Air And Water Quality

 For my second field trip on Saturday with the Master Naturalist  convention I had to drive north again. We met at Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center again. This time we met under a bird feeder where we saw chickadees, evening grossbeaks, rose breasted grossbeaks and blue jays come to feed. I was told to bring my water boots. After a introduction we all caravanned in our cars to the Sawmill Creek where it meets the road. We went into the classroom down there to learn about how to monitor the stream for turbidity, temperature, oxygen saturation, depth of the water, speed of the water, ph of the water, recreational suitability of the water, and to collect any creatures we could find in the water. We were split into groups of three and given an Ipad to record our findings. We shared a probe inside a long PVC pipe that recorded the ph and oxygen saturation levels. We had a secchi tube for check for turbidity. We had a thermometer for the water temperature. We also check the ph with ph paper and it came out the same as the machine. We took photos of the stream with the iPad. Then came the fun part of searching for and collecting critters.  We had nets to hold downstream as we kicked at the rocks. I saw a frog and my partner caught it. It was a green frog and a big one too. 

We caught a mayfly nymph. It had six legs and three tails. Between the legs and the tails we could see it's gills opening and closing rapidly. We put the mayfly nymph in an ice cube tray under a plexiglass shelf that had a hole cut into it. We put the iPad on the shelf with the camera pointing through the hole. When I had the critter in view I enlarged the creature and then snapped a picture of the iPad with my phone. Maybe someday I will  make a similar plexiglass shelf to hold my phone so I can take pictures of tiny objects enlarged.

We caught four native crawfish and a dragonfly nymph.  Here they sit in the bottom of a white Rubbermaid tub. We had a great time messing around in the creek. We put everybody back before we left to go back to the classroom.

Back at the classroom we sat outside on benches and shared our findings. We learned that Wolf Ridge was involved in a study about acid rain in cooperation with the Canadian Government and the EPA since the 1980's. Acid rain used to be a big deal back in the 1980's and this spot here on the North Shore had the most serious acid rain of any other place studied in Minnesota. This is because it was the furthest east location in the state. Acid rain affected the northern regions the most because they had the least soil. In central and southern Minnesota, the soil and the plant materials in lakes can counteract that acid. I was surprised to learn that the source of the acid rain in Minnesota, Canada, and the northeastern states was from the oil refineries in Texas. Since scrubbers have been added to refineries and smoke stacks acid rain is no longer a problem. Also we used to have a big hole in the ozone layer because of the ingredients in refrigerator units. Now that refrigerators use other chemicals, the hole in the ozone layer is closing. It's nice to hear some good news for a change. Wolf Ridge has a great program for kids, mostly six and seventh graders, and I was glad to hear they will open up again for classes to visit this fall.