Students at an Anishinaabemowin immersion school on Walpole Island First Nation are gaining hands-on experience in conservation and Indigenous knowledge through a new, school-based fish hatchery. The facility—Giigoonyig Enjintaawgiwaad (“Place Where Fish Are Raised”)—allows students to raise lake sturgeon from eggs to juveniles, before releasing them into local waterways. Operated in partnership with the University of Windsor’s Freshwater Restoration Ecology Centre, the hatchery weaves together science education, environmental stewardship, language revitalization, and cultural teachings around a species of deep significance to the community.
Anishinaabeg Kinomaagewgamig principal Craig Lindsay, left, Dr. Trevor Pitcher, Director of the University of Windsor's Freshwater Restoration Ecology Centre, and teacher Mino Giizhgad gather at the Giigoonyig Enjintaawgiwaad hatchery during the opening ceremony on Walpole Island First Nation. (MICHAEL WILKINS/University of Windsor)