Thursday, March 31, 2011

Sussex School Adopts John Pierce Native Prarie

Rivers and Plants go together! 
This past Wednesday, Pam and Lisa's class came to explore, observe and document the first signs of spring and new life in the Pierce Native Prairie. Throughout the spring the class will return to this prairie to help restore it to its natural state. While developing this stewardship, they will also learn a lot about native and invasive plants! 





Watch for more plant activities this spring with Sussex School and the Pierce Native Prairie!

Monday, March 28, 2011

Spring Trainings

 Its Spring Training time! To kick off the Spring field trip season, Kitty and Alaina led a training to teach community members and future volunteers about how to monitor rivers and why it is important. At the training we went through all three stations, and even got to get in the river with our waders! The first station was our chemistry station, where we measured the oxygen, temperature, and pH level. Next up we discussed the physical aspects of Rattlesnake creek.  Lastly we got to scoop up some aquatic macro invertebrates and identify them. In our sample we even found a worm! Even though it was a little rainy, it was a great way to get excited for the upcoming season of monitoring our local Montana rivers! 


Kicking up the aquatic macro invertebrates
Identifying the macro invertebrates
at the biological station
At the physical station, volunteers
gather bankful measurements 

Friday, March 11, 2011

Rattlesnake School Groundwater Presentation

This past week WEN did 4 groundwater presentations at Rattlesnake School! We taught two different classes in two-part presentations. The first field trip we led an interactive experiment where the students built their own aquifer and explored how water moved through different kinds of sediments. Next, we played the Groundwater Game so the students could see what it was like to be a raindrop moving through the ground (and get out some energy!).  The second day was a presentation of our Groundwater Flow Model which is continually fascinating to both the students and adults.  Check out the pictures below!

Students get ready for the Groundwater Game
Students write about their aquifer experiment
Students watch the water filter through
their aquifers they built
Students build their aquifer with WEN volunteer
For more information about our Groundwater Program, volunteer on a field trip, or schedule a field trip for your classroom, call 541-9287 or email us at water@montanawatershed.org