Normandy Hatchery Hosts High School Group for Hands-on Experience

A group of high school students from Shelbyville Central High School spent an afternoon at the Normandy Fish Hatchery enjoying hands-on learning about wildlife and conservation.

Agriculture teacher Morgan Grannas recently completed a unit on wildlife and conservation and contacted the Normandy hatchery to arrange a visit. Hatchery manager Nathan Singer coordinated with the class and welcomed them during the harvest of one of the final crappie ponds of the season.

Students volunteered to form a line from the pond to the hatchery truck, passing buckets of juvenile crappie that were destined for an East Tennessee lake. Singer then led the group inside the hatchery facility, giving them a behind-the-scenes look at where fisheries personnel conduct much of the work spawning brood fish.

The visit provided students with a clear view of how indoor hatchery operations and outdoor holding ponds work together to produce fish for Tennessee’s public waterways. Grannas said she appreciated exposing students to career opportunities they might not normally consider, helping them think beyond traditional career paths.