For 25 years, the Audubon Naturalist Society in Chevy Chase, Maryland, has been teaching the natural history of aquatic ecology and training volunteer stream monitors who track the health of our region’s streams. Learn from the experts: study stream science in our introductory classes, and you just might be inspired to become a stream monitor yourself! Registration is required: register online at www.anshome.org/adults. The classes are open to anyone 10 years and older.
Introduction to Stream Science
Classroom Session
Healthy Stream Biology
Woodend Sanctuary, 8940 Jones Mill Road, Chevy Chase, MD
Section A: Thursday, January 25 (7-9:30 pm)
Section B: Thursday, March 15 (7-9:30 pm)
(Both sections A & B cover the same material)
Members $15; nonmembers $25
In the classroom, we will explore how “benthic macroinvertebrates” — organisms that live in the bottom of our streams – help us assess the streams’ health. We will learn how to identify these organisms to the taxonomic level of order through a PowerPoint presentation and by examining preserved specimens through a hands-on session with microscopes.
Field Workshop
Saturday, March 17 (9:30 am – noon)
Ten Mile Creek, Boyds, MD
Members $15; nonmembers $25
In the field workshop, we will visit a stream to practice monitoring techniques and to collect and identify the benthic macroinvertebrates we find.
Aquatic Insect Family ID
Woodend Sanctuary, 8940 Jones Mill Road, Chevy Chase, MD (7-9 pm)
Section A: Beetles, Megaloptera & Water Bugs, Thursday, February 1
Section B: Caddisflies & Aquatic Moths, Thursday, February 8
Section C: Dragonflies, Damselflies & True Flies, Thursday, February 15
Section D: Mayflies, Thursday, February 22
Section E: Stoneflies & Review, Thursday, March 1
Fee for each section: members $15; nonmembers $25
Learn how to identify aquatic insects to the taxonomic level of family through this series of five classes. Identification to family level greatly enhances our understanding of stream ecology and the power of our monitoring data.
How to Read Your Stream
Thursday, April 5 (7-9:30 pm)
Woodend Sanctuary, 8940 Jones Mill Road, Chevy Chase, MD
Members $15; nonmembers $25
Learn about the influence of land uses on streams, stream character and dynamics, bank erosion, bar formation, substrate composition, different velocity-depth regimes, and the importance of riffles and riparian vegetation. We will practice assessing stream habitat by using the forms that monitors fill out in the field. This class is recommended for anyone who plans to participate in the ANS water quality monitoring program and is a good refresher on habitat assessment for experienced monitors.
