Several disembodied fish were found outside the AP Environmental Science classrooms on Monday, Oct. 20.
As part of an APES project, students constructed self-sufficient habitats using bins of water and plants sustained by nutrient cycling from the fish. Each group’s project consisted of a row of plants, plastic containers, water pumps that produce flowing water, and goldfish.
Groups were initially instructed to have at most five to six fish in each of their tanks. However, that morning, some groups noticed their fish had completely vanished; others noticed that their tanks had more fish than usual.
Having done this project for years, APES Environmental Science teachers Lance Powell and Erica Woll have grown to anticipate many challenges, from pesky squirrels to malfunctioning water pumps. But this year, something stranger—sinister, even—occurred.
Camera footage caught young children with fishing nets invading aquaponic setups. The S-wing, where the aquaponics projects are located, is easily accessible to public visitors, without any enclosure of the space. The small group of kids rampaged through the S-wing to seize the fish, moving them from bin to bin.
The nearby M-A tennis courts are open to the public. Interviewed teachers believe that there is a high chance kids receiving tennis lessons saw the projects nearby. The kids who are suspected of the beheading likely knew about the projects beforehand and had knowledge of the project’s whereabouts because they were prepared with flashlights.
“A few years ago there was an issue that was similar, and that was during the daytime on the weekend, some really little kids. They showed up and were scooping out all of the fish and put them in the big tank, which wasn’t as big of a problem,” Woll said.
After contacting the local tennis team that practices at M-A over the weekend, the issue seemed to have been resolved. Students had hoped an added layer of chicken wire would fend off any more spectators. But that wasn’t the end of the story: the following week, what started as childish meddling took a darker turn.
“Some of my kids from first period went to the big tank, and they saw that two of the fish had been decapitated,” Woll said.
At 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 19, kids brought flashlights and were scooping out all the fish into the big tank. “You can see them playing in the big tank. So it’s definitely them,” Woll said.
“We found our fish heads cut off,” junior Jake Carlson said. “They were just floating in the tank.”
“Our fish were completely gone,” senior Natalie Shannon said. “It was really sad because we had been feeding them everyday and working on our aquaponics.”
