WEN teaches the Swan Valley School about stream health

The keystone of The Watershed Education Network (WEN) is its School Stream Monitoring Program.  In this program, WEN teaches students about the importance of watershed health and how to monitor their local rivers.  We recently taught the Swan Valley School and took them out to the river for hands on learning.

We were very excited to take Swan Valley School out to Glacier Creek. The morning started bright and early for the long drive out, and we could tell it was going to be a great morning.  After an almost two-hour drive, we arrived at the stream, parking beside an old rusty bridge, with the river flowing swiftly below.  The kids were unbelievably great, very eager to learn and participate. The groups at each of the stations were a mixture of 2nd, 3rd, and 4th graders and they worked so well together—the older students took on leadership roles, helping the younger students and I think it was really beneficial for the group as a whole.

It was my first time running the physical station and it was a lot of fun!  The kids had a blast throwing the sticks in the water to measure velocity.  Once all of our data was collected, the high number of positive indicating insects collected, combined with our high oxygen content and pristine clear, cold water, we knew Glacier Creek was a promising supply to the Swan River.

The trip ended at the school, where Josh gave a wonderful presentation to the 4th grade classroom about what makes a healthy stream, including what types of conditions are ideal for our native trout populations. The students were then allowed to ask questions, and the only question was directed toward Josh, asking, “do you like healthy foods?” Confused, Josh replied with a “yes” and the student told him, “because Lunchables are 100% healthy!” The students then filed out of the room to the cafeteria, where they would be treated to their much anticipated lunch after a long morning as watershed scientists.


—Megan Girsch
WEN Fall UM Intern

For more information about the School Stream Monitoring Program or WEN, go to montanawatershed.org or email water@montanawatershed.org