Leaf Pack Network News, January 2026

Hi Leaf Pack Network community,

Happy 2026! We are deeply grateful to all of you who participated in leaf pack monitoring during 2025, sharing the heart and pulse of local rivers. We are continually inspired by your stories from the field and within your communities. Enjoy reading below about a youth project in the Bronx Zoo in New York that used leaf pack methods to support eel research!

May your 2026 continue to be happy and full of leaf packing,

Tara Muenz
Leaf Pack Network Administrator

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F(eel)ing Buggy: Project TRUE Interns Survey the Bronx River

Last fall, within New York City’s densely urban environment, university and high school students discovered many macroinvertebrates in a small, shallow section of the Bronx River. Bordered by urban green spaces, including the Bronx Zoo, it’s the only freshwater river in the city.

Tara Muenz, associate director of education and Leaf Pack Network administrator at Stroud Water Research Center, guided the interns through macroinvertebrate sampling and identification for the zoo’s BioBlitz, an event to capture the vast biodiversity in green spaces within and around the zoo’s grounds.

The fall experience also built on the interns’ summer eel research.

Leaf Pack Network Featured in Smithsonian’s Global Biodiversity! Curriculum

The Leaf Pack Network is highlighted in the Smithsonian Science Education Center’s free Biodiversity! curriculum guide as an extension activity to investigate aquatic organisms. You’ll find this extension in a lesson on soils (section 6), which investigates the overarching question: “How can we balance the needs of people with the needs of other living things?” 

This curriculum engages youth worldwide in hands-on research and connects directly to two United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: Life Below Water and Life on Land. It’s a great resource to support them in exploring biodiversity, sharing their knowledge, and creating tangible actions for their communities.

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Leaf Pack Tip: Check Local Laws for Aquatic Macroinvertebrate Sampling

“Do I need a permit to monitor my local stream with leaf packs?” you might ask. Well, it depends! The categorization of aquatic macroinvertebrates varies by location. In some regions, they are protected as fish bait, so you may need a fishing permit. In others, efforts to restore endangered aquatic species may require a special permit to monitor with leaf packs or may prevent you from monitoring at all.

Here are a few tips when it comes to finding out if you need a special license or permit:

• Contact your local regulating agency of freshwater waterways. Such agencies often have online resources and information about which permits to obtain (if any).
• If collecting for educational purposes, you may be qualified for a special permit that covers you and your students.
• Some permits are for single events, others for one or more years, and some require an application of your intended activities and waterway names plus an end-of-year report.

It’s best to stay on the legal (and safe) side in your country, state, or region, and don’t hesitate to contact the Leaf Pack Network if you need help understanding your local regulations.

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Start Light With Leaf Pack Monitoring!

Want to dip your toes lightly into leaf pack monitoring before taking the plunge? Start simple with LaMotte Company’s Aquatic Bug Kit. Ideal for ages eight and up, this kit includes mesh bags, trays, and plastic dishes for sorting, a magnifying lens, a bug guide, and a bug identification chart. This is an easy way to study, observe, and collect aquatic macroinvertebrates!

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