Issaquah Salmon Hatchery Visits Lakeridge Third Graders for Salmon Lifecycle Presentation

Heather McLyman and her third grade students with Taylor McAllister from the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery.

Mercer Island, WA, October 1, 2025 – Taylor McAllister, an Educational Coordinator from the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery, visited the third grade classrooms of Heather McLyman and Jon Davis at Lakeridge Elementary this afternoon.

McAllister is giving all third graders a presentation about the salmon life cycle and how a healthy habitat is essential for their survival. Lakeridge’s third graders will be taking a field trip to the hatchery on October 8.

“I learned that salmon are an endangered species, and they need much help,” said Luisa, a third grader in McLyman’s class. “If there were no predators for them then there would be too many salmon, and the population would go way to high which would not be too good.”

As part of presentation McAllister engaged students in an activity where they drew and described what they thought was a perfect habitat for salmon. McAllister then asked students to share what they came up with for a perfect habitat.

Students in McLyman’s class highlighted food, the temperature of the water, camouflage, shade trees/shrubs, absence of predators, the characteristics of the water (flowing vs. still, saltwater vs. fresh water), and how many rocks were in streams as determinants of a perfect salmon habitat.

“This partnership with the Issaquah Fish Hatchery supports elementary science curriculum, where third graders are exploring the life cycles of plants, vertebrates, and invertebrates, as well as animal habitats,” said McLyman.

View McAllister’s Presentation Slide Deck

On their field trip to the hatchery students will be investigating Issaquah Creek to see what parts of the creek present a healthy habitat for salmon. Students will also learn how hatcheries help the salmon environment and how they raise salmon from the egg to the smolt stage.

“I am kind of looking forward to seeing the different sizes and the baby salmon and the full-grown ones,” said Levi, a student in McLyman’s class. “I liked learning about salmon because salmon are cool.”

McAllister will be giving presentations to Lucy Anderson and Mike Aguilera’s third grade classrooms on October 7.

“I am looking forward to feeding the salmon,” said Luisa.

About the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery

The Issaquah Salmon Hatchery is maintained through a partnership between the Department of Fish and Wildlife (DFW) that runs the internal operations and fish production and the Friends of Issaquah Salmon Hatchery (FISH) that run educational programming including tours, outreach and events.

The Issaquah Salmon Hatchery is the most visited in the state, welcoming over 200,000 visitors a year. The hatchery is open all year round, free to visitors and available for school field trips and the public. The hatchery provides a unique “outdoor classroom” for visitors to learn up close about salmon and watershed stewardship. FISH trains tour docents who amaze visitors with their depth of knowledge about the Northwest salmon life cycle, the importance of watershed stewardship and the operations of the historic hatchery. FISH advocates for salmon through our outreach and educational programming.