FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FEBRUARY 27, 2004
Chris Larocque, a teacher at St. Anne Catholic High School in Tecumseh has won the Larry Wallace Memorial Youth Education Award for his dedication to education during the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters (O.F.A.H.) 76th Annual General Meeting and Wildlife Conference, in Toronto.
Chris was the driving force behind the building of a 2,400 gallon Great Lakes Aquarium and research lab in the school. With the help from teachers and students from St. Clair College he designed a closed loop refrigeration system that could be used to keep the developing eggs cold and still provide a constant flow of clean oxygenated water.
His dedication was evident during a recent power outage at the school which placed thousands of eggs in his hatchery at risk. A powerless hatchery could mean flood situations and loss of flow across the eggs, but Chris was up the task and nursed the hatchery back to life by hand working by only candlelight. He managed to save the project he has developed over the years with his quick actions.