Lake Forest Park Stewardship Foundation helps Lake Forest Park students release Coho Parr into Brookside Creek

Kim Josund and Jean Reid help LFP students
release salmon into Brookside Creek

Photos by Frank Kleyn

On Friday, April 14th, Kim Josund and Jean Reid of the Lake Forest Park Stewardship Foundation helped Lake Forest Park students release the salmon they raised at school into Brookside Creek, a tributary of McAleer Creek.

The salmon parr were raised from eggs in the school library's salmon tank. Kim and Teacher-Librarian Frank Kleyn carefully scooped the salmon from the tank and placed them into buckets. The water in each bucket was kept cold and aerated for the journey to the creek using a frozen water bottle and portable aerator.

Salmon were kept in cold and aerated water
for the trip to the stream

At the creek, Kim explained how the salmon would continue to grow in the creek and Lake Washington. Students learned the importance of keeping local creeks clean and undisturbed to provide the best habitat for local salmon and wildlife.

Kim explains the importance of keeping streams clean

Holding their salmon in clear cups of water, students hiked down to the creek bank, where they lowered each salmon and slowly poured them into the water. School counselor Tom Doggett counted salmon as students walked to the creek. He counted 170 released salmon!

Earlier in the year, retired Shoreline School District teacher Jim Siscel volunteered his time and worked with second grade teacher April Johnston to set up the tank and deliver the coho salmon eggs provided by the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery.

On the same day, the Lake Forest Park Stewardship Foundation sponsored a storytelling assembly at the school from Roger Fernandes. Roger is a member of Lower Elwha Band of the S’Klallam Indians.  He shared traditional stories with students that conveyed the importance of family, community, and respect for nature. Roger joined students at the salmon release.

S'Klallam storyteller Roger Fernandes helped
the children release the salmon

Lake Forest Park Elementary School thanks Jim Siscel, Kim Josund, Jean Reid, Roger Fernandes, the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery, and the Lake Forest Park Stewardship Foundation for all they did to help students raise salmon, learn about their life cycle, and become stewards of the local environment.