Salmon released by Larrabee School students

<< Back to archives | Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Padden Creek receives another little - under 2 inches - Coho salmon fry as it goes sliding down the plastic half tube.  On Tuesday, about 100 students from Larrabee grade school hiked over to Padden Creek in Fairhaven and released 120 of the little fry that they had raised from eggs since January.  The salmon will stay in the stream a year, then head out to the ocean for two years and return in November 2014 to hopefully spawn.  The release took place Tuesday and is a modest but valuable step to get our wild salmon cycle viable again. 

Wendy Scherrer, in the red coat, is the spark behind this project.  No surprise there.  Teachers Jenny Pittis and Lisa Conlin, along with fisher Bret Simmons, guided the students in raising the salmon.  Even the water in their aquarium was taken from Padden Creek so the salmon will imprint on it for returning from the sea.  The whole project is called “Salmon in the classroom” and informally called “Salmon in your backyard” because of Padden Creek literally flowing behind many residences on Bellingham’s south side.  All part of the fun of living in Fairhaven. 

Padden Creek flows past the historic district and into Bellingham Bay down at 8th and Harris.  There is a walking trail along most of the creek. 

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