Fourth graders from Whitney Point Central School District’s Tioughnioga Riverside Academy (TRA) recently took part in a memorable conservation experience, releasing American eels they had raised since September into the Tioughnioga River at Durkee Park in Homer on May 5.
Mrs. Londner’s class joined students from the Onondaga Nation School for the release event after spending the school year caring for the young eels in their classroom. The project was part of a collaborative conservation effort involving the Upper Susquehanna Coalition and environmental education partners across the region.
The students originally received the eels as tiny, transparent “glass eels” in the fall. Over the course of the school year, the students fed them weekly, monitored their growth, observed their behavior, and learned about their life cycle and habitat needs as the eels developed into larger “elvers.”
The class became deeply attached to the eels, even naming them! Favorites were “Big Chungas,” “Jeremy,” “Goofy” and “Bob.” Students also expressed gratitude to TRA custodian Mr. Burnett, who cared for the eels over Winter and Spring Breaks while school was not in session.
Before the release, students rotated through six hands-on educational stations hosted by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Upper Susquehanna Coalition, Cortland County Soil & Water Conservation District, and Susquehanna River Basin Commission. Topics included invasive species, river biology, erosion and sediment control, riparian ecosystems, healthy river corridors, and fish identification and aquatic ecosystem assessment.
Students also learned more about the incredible migration journey of the American eel. All American eels travel to the Sargasso Sea in the Atlantic Ocean to reproduce before eventually returning to the freshwater rivers and streams they call home.
During the event, students learned that while the eels may face challenges reaching the ocean, releasing them into the Tioughnioga River gives them a better chance of success than waterways affected by dams that can block migration routes.
The release marked the culmination of months of hands-on learning and environmental stewardship for the TRA students,
and a meaningful goodbye to the aquatic creatures they had cared for throughout the school year.