bill St. Jean,
Chief Enhancement Biologist
Nisqually River Foundation
Nisqually River Education Project
Sheila Wilson,
Program Director
Clear Creek is located on Fort Lewis and is
owned and operated by the Nisqually Tribe

3. 2015 Salmon Project
PART 1 - Getting “Crews” to work the Clear Creek Hatchery
Partnership:
• Bill St. Jean, Nisqually Tribe Natural Resources Dept.
• Sheila Wilson, Nisqually River Foundation
• Dixie Reimer, NTPS District Secondary Education, Science
When: 4 Trips - Sept 29th, Oct 1st, Oct 6th, and Oct 13th, 2015
Crews: High School Students
• 4 to 8 Students and a Teacher per Crew
• 25 Students in Total - 17 Boys; 8 Girls
• All 4 District High Schools - One crew from each:
• North Thurston, River Ridge, South Sound and Timberline
• 422 “jacks” were donated and returned for student dissections
• 6 different schools received these salmon

4. The Timberline High School Crew

5. The River Ridge High School Crew

6. North Thurston High School Crew

7. South Sound High School Crew

8. Lots of “live” Chinook salmon were processed each visit

9. Stunning the live salmon isn’t easy

10. You hold the male salmon by the tail

11. Capturing the sperm in cups takes skill

12. Hatchery staff instructed students on each task

13. Removing eggs from females is dirty work

14. Fish are moved to counting and tag checking area

15. Learning opportunities were everywhere

16. Over 4 million salmon eggs were captured and processed

17. Sperm and eggs are mixed to fertilize

18. Once processed, many salmon are distributed for consumption –
Hatchery staff explained importance of each step in the process

19. Placing a 50 pound bag of fertilized eggs into incubator

20. Every crew worked hard and learned a lot.

21. PART 2 – Student Salmon Dissections
614 - Number of Fish Taken - from 2 hatcheries
422 from the Clear Creek Hatchery
192 from the Tumwater Falls Hatchery (All to Komachin)**
75 - Number of Classes Who Dissected
55 Middle School Classes
20 High School Classes
2,100+ - Number of Students Who Dissected
(estimate is based on 28 students per class)
1,430+ used Clear Creek Hatchery Fish (51 classes)
670+ used Tumwater Falls Hatchery Fish (24 classes)

22. Middle school dissections were done in teams of 3-4 students to a fish
"All Standards, All Students"
Making the Next Generation Science Standards
Accessible to All Students

23. • Strategies that involve the community underscore the
importance of connecting the school science curriculum to
the students’ lives and the community in which they live.
• It is through these connections that students who have
traditionally been alienated from science recognize science as
relevant to their lives and future, deepen their understanding
of science concepts, develop agency in science, and consider
careers in science.
Student Engagement With School
Science in Community Contexts

24. MS Ecosystems: Develop a model to describe
the cycling of matter and flow of energy among
living and nonliving parts of an ecosystem.

25. While gloves were available, many got the “real feel” without them.

26. One teacher had the advantage of assistance from AmeriCorps

27. HS Cells: How do the structures of organisms
enable life’s functions?

28. HS: How does the organization of interacting systems
provide specific functions for multicellular organisms?

29. NTPS Student Dissection Summary
Number of Classes Who Dissected: 75 Classes – 55 MS; 20 HS
75 classes (8 fish per class) taught by 22 teachers
13 at Chinook Middle School (4 – Life Science)
18 at Nisqually Middle School (4 – Life Science)
24 at Komachin Middle School** (6 – Life Science)
11 at North Thurston High School (3 – 2 Biology, 1 Nat. Res.)
2 at River Ridge High School (1 - Oceanography & Life Sci)
2 at South Sound High School (1 - Biology)
5 at Timberline High School (3 – 2 Biology, 1 Nat. Res.)
Number of Students Who Dissected: 2,100+ students
(estimate is based on 28 students per class)
• 1,430+ used Clear Creek Hatchery Fish (51 classes)
• 670+ used Tumwater Falls Hatchery Fish (24 classes)**
Over 95% of the fish carcasses were composted
at the district’s Land Lab after dissections

30. Questions?