Celebrating the cycle of life

Hundreds of students filled the Johnson Lake Campground on Wednesday to learn about wildlife and outdoor safety at the 24th Annual Kenai Peninsula Salmon Celebration.

The annual event caps off the Salmon in the Classroom program run by the State Department of Fish and Game’s Aquatic Education Program. Kenai Peninsula Area Management Biologist Phillip Stacey said the event gathers dozens of agencies, including Alaska State Parks, Central Emergency Services, the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary and more.

The most eye-catching element of the program is the stocking of the lake with catchable-sized rainbow trout. At any time during the celebration a line of eager students could be seen collecting buckets with live trout — sometimes with water splashing out. The students carefully deposited their fish into the lake and watched them swim away.

Johnson Lake is one of several local lakes stocked with hatchery-raised rainbow trout by the department. Stacey said around 5,000 fish would be added to the lake this week — around 1,000 by the youngsters in attendance.

Many of the students, around 900, were set to attend the event from schools throughout the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District, including Soldotna Elementary and Tustumena Elementary. Stacey said some students also come from various homeschool or other correspondence programs.

“Every school on the peninsula gets an invitation,” he said.

After stocking a fish in the lake, students could walk the campground loop, where more than two dozen booths run by various agencies and organizations, including the Kenai River Sportfishing Association, Kenai Watershed Forum and Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center.

At some booths, students learned science — about ecosystems, anatomy, water chemistry and more. At others, they learned how to be safe while recreating in the outdoors — like effectively deploying bear spray, recognizing animal signs, casting fishing rods and wearing life jackets.

“We’re teaching kids about salmon, the salmon life cycle, animal hides and skulls, how to identify tracks,” Stacey said. “It gives them all a little bit more of an appreciation for what we have here in Alaska.”

For more information, find the “Education” tab at adfg.alaska.gov.

Reach reporter Jake Dye at jacob.dye@peninsulaclarion.com.