SHELBURNE — Dozens of kids and parents descended on Dragon Brook Friday to help carry pails of brook trout to the river as part of a 10th annual community event held on Robert “Bo” Warren’s property at 38 Bardwells Ferry Road.
Warren hosts the event as he is a fly fisherman and is interested in teaching kids about their surroundings, he said.
“The whole idea is to get kids out into the outdoors and get them off their cell phones,” Warren said.
The event is part of the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife’s statewide efforts stock trout in rivers from around March to Memorial Day to increase opportunities for fishing and recreation. The division stocks rivers across the state with four kinds of trout — one native (brook) and three non-native (rainbow, brown and tiger).
Belchertown-based state biologist Brian Keleher said the department stocks fish “solely for recreational opportunities where they may not exist or maybe we’re augmenting them to have more recreational opportunities.”
Keleher explained the fish-stocking process to families before giving kids a pail with a couple of trout to carry to the river. He said he fills a special truck with water and trout from a local hatchery before driving to brooks to place fish into local rivers.
State Fisheries Technician Kevin Pelosky says this event introduces kids to nature and encourages their interest in the environment, and in recreational activities like fishing and hunting.
Stacy Kontrabecki of Buckland works in the forestry and wildlife field, she said, and brought her 4-year-old son Eóghan Withington for the third time this year. She said the event is both exciting and educational in helping incite interest and awareness about the environment.
“It’s important to understand that we do have to stock these streams at this point in time, and to involve the community in things like these is a great thing,” Kontrabecki said.
Jim Boehmer brought his daughter Isabela to the event for the first time this year. Boehmer has worked for the fisheries division, he said, and hoped to share his passion for the environment with Isabela.
“I think it’s great to educate people … about the watersheds, which is everything from upper ponds … right down streams into the rivers, anything that people can learn,” Boehmer said.
JJ and Natalie Cheney of Greenfield brought their 8-year-old son Elijah to the event also for the first time. As JJ is a Greenfield Middle School science teacher and Natalie works in Greenfield Community College’s lab, the couple said they were happy to share their passion with their young son – and to get outside after a long winter.
Natalie Cheney said they attended the event to “expose our son to nature … to get him closer to the circle of life. He can see what fish look like.”
Elijah said while he didn’t touch the fish, he noticed they were “wiggly.”
Priscilla Austin of Chicopee brought her four young sons to the event. The boys squealed as they clambered to the creek behind their mother, too young to hold the pail themselves but no less delighted to see a trout up close.
“I drove 45 minutes here today just to give it a shot,” Austin said. “I think it’s great. It gets them out, it gets them to touch something different they haven’t felt before. Learning activities are the best.”
Reach Grace Bird at gbird@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 280. Follow her on Twitter at @gracebird23.