In collaboration with LaMotte, Stroud Water Research Center educator Christina Medved led two workshops at the regional NSTA conference in Nashville in December 2011.
Presenting to a packed room, teachers from Tennessee, Florida, Ohio, Alabama, and Missouri — just to name a few — learned about this unique way to study water quality. Participants learned about the basics of stream ecology, the river continuum concept, where along the stream continuum leaf packs naturally occur, and how to use leaf packs and macroinvertebrates as biological indicators.
Teachers also learned macroinvertebrate collection techniques, identification, and data analysis via hands-on activities that could be replicated in the classroom.