JEFFERSONVILLE, NY — Trout Day at the Sullivan West Elementary School has become an annual favorite for the students, teachers and community. The eighth annual Trout Day was celebrated this year on Thursday, May 14, and the Sullivan West faculty and students began the day with the dedication of a large outdoor mural in honor of Sullivan West Friends of Education Pam and the late Val Reinhardt.

The mural is located right in the front of the school, and is a river scene painted on a rock wall. It features blue, green and white paint with little fish attached as well as logs left by a beaver” The student-created mural celebrates the beauty and nature of Sullivan County.

Sullivan West Superintendent of Schools Dr. Nancy Hackett was on hand to welcome the students to Trout Day and to present the mural. She talked about the “amazing day ahead,” saying that many Sullivan West graduating seniors always remember this day. She addressed the current students and said, “You’ll remember all the things you’re going to learn today.” She also thanked the many volunteers who were on hand.

During the year, the elementary students have been raising trout from eggs to fingerlings. On Trout Day, they released the fish into the Callicoon Creek at the junction of Route 52 and North Branch Road in Jeffersonville, where owner Jim Hughson has generously donated the use of the park. The Upper Delaware Chapter of Trout Unlimited and Jeff Bank sponsored the event. Hackett said the students have been learning about the trout in all areas of the curriculum, “they measured the trout in math, studied them in science and wrote about them in English,” she said.

Volunteers from Trout Unlimited provided advice and assistance over the course of these past few months, and they continued their relationship with students that day by giving fly casting demonstrations, teaching fly-tying, entomology, and the art of wood carving a trout. In addition, the National Park Service hosted stations featuring an enviroscape table and birds of prey.

All in all, it was a fun day for the kids to learn about, and appreciate, our local environment.