Each
year science students ate Eastern Middle School in Greenwich are lead
on a field trip to the Mianus River by teachers and Mianus Chapter
volunteers to bring the lessons they have studied in the classroom to
life.
Approximately 50 students receive in-class instruction from their teacher, Erica Gerber, and also from Don Walton and Jeff Yates of the Mianus Chapter. The students learn entomology as part of their overall science learning, and then are brought out into the real world to apply the lessons they have learned in the classroom.
At the Mianus River, the students are split into small groups to study and record the
insect population and diversity in the river, as well as to take water
quality, temperature and flow measurements. Each group is assigned a
Mianus TU "expert" to help them determine the type of insect they are
looking at and teach the proper collection methods.
At the end of
the project, the students compile their studies into a report which
provides an excellent overview of the overall health of the Mianus
River.
The studies and reports over the past two years have shown the Mianus River to be fairly clean with a wide diversity of insects, despite the heavy pressure it receives from park users. Over the years, it is hoped a baseline of the river quality can be determined and trends in water quality and insect diversity can be noticed and addressed if needed.
