Volunteer teachers wanted for elementary school water quality program Fall 2019.
Each fall, Green Mountain Conservation Group (GMCG) visits schools in the Ossipee Watershed
to monitor local rivers and streams to assess their health using macro-invertebrates as bio indicators through a program called Volunteer Biological Assessment Program (VBAP). A volunteer and teacher training for VBAP will be held on Friday, August 16, from 1:00-3:30 p.m. at GMCG’s Blue Heron House, located at 236 Huntress Bridge Road, Effingham, NH. The training will be led by NH Fish & Game’s Judy Tumosa and GMCG’s Tara Schroeder. Anyone is welcome to sign up to learn more and help with the fall school programs.
Register at: https://nhfishandgame.com/EventWeb/Event/ReservedEvents
Passcode=VBAP2019
VBAP is coordinated by GMCG through NH Fish & Game, and brings elementary school students across seven towns to local streams and rivers to search for macro-invertebrates, which are small aquatic insects that can be biological indicators of environmental health. Along with this, students also learn how to use equipment to sample for water quality, take environmental observations, and learn of the importance of the natural resources of the Ossipee Watershed. The student scientists who participate in VBAP each year are excited to share their accomplishments, hard work, and all that they have learned about water quality with the community and report their findings on the health of their local rivers and streams. Each year, a different watershed school designs a VBAP t-shirt. Shirts are also available for purchase which helps support GMCG’s water literacy programs.
VBAP is a coordinated effort with volunteer organizations to develop a statewide screening protocol for documenting the biological condition of wadeable streams. The protocol is designed for individuals and youths with or without professional training. The three major goals of the program are:
• To supplement biological data collected by NHDES staff.
• To educate the public about water quality issues as interpreted through biological assessments.
• To build a constituency of citizens to practice sound water quality management at a local level and build public support for water quality protection.
GMCG has been protecting the natural resources of the Ossipee Watershed since 1997. For more information about this program, or GMCG, please visit gmcg.org or contact them at (603) 539-1859. Like them on Facebook to keep up with what is happening around the Ossipee Watershed!
