The second part
of the freshman fellows’ summer experience included a lot of fish, some paddle
boarding, and an interesting tour of the wastewater treatment plant.
Thursday we
caught a wide variety of fish in South Chickamauga Creek as we learned to use
Seine nets.
We started to get the hang of identifying some fish with the help
of aquatic conservation biologists Dr. Anna George and Dr. Bernie Kahajda from
the Tennessee Aquarium Conservation Instititue (TNACI).
Because this day was a
favorite last summer, two sophomore fellows joined us and were excited to
finally catch the elusive snail darter (Percina tanasi) from which TNACI
partially takes its name. We were able to see how fin clips are taken for
conservation genetics. This year, we also caught several gar including one with
a lamprey attached.
We were excited to learn cool fish and frog facts from a
GPS alum and former camp counselor to many of the fellows, Louise McCallie.
Friday we
toured the wastewater treatment plant with Matthew Snyder. We started with a fun
classroom lesson from the stormwater department of Chattanooga and got to learn
about the process of wastewater treatment.
We spent the
afternoon relaxing, playing and paddling a bit on stand up paddleboards (SUP)
in Waconda Bay.
Saturday we met
in the morning to talk about the week and compare notes.
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