Former Houlton man named ‘Trout Unlimited National Educator of Year’

Bob Fields, a resident of Westernville, N.Y., formerly of Houlton, received the Trout Unlimited National Educator of the Year award at the awards banquet held at the Biltmore Estate in Ashville, N.C. on Sept. 14.
    Fields, who leads the Trout in the Classroom (TIC) program in the Mohawk Valley, was cited for building the program from one to over 40 schools in six counties in central New York. His efforts have brought over 7,000 students together in a common project that promotes communication.
TIC is a hands-on environmental education program, which enhances STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) and state learning standards in New York classrooms. Students study and raise trout from eggs to fingerlings (baby trout) in their classroom aquaria. The program culminates with a trip to a stream where students hand deliver baby trout into their natural habitat.
“By having wildlife in the classroom and allowing students to interact with these fish, TIC helps to spark students’ curiosity in learning while introducing complex concepts such as watersheds, riparian buffer zones and stream ecology to students. Travel to a watershed stream allows students to experience and understand what makes a healthy stream and forest environment. Releasing the trout, which they have raised for over eight months in their classroom, creates an even deeper connection to these water resources,” Fields said.