Biologist Dan Maltese, of Civil and Environmental Consultants, holds up a fish in a container for fifth-graders to see on Oct. 8, 2021, at Breakneck Creek. Butler Eagle File Photo

Every Friday from the beginning of the Mars Area School District school year until the end of October, high school AP Biology students escorted classes of curious fifth-graders into the local ecosystem in their backyard: Breakneck Creek.

The expeditions in 2021 were part of the Mars Area Water Protection Program, a team-up between teachers, local environmental firms and students to get children out in nature and learning about the complex natural world beneath the surface of local waterways.

Biologists Dan Maltese and Mike Shema, of Civil and Environmental Consultants, brought along equipment used to temporarily shock small fish with electricity, so that they could be scooped up in nets.

“It’s kind of whatever we catch, we can tell the story of that fish,” Maltese said.