Holy Name of Mary School students join UTRCA to tackle the issue of invasive goldfish

Cameryn, Ryker, Connor and Nate meet with the newspaper to share information on invasive goldfish affecting our rivers.

By Spencer Seymour

Mrs. Becker’s Grade 6/7 class has been working on a very interesting project since the fall of 2025.

The program the project falls under is called the Green Leaders Initiative, a youth-driven effort focused on community-based climate action, biodiversity restoration and sustainability education. Mrs. Becker applied for the program, which involves six steps towards completion and compiling all the information, culminating in a presentation at Huron University in London with 16 other schools.

The first step the class completed was a walk around St. Marys to see what environmental issues they could find. They found examples like garbage, recycling and invasive species along the Grand Trunk Trail, as well as in our water ways. For step two, the class decided on what issue to select, stemming from what they found on their walk. They decided to delve into invasive species in our waterways.

The research step comes next. The class was paid a visit by Upper Thames River Conservation Authority aquatic biologist Erin Carroll who discussed invasive species like zebra mussels, gobies and goldfish. The class discovered there are goldfish in the Thames River Watershed and they are causing damage.

Students Nate, Cameryn, Connor and Ryker shared what they learned during this process on why goldfish are invasive. When goldfish are flushed down the toilet, the students explained, they don’t live, so that is not what is causing the goldfish to end up in the rivers.

However, because goldfish can live up to 30 years, owners are releasing them into storm drains and rivers when they no longer want to take care of them. The reason the goldfish are considered invasive is they eat the plants and stir up water. The native species can’t get at their plant food and end up dying off.

Also, when the goldfish stir up the water, the predator fish can’t see as well and are not finding food. They will also eat fish eggs, killing off future generations of native fish. When goldfish are released into larger water sources, they grow based on the size of the waterway and can reach 18 inches long and four pounds in weight.

Step four in the program teaches the students to use their decision-making skills to come up with a policy or practice around what they want to change, and to come up with a strategy on how to achieve this.

The students shared some ways on how to avoid dumping goldfish in the rivers:

• Give unwanted goldfish to a friend or family member;

• Build a small pond not connected to a stream for goldfish;

• Donate an unwanted goldfish to someone who has a pond; and

• Learn the information, consider how long they live and think before buying.

The next step was to take action and get the information out to the community. The class was divided into groups to determine how to do that. They used avenues like the newspaper, radio, social media and speaking with people in person at Pet Valu.

The final step will take place on May 22 when the class will go to Huron University in London to share what they learned. They will talk about their successes, challenges and what they learned through this experience.