The day had finally arrived for us to say goodbye to the brown trout. Over the last six weeks we had grown fond of our class pets and enjoyed seeing them grow and become frys, an incredible transformation from the eggs that were given to us all those weeks ago.

Amy split the fish into bags to allow each of us to take responsibility for a few fish as we walked them down to a local river which we were later told was a nursery river for brown trout.

We dressed in waterproof jackets and trousers as the weather was very changeable and no one wanted to get wet or cold. We then set off with mixed emotions.

Arriving at the river, we were met by several members of the fishing club who had created a learning space next to the river. Mr Reed split us into three groups and we went off to our stations.

Station 1 was an opportunity to see close up some of the insects that live in the river, we saw lots of freshwater shrimps, caddis fly larva, stonefly nymphs, mayfly nymphs and even a leach.

Station 2 was an area to learn a little more about the river and the work that goes on to keep it healthy, we were upset to see the amount of litter that the guys had cleared in just ten minutes.

Station 3 was where our fish were to be released into the river. Amy took charge of this station and we said our goodbyes and carefully put them into a large container which was then slowly emptied into the river.

Our project has ensured that over 120 young brown trout have been given the best start in life and hopefully will grow and have many more young.

Primary 5