Local elementary school students said goodbye to dozens of fish after releasing them into Shaver Lake

FRESNO COUNTY (KFSN) -- Bus loads full of excited kids arrived at Shaver Lake Wednesday morning eager to watch a six-week long class project on the life cycle of fish reach its wet conclusion.

A fun hands-on lesson for students to learn about local watersheds and what lives in them

"A lot of times students have never been to the site that's just a few miles away from their school. They didn't even know a river was there so it's creating awareness," said Cheryl Moxley, Fish and Wildlife Interpreter.

The students at Big Creek and Pine Ridge Elementary helped raise game trout from eggs before releasing the fish into lake. The project was part of statewide program that teaches students the various stages of fish while nurturing them in the classroom.

"I was pretty surprised how they grew so fast in like two weeks and just how much food you're supposed to feed them, and I didn't know once they grew up just eat right away like wait two days-- I was really surprised," said Kaitlyn Wilson, 7th grader.

Releasing dozens of trout was a careful process-- officials had to first get the fish acclimated to the lake's water temperature before sending them off.

The students say it was bitter sweet watching the tiny trout swim away.

"When I let them go I felt happy and sad, because I knew they were going to get a better lifestyle. And I also felt sad because I really liked watching them grow," said Hailey Ramirez, 5th grader.

"They do get attached to the fish-- they name them, they've taken care of them, they watched them hatch, and they've been feeding them. They've been checking the water quality and the temperature of the water; they have a little investment in them so now they care about what's living in the watershed," said Moxley.

This appears to be the perfect time to release the trout; officials said the water levels are Shaver Lake is the highest they have been in years.