Save Our Streams Workshop

Do you wonder if it’s safe for your children or pets to play in Muddy Branch and other neighborhood streams? Fertilizer, car fluids, pet waste, sewage overflow, and many other pollutants wash into our streams every time it rains and can be dangerous in high levels.

You can check the water quality in your neighborhood – and get that information to people who can help clean up your waterways.

Please join us for a special water quality monitoring training lead by staff from the Izaak Walton League – the nation’s experts in training citizens to test local waters. You will learn to collect underwater insects and crustaceans – indicators of water quality – with minimal environmental impact. You will also learn to test for basic chemical properties, such as the amount of dissolved oxygen available for fish, and how to share your results through our user-friendly Web site.

You'll take home several League publications, including the Field Guide to Aquatic Macroinvertebrates, Guide to Aquatic Insects and Crustaceans, and Watershed Stewardship Action Kit. These publications alone are more than a $25 value. You can read more about these titles on our Stream and Wetland Publications Web page.

At the end of the training, we will help you identify sites that need monitoring on Muddy Branch. Information will be available for anyone who wants to engage children in learning about stream ecology with fun and simple hands-on activities.

Early Bird Registration Fee: $20 (which includes lunch, snacks and all books and workshop materials). Early Bird rate available through September 1, 2011. Fee increases to $35 after September 1. Visit our Registration Page for details.

Questions? Contact Leah Miller, Izaak Walton League Clean Water Program Director, at 301-548-0150 x 219 or leah@iwla.org.

This workshop is made possible through a partnership of the Izaak Walton League of America, the Muddy Branch Alliance, and the City of Gaithersburg.