1. Introduce the three native trout species that are threatened in Alberta. You can use and/or show the students this webpage: Meet Alberta's Native Trout. Some populations have a “resident” life history strategy where they are born and reside in the same stream their whole lives, and some have a “migratory” life history strategy. Migratory trout may spend their adult life in a large river or lake, then migrate to smaller streams to spawn. Typically, trout migrate back to their “natal” streams – the places where they were born/hatched. Their migration has become more difficult due to loss of habitat connectivity (blockages from road crossings with problem culverts and/or dams that block rivers), climate change (warming waters, lower flows, and drying streams), water pollution (muddy run-off from roads and other human activities creating dirty waters),  and the introduction of invasive species (e.g. brook trout competing for food).  
   
   
2. Inform participants that they are all going to pretend that they are bull trout (Alberta’s provincial fish).  

3. Give 1-2 participants bandanas and tell them they are threats (e.g. brook trout, pollution, drought, hanging culverts etc.) Threats try to tag trout as the trout try to migrate. 
   
   
4. The trout will need to swim (run) from one boundary to the next without getting caught by a threat. When trout are tagged, they must freeze and become a threat as well by reaching out to catch trout that pass by. As the threats increase, it will become more difficult for the trout to make it to their spawning grounds upriver.

5. Ask the group for solutions to the threats (e.g. responsible angling practices, climate action, new protected areas, culvert replacements, etc.). For each solution they provide, one threat can hatch again as a bull trout. Play a round with a more balanced ecosystem.  

Discussion: 

• Discuss why it is important for trout to have cold, clean, complex, clear, and connected waterways. How does this impact their migration and spawning? 

Extensions: 

• Learn more about threats to native trout in this short video: Threats to Alberta's Native Trout - YouTube. 

• Learn more about healthy trout habitat with this short video: Native Trout are an Indicator of Watershed Health. 

• Learn about the Alberta Native Trout Collaborative's efforts to rehabilitate native trout habit through this StoryMap: Rehabilitating Native Trout Habitat in Alberta.