Children have been given a 'fin'tastic way to learn about their environment in nine schools across the county.

Primary schools in Lancashire are involved with part of Ribble Rivers Trust’s Ribble Life Together project, Trout In The Classroom

Supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, the programme has gone swimmingly and involves children monitoring the development of trout from eggs to fry before releasing them in nearby rivers.

This year’s scheme began in January when the eggs were delivered in tanks to Worsthorne, Springfield Community Primary, St Stephen’s CE, Brunshaw and Ightenhill Schools in Burnley; St Mary’s RC in Chipping; Brennand’s Endowed CE in Slaidburn; St Mary’s Hall at Stonyhurst; and St George’s CE in Chorley.

Although Trout In The Classroom has been running for several years, 2020-2021 is the first time that many of its activities transferred online owing to lockdown restrictions.

Education officer, Neil Ashworth said: “For the first time ever, we explained the trout’s life cycle via Zoom to children at home who asked lots of questions so even though they weren’t in the classroom, they still felt fully involved."

While the eggs have been developing, the children have learned about the river and its habitats and teachers have been able to link the project with curriculum subjects including science, literacy, geography and art. Once the eggs hatch out, the trout start looking for food and the children can feed them.