On Thursday, May 2, second-graders from The Learning Community visited the Great Sacandaga Lake to cap a year-long project by helping to release trout into the lake in partnership with the Great Sacandaga Lake Fisheries Federation (GSLFF).
In the fall, students held a bottle drive that raised more than $400 for the GSLFF. According to teacher Amanda Ferraro, as part of the second-grade curriculum, students learn about their community, and the Great Sacandaga Lake is an important part of the Broadalbin-Perth community. As part of their studies, students watched the documentary “Harnessing Nature,” which depicts the creation of the Great Sacandaga Lake as the largest man-made body of water in New York state.
Students met with several members of the GSLFF at the Broadalbin Boat Launch, where they learned about the federation’s mission from chairman Randy Gardinier before releasing 900 rainbow and brown trout into the lake. In all, Gardinier said that the federation released 4,600 trout that day, and that the federation has stocked the lake with more than 150,000 trout since the GSLFF began its work in 1988. The federation also stocks the lake with walleye each fall.