Chuck Dinkel

Mac Chuck Dinkel

Across America, by participating in a program called Trout in the Classroom (TIC), students from K-12 learn the importance of water quality and connect with their watershed by raising trout from eggs to fingerlings and then releasing them in a clean, cold stream in the spring. TIC programs have been in place all across the country for more than 20 years, the results of numerous collaborations between teachers, volunteers, government agencies, and local organizations including Trout Unlimited (TU). Trout Unlimited is a nonprofit dedicated to preserving and improving trout habitat.


In this story, Mac, a green caddis worm, introduces TIC students to his friends, Mayfly, Stonefly, and Caddis. He explains that these critters, called macroinvertebrates, will be the main food source for the 2 1/2-inch fingerlings students release into the wild. Mac provides the reader with an overview of the life cycle of these important aquatic insects. By the end of the story, students will know where these aquatic insects live in streams, what they feed on, how they hatch, and how to identify them. These insects are intolerant of polluted water and therefore are indicators of the quality water trout need for survival.