Clean water survey
Dicovering the diverstiy of aquatic life in a stream or pond is a wonderous activity for any age group.
Time requried: 30 - 40 minutes

Materials;
Aquatic invertrabrate nets; enough for 2 or 3 students to share each net. Also, buckets, the invertrabrate checklist, clipboards, pencils and an optional aquarium for keeping not-often found water critters alive for showing other groups.

Procedure
Gather the group beside the pond, lake or stream. Discuss the quality of water; what does "good quality" mean? Does good quality mean the water is clean? What makes dirty water and where does pollution come from? If water is clean, of good quality, it will provide food, water and habitat for a wide array of plants and animals.
One way to determine if the water quality of a stream or pond is good is to make a survey of the animals that live in the water. If there are many different types of animals, the water quality will be good, if just a few critters survive in the water, the quality is poor. Discuss why that is.

~ Hand out copies of the invertrabrate checklist, clipboards and pencils. Look over the check list with the group and notice which creatures live in poor quality water and which critters only survive in clean water.

~ Explain how the nets are going to be distributed, how to use the nets and how to use the checklist to survey the animals that are found. It is important to stress that eveyone needs to keep thier shoes clean and that everyone needs to share. Use a timer if necessary.

~ Direct the groups to thier survey areas and assist with identification and help where needed. If a unique critter is found, keep it in the aquarium to share with other groups.

~ Regather the group to review what was found. Have the students rinse thier nets out in clean pond water and bring their buckets back to the gathering area. What were the results of the survey? Compare thier finds with other groups. The results of the survey can be taken back to the classroom or posted on the Arboretum website.