The Hatching 6: the river awaits the fish

"a ripple of change"

Heasandford Primary School

12th March 2015

growing fry and their reflections

The fry are growing, their days indoors numbered now. Next week, fingerlings will swim free, out into the wildness and danger of the open water and this years's Trout Raising Scheme with the Ribble Rivers Trust will start putting its aquaria away

This nearness of change became reflected in our songs and artwork during a day with 2 classes of trout-keepers at Heasandford Primary School

designing a river

I'm happy in my tank, I've got lots of friends

I love my life here, I hope it never ends

Oh no, there's something wrong, there's another fish gone

1 down but 99 going strong

A pike is on the loose, I'd better swim away

Hiding under pebbles, that where I'll lay

Our fishkeepers know perils will surround their charges and hope their fish will be wary of fishermen and bigger fish and kingfishers and bullies. They know that alevins get eaten straight away or might starve to death

Our children also know that this is also a new chapter in these fishy little lives and they hope there will be excitement and space, freedom and rapids to swim in. There might even be romance and a fishy family of their own

A trout like me that's small and sweet

That's the fish I'd like to meet

 I was taken to the river, it's much more fun

Jumping up a waterfall, now I'm free

The river Brun's the place to be

Heasandford song 2 "I'm a trout"
Heasandford song 3

Many thanks to all our artists, musicians 

and songsmiths at Heasandford

waterfall and leaping trout