Miramichi Students Enjoy an International Salmon Exchange

In 2016, Scottish angler and educator David Ritchie created the Atlantic Salmon Conservation Schools Network (ASCSN), an international educational initiative that connects students across countries such as Scotland, Canada, the United States, Spain, France, Finland, Germany and Greenland to study their local salmon rivers, monitor watershed health, and share conservation data globally. I met David that year, and Miramichi Valley High School (MVHS) Fly Fishing Club became an active member of the network.

Through ASCSN, we hosted students from Scotland as well as East Machais, Maine in 2019, along with fellow educator Don Sprangers. In 2020, three students from MVHS were lined up to travel to Scotland along with two students from Blackville, but COVID changed these plans. The ASCSN initiative came to a close, as the EU Erasmus funding ended its project cycle and the remainder of the funding was used for travel to USA and Canada in 2019 as a legacy of the initial project. We missed our chance to travel, although I stayed in contact with David. Last February, David presented us with another opportunity to bring two students to participate in the 3rd annual Lionel Main Angling and River Conservation course, named after a River Spey ghillie who passed away a few years ago but had a lasting impact on his colleagues and clients. After I contacted Ian Robertson (Chief Executive of Countryside Learning) and Sean Tighe (course founder) who were also leads in the event, it didn’t take us long to commit and begin planning for this amazing opportunity.