As a class project raise trout from eggs to later be released in the wild. Trout in the Classroom is a program that provides that opportunity. The website notes:
Trout (or Salmon) in the Classroom (TIC or SIC) offers students of all ages a chance to raise Salmonids in a classroom setting and then release them into a nearby stream or river. Caring for the fish fosters a conservation ethic in the students, and the act of walking to a streambank and directly releasing the fingerlings into the water makes a concrete connection between caring for the fish and caring for the water.
Any teacher in any classroom can make TIC or SIC relevant to his or her classroom curriculum. In kindergarten, the focus can be on caring, growth, understanding life cycles, and the seasons. A high school program might explore water chemistry, the nitrogen cycle, natural resource management, and watershed geology and ecology. For this reason, TU (Trout Unlimited) offers an ever-growing online lesson plan library. Teachers across the country share their tried-and-true activity ideas, which are arranged by subject.
Breanna Berchtold did this with her 5th grade class. She said:
My students were able to raise trout in our classroom. They learned about PH levels and ammonia as well as the life cycle and got to go out and release the fish when they were grown up.
To do this activity a teacher would need to set up a proper aquarium. The Trout in the Classroom website has steps to get started and videos on how to set up a new aquarium.
One way to access funds for this project would be to apply for a classroom grant through the STEM Action Center.