Bay Delta Classroom Aquarium Education Program: Teacher Resources

Yes. You will have the option of setting up your tank in your classroom or at your home if you are in remote teaching mode.

Great question and one that we can only give a partial answer. You will need to apply for eggs in the same fashion as always. Your coach is eager to help you by phone, email, and video conference. It is highly unlikely coaches will be visiting your classroom (or home) and they will not be able to provide hands-on tank set up. We have created a TON of new online teaching resources and are creating videos to help you set up your tank on your own.

If you have specific questions or requests, ask your coach or reach out to ethan.rotman@wildlife.ca.gov.

Great question! We keep an updated list on the CAEP blog. You should bookmark this page as you will want to look here at the end of the season to check the status of your returned permit.

I get it - there are so many unknown factors. Go ahead and apply for eggs (12/15/2020 is the deadline). Once you are approved, you can always cancel up to the day eggs are delivered.

Absolutely. As long as you have been active in this program within the past 3 years, you remain eligible. If you did not receive eggs in 2019 due to Covid, that does not count as a missed year.

A digital "book" with most of the tools is posted online. It is updated regularly so check back.

We suggest you request a site near your school and one near your home. This will allow you more flexibility in the Spring when you go to release. If school is in session, you can release nearby so students can join you. If you are on all remote teaching and have the tank at home, you can release closer to home: list of all approved sites (click on the tab for rainbow or steelhead).

GREAT! We love this kind of stuff. Write a note to ethan.rotman@wildlife.ca.gov and he help.

We are working on a step-by-step guide to help you with this. We may have a limited number of cameras available for loan this year as well. Otherwise, you can use your cell phone during a Zoom call with good results.

This is easy - every year you need to apply for a new permit. The application form (PDF Form) has changed a bit this year. Fill this out and submit either to your sponsor or to CDFW at the address listed on the back. Most sponsors want to help teachers by collecting and tracking the permits.

Almost all teachers in the Bay Area program have a sponsor who is active in supporting the classroom project. Check your permit from last year and you will find the name of your sponsor (the organization) and your coach (the individual). If you can’t find this, contact ethan.rotman@wildlife.ca.gov and he will look it up for you.

Teachers are always welcome to attend a training workshop as a refresher (usually at no cost), however, this is not required. As long as you have hatched fish within the past 3 years and complied with all the terms of your permit (including returning it at the end of the season) you do not need to be retrained.

Rainbow Trout eggs are tentatively scheduled for delivery the week immediately following the Presidents Holiday in February. We recommend release 4-5 weeks after hatch and you must release no longer than 8 weeks after the delivery date.

See steelhead eggs pick-up dates from Warm Springs Hatchery. We recommend release 4-5 weeks afterwards and you must release no longer than 8 weeks after delivery.

We are fortunate in the Bay Area to be able to provide steelhead and rainbow trout eggs to schools, depending on where the school is located. It is important to remember that all teachers in the Bay Area hatch trout – steelhead are anadromous and go the ocean while rainbow are the same fish but remain in lakes.

Teachers in Sonoma and Mendocino Counties receive a strain of locally spawned steelhead that can be released into local streams (but NOT lakes).

Teachers in Santa Cruz and Santa Clara County are given a strain of steelhead eggs from the San Lorenzo River system and these fish must ONLY be released into this watershed (thus the reason Santa Clara teachers must haul their eggs over the hill and are not able to release locally).

Teachers in most of the Bay Area receive a common strain of rainbow trout that can be released into most (but not all) lakes. These fish CANNOT be released into local streams.

All fish much be released in accordance with your 772 permit – there are no exceptions. 

Some of the training workshops for this year are already full but there are some spaces open in select areas. For more information, see:

• Teachers in the East Bay (includes Tracy and Vallejo)
• Teachers in Marin, Napa or the Peninsula (not San Francisco)
• Teachers in Sonoma County
• Enrichment Workshop For Teachers in Santa Cruz and Santa Clara Counties (no new teachers)
• Teachers in San Francisco (middle school teachers only)

There are tons of great materials, curriculum, lists of books and other resources available for you on our Curriculum Aids page and on the Trout in the Classroom Blog.

Absolutely! The 5 slideshows are available in English and Spanish, are correlated to standards, connected to the posters you should have received, and are available to you at no cost. Just ask your sponsor or contact ethan.rotman@wildlife.ca.gov.

The easiest way is to “like” the Trout in the Classroom Facebook Page. This keeps you in touch with other teachers and coaches. Sometimes, if you have a question or problem, this is the fastest way to get a response.

Coaches provide valuable support – helping with the permitting, delivering eggs, setting up the aquarium, talking to your students, troubleshooting problems and so much more. They do this because they want to share their love of streams and fish with your students. In general, they love getting letters and cards from students. You may want to ask if you can attend a club meeting to share your class’ experience hatching fish.

Great question! We keep an updated list on the CAEP blog. You should bookmark this page as you will want to look here at the end of the season to check the status of your application next year.