This summer our church decided that instead of doing a week long VBS, they would host weekly field trips for the kids. The theme was "Creation Care" and they went to a managed woodlot, the beach, had a presentation (and live owl) come from the bird rescue society, visited our farm and went horseback riding. For the final week a visit to the hatchery run by the local salmon enhancement society was planned.

As someone who did 2 years of fisheries biology in university before switching majors, I was pretty stoked to tag along.

Waiting for the action to start (when did she start looking so grown up?)



The River was netted and the net reeled in

Then the guys with nets moved in and began gathering up the fish

The fish were then transported by truck to holding pens.

The actual egg-take/sperm harvesting will happen a few days later. Initially I was told that we would be seeing the egg-take. I've helped with one before and I am quite glad that was not the case. Somehow I don't think watching fish get clubbed, cut open and their eggs spilled out (females) and milked for their sperm (males) would leave the same impression with the kids.


We then took a tour around the area and saw all the natural looking enhanced habitat that has been constructed.

There were so many fry in the water, all different types of salmon. Some that had hatched naturally in the streams and some that were fry from previous hatches.

We finished up with a devotional and a snack.

The tour guide mentioned that he had never, in 20 years, had a group of kids who were able to answer all the questions that this group did, to which Linda modestly replied "well, these are homeschooled kids." lol.

What really impressed me was that except for one person, everyone involved in the operation was a volunteer. I think that the Salmon Enhancement Society would be a great thing to get involved with once the kids are a bit older. I would love to do some of the educational stuff with schoolkids and it would a hands on way to teach our kids about stewardship of the environment.

(I think I had way more fun than any of the kids )