A WILDLIFE conservation project is being taken into East Lancashire classrooms in a bid to encourage today’s youngsters to protect the environment in the future.

Ribble Catchment Conservation Trust has teamed up with Ribble Valley Council, the Environment Agency and the Green Partnership, to promote conservation of streams and rivers in the area.

So far primary schools in Padiham, Chipping, Dunsop Bridge, Clitheroe and Whalley have joined the scheme which sees the project manager Stephen Hatton deliver trout eggs and a fish tank to the school.

Pupils are given the fish tank and around 500 trout eggs which they look after until they are ready to be released from captivity.

After a couple of months the eggs hatch and soon afterwards, Stephen takes a group of children to the nearest river or stream and frees the fish.

Catherine Birtwistle, administration officer for the Catchment Conservation Trust, said there had been a few disasters where fish had died. But she said pupils who have taken part so far have enjoyed and learnt a great deal from the project.

Now the trust is hoping to extend the scheme to other schools in the area.

Catherine said: “It’s a really good way of getting children interested in this. It is quite important, if you can educate them at a young age and increase awareness hopefully this will have an impact in adult life.”