POLAND — Approximately 130 fifth-grade students from RSU16 (Poland, Minot and Mechanic Falls) will go outdoors on Friday, May 9, to participate in the annual Brook Trout Release hosted by Poland Spring Bottling.

Students will spend the day ensuring that the brook trout they have raised for the past four months have a healthy, clean environment to prosper in. Poland Spring staff will be on hand to oversee activities and provide lunch.

Stations include: macro invertebrate classification, trout trivia, the long haul, stream observations and activities conducted by partners from Ferry Beach Ecology School in Saco and Project WET (Water Education for Teachers) state coordinator.

The Poland Spring Brookie Buddies: Water, Fish and ME program is an interdisciplinary program in which students learn about cold water conservation while raising brook trout from eggs to fingerlings in a classroom aquarium.

Throughout the school year, students monitor and record aquarium water quality and trout behavior. Once a month, a Poland Spring employee visit classrooms to lead activity sessions with themes designed to complement the program.

All classrooms end the year by releasing their trout into a state-approved waterway. The Brookie Buddies program is made possible through a partnership with the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. The partnership provides brook trout eggs, trout food and technical assistance.

The program extends to six additional schools across the state, including Molly Ockett Middle School, Fryeburg Academy, Strong, Phillips and Stratton Elementary and Gray/New Gloucester Middle schools.

For more information about Poland Spring, visit www.polandspringworksformaine.com.