Jason D. Finley

"In the Company of Trout" is a thematic approach to education developed by Finley to connect reading, science and math to actual events and places. In this program, students use fly fishing as a means of studying the interconnectedness between watersheds, land management policy, environmental ethics, Vermont heritage, politics, economics, literature, algebra and art. Beyond the purely educational component of the program is an effort to expose students to the unique and special environments that create the place in which they live. At the conclusion of the program, Finley hopes students will develop life-long participation in the sport of fly fishing and fly tying, make connections between healthy watersheds to healthy lives and grasp concepts in streamside ecology and conservations. He also expects them to see literature and writings as an enhancement of their understanding of the sport and the environments that support fly fishing, and understand how fishing affects the economics of Vermont. Finley resides in Rutland.