Saving Plano’s pond

Torie Brannen, Staff Writer
February 11, 2014

The pond, home to many ducks and fish, was drastically altered around Jan.7. Chlorine and copper sulfate were introduced to the makeup of the water, turning it a vibrant, clear blue and killing over 100 fish. Senior Ryan Robertson has teamed up with outdoor education teacher Teri Minnis to fix and restock the pond.

“One day, Coach Minnis and I were talking about the pond, and I just decided to take action and awareness to help fix the pond,” Robertson said. “She said she would support me on starting Saving Plano’s Pond, so I decided to reach out to the school.”

In order to raise awareness and money for the cause, Robertson created a twitter account called Plano’s Pond. Along with enlisting the help of Minnis, Robertson is also trying to involve many more organizations, such as Student Congress and PALS. While they don’t know how the dangerous chemical was put into the water, they are determined to restore its natural color and introduce new fish.

“I wanted the students at Vines, Clark and Plano Senior to have the unique opportunity to fish, because a lot of schools don’t have a pond,” Robertson said. “It’s a tradition at this school.”

Robertson and Minnis are not sure of exactly how much money they need to raise, but they know it will be a lot. Many of the fish that were killed were the elegant and expensive Koi. These fish symbolize love and friendship in their home country of Japan, and their presence will be missed.

Minnis will store all money, and Saving Plano’s Pond will be receiving donations until the end of the school year.

“I’m trying to get more people involved to donate money to get it fixed,” Robertson said. “It will take a lot to fix the pond and restock it.”