Norther Garrett HS students collect macroinvertebrates in nets while the automated sensor (white pole/red wire) collects stream health.
The automated sensors purchased and programmed thanks to the North Face Explore Grant are finally seeing some real action thanks to Mountain Laurel Learning Coop and Northern Garrett HS students!
On September 18th, MLLC 7th graders and teacher Mat Cloak joined FOB watershed project director Emmie out on Beaver Creek to place four sensors and assist with quarterly monitoring. We also did stream health assessment at each of the four locations and stopped by a few mine seeps to compare main stem water health vs acid mine drainage water health.
Emmie gives a quick overview of acid mine drainage and restoration that FOB is working towards in Beaver Creek
Emmie also joined Northern Garrett HS AP environmental science students and their teach Carrie Glass on Bear Creek to spend an afternoon placing a sensor, collecting macroinvertebrates, measuring water quality data, and visually assessing the creek and surrounding area, all to create a holistic picture of Bear Creek’s health. The sensor that we installed that day will be used to collect conductivity, temperature, and depth, same as the sensors in Beaver Creek. That data will be collected by Envirothon students and used to graph creek data and hopefully help students track creek health throughout the school year.
