Forget the internet! Join the Stream Team! In this course, students will experience “live streaming” of a different kind when we visit the Ellerbee Creek Trail near NCSSM’s campus to retrieve water samples and answer the question “How healthy is the Ellerbee Creek section in the 17-Acre Wood?” Throughout this course, students will develop skills of observation, critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity as they investigate the NCSSM campus and the ecosystems surrounding it.
We begin this course with a review of the characteristics and components of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems while we hunt for ecosystems right here on the campus of NCSSM. Next, we’ll hone our focus on stream ecosystems as we learn about the adaptations, feeding habits, and body parts of aquatic macroinvertebrates and how aquatic macroinvertebrates are linked to water quality. We’ll talk with an Ellerbee Creek Watershed Association representative about how to be “Creek Smart” and we’ll do our own water sampling and identify the macroinvertebrates we find to determine the water quality of this special spot here in the heart of Durham.
