Presenter's Notes

Before beginning, drop thermometer into stream (securely tied to a long pole for easy retrieval and minimization of losing it downstream!)

1. Introduction

2. Why are we here?
   Before, during and after stream restoration projects, scientists monitor, or check, the health of a stream by doing tests. Healthy streams are necessary to sustain life or vegetation, insects, fish, and ultimately humans. Today we are going to learn some monitoring techniques and how we can all do our part to help protect and repair streams.

3. Let's talk about your stream
   I say "your" stream because it is just that. This stream and all the rivers, lakes and waterways, belong to all of us. And if we don't learn how to take care of our waterways, we will destroy nature and eventually humans.

   (If there is time you can ask questions and talk about the answers.)

4. Watershed: (question: Does anybody know what a watershed is?)

   Have you ever watched water trickle down the sides of a bowl? Well that is what a watershed is like. The mountains and hills you see all around us act as a big mixing bowl and catch the rain and snow as it runs down the sides of the mountains and hills. The water collects into little streams like this one that joins into bigger ones forming a drainage system. Your stream is part of the drainage system.

   With this runoff comes a lot of substances in the form of sediment, dissolved minerals, chemicals and pollutants.

   It is important to know what kinds of activities are taking place in your watershed, because that is where the water for your stream comes from. (Question: What kinds of activities would affect your watershed?)

   Examples would be:

   • Cattle grazing up in the hills or walking through the stream.
   • Logging activities might mean trees being cut down and falling into the stream.
   • Or equipment being driven through your stream.

   - These activities cause erosion, so more sediment comes into the stream. The sediment would cover over any fish eggs that were laid on the bottom of our stream and the thick murky sediment would keep fresh water and oxygen from the eggs so they would not hatch.

   - The stream may also get polluted by gas, oil and nitrates from the logging and cattle.

   - Also what if there were farms up on the hillsides and the farmers had crops planted all over the sides of the hills? (Question: What do you suppose would happen to your stream and the water that comes down off the watershed?)

   - Farmers also use chemicals to fertilize their crops and pesticides to kill bugs, and all of these chemicals will wash right down into our stream and cause harm and death to vegetation and wildlife in and around it.

5. Riparian and Forest Canopy:

   Now look all around you. See how green it is all along the water's edge. (Question: Does any one know that this area is called?) This is called the RIPARIAN Area. This is important because it helps prevent erosion and provides shelter and food to the habit of the area.

   Another part included in the Riparian Area is the CANOPY. Look overhead at the trees and foliage. The trees and overhead vegetation is called the canopy. The canopy is very important in that it provides leaves, woody debris, and insects to the stream, it prevents your stream from evaporating, and also very importantly provides shade necessary to keep water temperatures cool.

6. Temperature:

   The temperature of the water is vital in maintaining wildlife, because it can affect the rate of aquatic lives body functions and if it were to warm certain fish, insects and other habitat could not live and certain parasites and disease could. So if temperatures become to warm, fish will refuse to enter them. In extreme conditions the fish will die.
   (Question: What kinds of activities might affect the temperature of the stream?)

   Example: Warm water releases from power plants and industrial facilities, slower water from dams and irrigation diversion.

   One of the test that is being done by many agencies and environmentalists is Temperature Testing, and that is exactly what we are going to do with your stream, we want to find out if it is a safe temperature to maintain aquatic life needed in a healthy stream.

   Do test

7. Dissolved Oxygen:

   Cold water holds more dissolved oxygen. Dissolved oxygen is essential for the survival of aquatic plants. Fish and water bugs need oxygen to weather just as we do, so we are going to find out how much dissolved oxygen is in our stream, and if it is enough for aquatic plants and animals to live.

   Do test: (Have everyone count out loud)

   We now know that our stream has a temperature of ________ and has plenty of dissolved oxygen in it. We also need to know what substances are in our stream. Stream water contains a variety of naturally occurring and human created substances. Some of these substances are crucial to support life; however, they can cause water quality problems if they are too abundant.

   Substances in water:

   Sediment is carried by runoff from unstable stream banks, construction sites, logging sites, plowed fields, and residential areas.

   Sediment deposits on stream bottoms and fill gravel spaces causing the stream bottom to become embedded and preventing fish from being able to spawn. Fish gills become clogged with sediment, interfering with oxygen exchange.

   Nutrients, like nitrogen and phosphorous are required by all organisms for basic processes of life. They occur naturally in streams but are added in the form of fertilizers and detergents that become part of the runoff.

   Increased amounts of nutrients cause over growth of vegetation. This can clog streams and use up dissolved oxygen, depriving other organisms of the limited oxygen in the water.

8. pH Levels:

   Dissolved metals can influence the pH level of the water. The concentration of hydrogen ions in water is called its pH value, (that is how acidic or basic the water is) pH levels can greatly affect stream life as most organisms have a narrow range of tolerance, and pH is affected by rainfall, pollution, and soil composition. (Question: Have you ever heard of acid rain?) It's caused when auto exhaust and fossil fuels emit sulfur and nitrogen oxides into the air and the rain picks them up on the way back down to the earth.

   Do test

9. Macroinvertebrate Survey: Bug Hunt!

   We have just completed a few water tests that indicate how healthy this stream is. However, sometimes a better indication of a stream's health is the water bugs that live in it, and a healthy stream will have a wide variety of water bugs living in it. The presence of a diverse community of organisms in a stream is often a more sensitive indicator of water quality than the physical or chemical tests because of their short life cycles, sedimentary life style, and varying tolerance to pollution.

   Macroinvertebrates are animals without backbones. They are a primary link in the stream food chain. They eat smaller organisms like bacteria, fungi, leaves, and woody debris and in turn they are eaten by fish, birds, amphibians, and reptiles. We are looking for macroinvertebrates that are either tolerate or intolerant to pollution.

   Do test

10. Questions:
    • Do we have a diverse Macroinvertebrate community?
    • Based on the information collected and the standards we are given, is this a healthy stream?
    • What can be done to improve or protect this stream?

* Safety precautions: Presenter, please make sure that the children wear protective safety goggles and rubber gloves when handling any chemicals. Also students should wear rubber boots for walking in the stream.

BPA

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