Cheboygan Middle School students are raising Lake Sturgeon in their classroom! Sturgeon in the Classroom is an educational fish tank set up in classrooms to encourage children to appreciate and take care of our natural resources. Cheboygan Middle Schoolers are caring for sturgeon in their classroom as an opportunity to learn more about Great Lakes fisheries and this prehistoric and threatened fish species.
Ann Douglas, lead teacher for the project, wanted to get her students involved in a Lake Sturgeon project because of the rapid decrease in their population since the mid 1900s. Being sturgeon are the longest lived fish species in Michigan and now face potential extinction, Douglas knew something had to be done support the recovery of the Lake Sturgeon in Cheboygan County. The primary purpose of this project is to raise awareness to students and the local community through stewardship education about this endangered species.
Learn more about the history of Lake Sturgeon in Michigan from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Also, the Michigan Natural Features Inventory offers a species profile of the Lake Sturgeon.