Public, private, and home schools participating in the Salmon in the Schools —Seattle program are now moving their school fish to the Salmon Imprint Pond at Carkeek Park. Since Monday March 26, schools have been taking field trips to Carkeek Park to participate in scavenger hunts focused on salmon life cycles and water quality questions. Each student then gets to personally introduce a few of their school’s salmon fry into the imprint pond where they will be cared for through early May before their final release into Venema Creek.
Through mid-April 2018, more than 20 schools will deliver their salmon fry to the Salmon Imprint Pond at Carkeek Park. Each of these schools received 220 Chum salmon eggs in early January to hatch and grow in 55 gallon refrigerated aquariums. After 3 months of science, math, and cultural study and observation, these 2 inch salmon fry are moved into the 1,000 gallon Imprint Pond. Carkeek Watershed Community Action Project‘s Salmon Imprint Stewards feed them 3 times per day, 7 days per week as they imprint the mineral/chemical signature —the scent— of the Pipers Creek Watershed. This crucial sense of smell imprinted during this phase of their development will provide these fish the means to locate their home waters in 3-5 years as they return to spawn.
Salmon in the Schools —Seattle is supported by the Seattle Public Utilities’ Stormwater Education and Outreach Programs and hosted by Carkeek Watershed Community Action Project with support from Carkeek Park Advisory Council and Seattle Parks.