GLENWOOD, P.E.I. — It turned out to be a day of firsts at a small stream off the Isaac Road in Glenwood.
A class of Grade 4 students from O’Leary Elementary School got their first look at an electrofishing demonstration on June 13.
And fisheries technician Matt Sheidow scooped up a rare slimy sculpin for the first time.
Fresh water biologist Rosie MacFarlane advised students before the electrofishing gear was switched on that there was potential to find the tiny fish with the oversized heads.
“Trout candy,” she called them.
She said the small stream is one of the few places where slimy sculpin can be found around P.E.I.
For the electrofishing demonstration, MacFarlane and Sheidow got into the stream wearing rubber waders and long rubber gloves so that they would not be impacted by the electrical current the specialized equipment generated.
MacFarlane said the gear costs about $10,000 and the battery pack another $1,500. When she dipped the wand into the water, Sheidow followed behind with a scoop net to gather up whatever fish the device temporarily stunned.
Electrofishing, MacFarlane told the attentive students, helps personnel get a count of fish in a stream.
“Don’t get our fish,” a student called out, worried about the young salmon her class had released further upstream.
Sculpins and brook trout were the only fish scooped up, and they were poured with a bucket of water into a tub for the students to examine more closely.
A swarm of mosquitoes joined the tour, but the class soldiered on.
The electrofishing and subsequent display of the captured fish presented Sheidow with the opportunity to snap a photo of a sculpin with his cellphone.
For Sophie Gallant, seeing the fish they raised was the highlight of the environmental field trip.
As they were finishing off their day with a pizza party at the pond, some students said the hawk and falcons that Jamie Stride from Island Falconry Services brought along for a demonstration were pretty impressive. One student even said it would be nice to have his own falcon.
For the fifth year in a row, Elton Ellis, co-ordinator of the West Point and Area Watershed Group, and his workers hosted an end-of-school year demonstration at Glenwood Pond and area.
“I think it’s very educational for them,” Ellis said. “It’s good for them to know about their environment.”
He noted the students were already demonstrating good environmental practices by putting garbage in its rightful place. A Mi’kmaq ceremony, presided over by Eliza Knockwood, was held before the students released the fish they raised.