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2010

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Parrish Elementary School Becomes a Creek Kids School November 12, 2010

Students sprinkle green Kool-Aid and cocoa on a watershed model. The green Kool-Aid represents fertilizer and the cocoa resembles soil.	Mr. Jackson sprayed water on the watershed model. The spray from the water bottle represents a rain event. Students watched while green Kool-Aid and cocoa runoff into the stream.
Bubbling springs at Tannehill State Park is an example of ground water being release into the stream. Ground water is important to fish and humans.	Both students and teachers enjoyed learning about the water cycle and how human activities may affect the way water is stored in the ground.
"Wow! I found a mussel."	"Look! I found a horn snail."
Observing animals in nature is the first step to learning about them. Fishing is a great way to learn about animals and nature.	"Look! I found the largest mussel today." Students learn the importance of keeping and maintaining aquatic habitats.
A young girl examines a critter she found in the water. Emphasis was placed on water being a resource to all life in a watershed.	Siltation is on the rocks in the creek. It originates in the watershed. Today silt is considered one of the main pollutants in streams.
Mr. Jackson discusses how it is important to have clean water for people, industry, and wildlife. Ecological pyramids were part of this discussion.	Students listen patiently.
Critical thinking is how scientist solve problems. Youths get first-hand experience when dealing with abiotic and biotic issues affecting aquatic organisms.	Mr. Jackson holds up an apple snail and discuss the problem with exotics. The apple snail is an example of an exotic snail.
Students watch from a bridge while fish are collected.	Minnow baskets were placed in different areas in the stream. Mr. Jackson retrieve fish from a minnow basket that was placed in a pool.
We used a seine to collect fish.
Students continue to watch and wait for instructions.	Students were giving instruction on how to collect invertebrates.
Students caught various fish species. The fish in this picture is a largescale stoneroller.	This student has a tray full of snails that were collected from the creek.
The fun part is observing what the students found in the creek.	The green and yellow view finders magnifies the size of each specimen so students can see them closer.
A giant water bug (right) and snails (left) were some of the animals collected.	Live specimens are cool to watch.