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Bioassessment Field Trip to the

Fenton River

(Writing by Olin, AnhKhoa, Anna, and Eamon; Data analysis and graphs by Jason, Gavin, Nadia, Skyler, Jocelyn, and Nicholas; Photos by Helen and Alex, selected by Adam and David; Layout, editing, and captions by David)

 
Using the Riffle Net

 

Once we did that we would slosh in the water in front of the net.  Hopefully bugs would wash into the net while we were sloshing. 

On Wednesday the 29th of September the 9-12 class went to the Fenton River.  At the river we got these cool nets, went in the river, and looked for bugs.  In the river we would find a spot with moderately fast water then plant the nets (with the rods on the sides of the nets). 

Finding the Insects
Drawing on the Riverbank

 

When we were done in the river we would go draw bugs.  I drew a dragonfly nymph, a common stone fly, and a worm (I don’t know what type of worm it was).  It was fun because when everyone was done we went into the river and looked for crayfish; I found one that was about 5 inches long and 2 inches wide.

 

When we got back to school we identified the bugs.  After lunch we classified the insects in ice cube trays.  Then we identified them all and put a number of how many species we had.  We classified them into most wanted, moderately wanted, and least wanted groups.  We wrote the numbers from each group on a chart to see how many we had in all.
Sorting through the Sample

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Back in the Classroom
 
 

 

We found 155 invertebrates of 20 different kinds.  33 individuals of 8 kinds were "most wanted" (can only live in clean water), 106 individuals of 6 types were "moderately wanted" (can live in clean or slightly polluted water), and 16 individuals of 6 types were "least wanted" (can live in almost any water).
Our master results chart
Number of Each Kind of Insect
Number of Insects in Each Tolerance group
Number of Insects in Each Tolerance Group.
Number of Types of Insects in Each Tolerance Group
We collected 10 Samples.  Some had many insects in them and some only a few.

 
Over 75 rivers around the state of Connecticut were sampled by different people in 2009.  Our classroom visited the Fenton River and found 6 to 8 “most wanted” types as opposed to 4-5 from other sampling sessions in most other rivers.  Only 3 other rivers (Shepaug River 10/10/09, East Branch Salmon Brook 10/10/09 and Shepaug River 10/22/09) had 6 “most wanted” types and only 2 had 7 “most wanted” types.  This shows the Fenton River has among the best water quality of rivers all over Connecticut.
Drawing by the River

A few quotes from students:

Will: “I liked the free time when we caught crayfish.”

Nadia: “It was fun.”

Gavin: “I really liked it.  I especially liked the part in the river.”

Maizey: “I really liked the river part.”

Quinn: “I liked it all.”

 

 

Oak Grove Montessori School

132 Pleasant Valley Road Mansfield, CT 06250-1521
Telephone 1.860.456.1031 Fax 1.860.456.2907
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