Students from Blaine High School, with funding from the Six Cities Watershed Management Organization, monitor Pleasure Creek. The students, under the direction of staff from the Anoka Conservation District, use a biomonitoring technique. Biomonitoring is the assessment of stream health by studying those animals which are able to make the stream home. In this case, the students collect macroinvertebrates (aquatic insects, clams, snails, etc). Each macroinvertebrate family has a known tolerance to pollution. Therefore, after the aquatic insects caught in the stream are identified by the students, they can calculate indices of stream health.
This project offers benefits to both the students and watershed managers. Students get the opportunity to be part of a real-life scientific study that will be used beyond the classroom. They also get the opportunity to work with local natural resources professionals. Watershed managers benefit because the high school groups are able to collect large amounts of data regularly.
