StreamWatch

The creek in the county park downstream of my preserve

Our land trust is partnering with the watershed association that champions the environmental quality of the stream that drains the land to our southwest.  Last evening, our two organizations convened a joint training session for prospective stream monitoring volunteers at the county park downstream of my preserve.

Classroom training

About 20 people showed up for the training, which began with a PowerPoint introduction to the monitoring protocol.

Choosing a monitoring site

Then the volunteers split up between the two watersheds to choose their monitoring sites.

Creekside fieldwork.  The prominent outcrop in the background is called Council Rock.

Finally, we moved to the bank of the creek to apply the concepts introduced in the PowerPoint presentation to the "real world."  By then, the sun had started to set.

The volunteers were asked to pledge to monitor their section of the creek once a month - a two-hour commitment.  Everyone who attended was enthusiastic and seemed willing to commit more than two hours each month.

A riffle at sunset