Norup Students Raise and Release Salmon

Norup Students Raise and Release Salmon

On Monday May 8th, Norup 7th grade students traveled to the Valley Woods Nature Preserve in Southfield to release 51 Chinook salmon they raised into the Rouge River. At the start of the school year, students in Brett Greer’s Science 7 classes at Norup received salmon eggs as part of the Michigan Salmon in the Classroom program.

Throughout the year, students learned the history of the Chinook salmon in the Great Lakes and why the species was imported from the American Northwest. Students fed the salmon daily and tested the water quality twice a week to maintain a temperature of 52 degrees fahrenheit. At the end of the project, students helped remove the salmon from the classroom tank into buckets for transport to the release in the river. Valley Woods Nature Preserve was chosen because of its proximity to the Berkley Schools community and that the Rouge River is part of the watershed that will eventually lead to the Great Lakes. 

Mr. Greer shared, “If all goes according to plan, in the Fall of 2025, our salmon will make their way back to the Rouge River at Valley Woods Nature Preserve to spawn and begin the next generation of our classroom pets!”