Dam tour

When we all when to the Dam I've never been to one before. The time and effort that goes into keeping them running is a lot of work. The gates that keep the water back are very big and the machine to lift the gates are very large and must be very hard to maintain. Hey Joe the tree uses for the Dam is flood control, low flow augmentation, and recreation.   

       

Lunch!! June 25th

Today, we got hot dogs from Eddie's. A local place that has foot long hot dogs with a plethora of toppings. There was a torrential downpour happening at the exact moment we were getting hot dogs so, we ate in the van! The hot dogs were killer and the french fries were also amazing. After we finished eating a terribly healthy lunch, we haaad to get ice cream. Across the road from Eddie's was a small ice cream place called Casey's. All the ice cream was homemade. To say it was delicious is an absolute understatement. I got Cinnamon Bun. There was large chunks of an actual cinnamon bun in it. Everyone else said they loved it too. Lunch was exquisite.

Electrofishing!

Yesterday we went upstream on Woodcock Creek to meet up with Jay Gerber of the PA Department of Environmental Protection. He showed us how to electroshock fish. He would lead the pack with all of us
following with nets.

As Jay went fish would be stunned and we would scoop em up. we ended up with 13 different species including but not limited to: yellow bullhead, several species of darters, mottled sculpins, and creek chubs.

The Spillway in Pymatuning National Park

      In the small town of Linesville is a must see attraction, The Spillway in Pymatuning National Park!  In the Spillover, there is a variety of wildlife for people to see, including Mallard Ducks, Canadian Geese, and an abundance of Carp.  At one particular spot in the Spillover, the water pours into a small pool that lets out in the other end of the Pymatuning lake.  In this larger pool, there are many carp, and out of the pool as well. Many visitors even bring whole bags of bread to feed the Carp, Ducks, and Geese, which honestly is not the best idea, but it is a lot of fun!  If ever in the town of Linesvilles, make sure to stop at the Spillway, you will not be disappointed!    

Carr-den Garden

This morning, we braved the rain to visit a garden on Allegheny College's campus.  This garden, located out of Carr Hall and called the Carr-den, grows vegetables, fruits, and herbs that make their way to the dining halls.

First, we were inside Carr Hall for a quick lesson on why they grow their own food and the plants themselves.  We learned about the plant families and companion planting.  It was pretty surprising to learn that broccoli and kale are in the same family!  We also tried to identify seeds with limited success - we were able to identify the peppers and peas, but the lettuce and broccoli were much more difficult.

Then we went outside.  We were able to see the entire garden of fruit, vegetables, and herbs.  The garden is located on a hill, so they use raised beds to decrease the water runoff.  After all, all of the water makes its way into French Creek.  Everything grown in the garden is organic.  A special compost is created on campus, creating a unique cycle.  The produce from the garden is taken to the dining halls.  Then the excess is thrown into the compost bins around the halls and added to the compost, which is put on the soil to help the plants grow.

Owl hike with Professor Mumme

    Last night the Creek Campers joined Allegheny professor, Ron Mumme, on owlsome owl sightings.We started out by walking around campus to see if we could sight some screech owls.  Which we did see and got some great pictures taken by fellow camper Garret. The owls would flee back and forth between the trees and the college buildings. In total we saw five screech owls who were short and fluffy little creatures with wide eyes. After being on campus we then drove to Greendale cemetery to try and locate the Bard owl, unfortunately the Bard owl did not appear and instead everyone was concentrated on the grave yard's spirits.

Meranda crotsley visiting

Today Meranda Crotsley came by and talked about the coal mines in Pennsylvania. She brought a lot of cool items that people that worked in the mines used. We learned about how going in the mines is really bad and how you may die when your in it. She also thought us that over time water finds its way down the mines and getting into the bedrock and causing it to break down the iron. Water can always find a way out and when it move out it can causes a lot of  iron to settle in the water making it hard to with stain life.

Stream Tables- Hannah

Yesterday afternoon us creek campers went to the Alden building to see a model of how a stream changes over time. Sam talked about why these changes in the river occur and what causes them. Camille talked to us about the Geology of the river, and she told us lots of cool facts about rocks. At the end of the presentation we got to play in the water and sand!


 

Macro invertebrates and Water Chemistry

Today we went upstream in the Wood Cock dam area. 

Temperature: 20*C

PH: 7.1

Total dissolved solids: 120

Turbidity: 20

Dissolved Oxygen: 13.5

Alkalinity: 126.5

Nitrogen: 0.5

Phosphorus: 0

Pollution Toleration Index: 36.4 (Which is Fair)

Number of Taxa: 9

We found different macro invertebrates than yesterday. We found 3 Water Penny larvae. That's really exciting because the Water Penny Larvae show good signs good water quality.We also 3 Crayfish. We didn't find any yesterday downstream. So it was pretty nifty. 

There was a less abundance of different species. We found 9 different species compared to the 16 from yesterday. The 9 species we found show signs of good water quality because they are sensitive to pollution.

Love,

Emily and Mimi

Research Project and Macro ID

A far cry from this morning's in-the-field stream testing, we spent the evening testing two methods of insect identification.  The first method was the traditional dichotomous key, with paragraphs of field marks and characteristics of each macroinvertebrate we attempted to identify.  We managed to stumble through three identifications, but we struggled with the terminology and the lack of clear pictures.

Then we were introduced to the other method.  This method was a new, interactive website created by Carnegie Museum of Natural History.  This website had great photos and a lot of information that was very easy to navigate through.  Using this new website, we identified three macroinvertebrates accurately and quickly.

Identification Website

At the end, we had a discussion on which source we preferred, as well as the pros and cons of each.  The website was clearly the favorite, but we recognized that the website needs WiFi and a device that has to stay dry - which certainly aren't guaranteed while testing a creek!

water chemistry Hannah and Chris McAfee

this morning we went to downstream Woodcock creek. The main things we looked at were water temperature, pH, total dissolved solids, turbidity, dissolved oxygen, alkalinity, nitrogen, and phosphorus. we took 2 samples of water from the creek and did test on them for each category. We also looked at Pollution Tolerance Index and the Number of Taxa. We tested for these by kick netting. Kick netting is when two people hold each side of a net and another person stands in front of the net to kick up sediment from the bottom of the creek to catch micro organisms. We received good results from the majority of our tests. We got a lot cool looking micro organisms as seen below 

 

Opening Day!

Today was our first day at camp. Everyone met and got to know each other through some games. At dinner we played a fun game called whip around. The point of the game was to learn a little bit about everyone by asking questions. After dinner we did a geo cache to get to know the campus. we had a ton of fun making the ultimate name by combining all our name tags together. It got to the point where no one could pronounce it. 

Are You Ready!?

HEY NEW CREEKERS!

Time is moving quickly, and Creek Camp is almost here!  Not to worry though, your counsels have an amazing week full of fun.  We have been working hard to make sure that everything is perfect for when you all arrive! Below is a picture of us (Will, Camille, Kaitlynn, Kelcy, Jake, Taiji, and Graham) getting ready for one of your first activities, but we can't tell you exactly what it is yet!  All you need to know is that we are more than excited for the week that we are all going to spend together!  Make sure to rest up, check your packing lists, and get here quick!

Creek Connections Creek Camp Video

Creek Connections Creek Camp

Check it Out!!

A Final Word

We're so sad to see you Creekers go! We had such an amazing time and wish we could do it all again. From geocaching to the time you all bravely stood up and gave your final presentation, each of you made us laugh and enjoy our time being your counselors. Don't forget to let your friends all know about your experience and encourage them to sign up for our camps next summer too! Also, if you want to keep in touch with Creek Connections or have any questions for us, you can find us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter! We hope to hear from you all soon!

- Your Doting Counselors.

Lucky Owls

     The day came! We were supposed to go to looking for owls on Monday night and we were all very disappointed in not going because we were all very excited, but believe me the waiting was worth it! Today we finally went looking for owls and we were really lucky! Laura told us that the camp session from last week had a lot of trouble looking for owls and let me let you how lucky we were. So we went in our creek van to drove around the Allegheny neighborhood and stopped in front of a house surrounded by the woods, we got out of the van, we turn on the recorded turn on the owl song that imitated their sound and in less then 10 seconds we found an owl! It was really excited, but the poor owl was being chased my the robins that didn't like him, poor thing. After that we went by the bridge in campus and we found 3 owls in less than 30 seconds! It was incredible! 

That is us looking for owls

The first owl that we saw :O

The second owl that we saw by the Allegheny bridge

Surviving the MINES!

Miranda from Jennings Environmental Education Center came to talk to us the other day about the good 'ol mining days and the negative impact abandoned mine drainage can have on streams. We even played a interactive board game where we were the game pieces! In the game we all tried to survive the mine. I sadly didn't. Evan even got to put on all the old mining gear, which was pretty funny. Then Miranda gave us water samples from the stream in Jennings to test. It turned out that one was much better than the other. Both samples were actually from Jennings, and both were affected by abandoned mine drainage but the healthy sample had been put through Jennings Eco-friendly filtration system. With their system, they use all natural earth friendly means of filtering the water, and it has been proved highly effective. It was cool to get to listen to Miranda explain the life of miners and about Jenning's filteration system!

Some more Herp Hunting

As my fellows creek camper mentioned , today we went herp hunting at the Bousson Preserve. It was a really interesting experience and we all learned a lot from it as we had to find and identify different species of salamanders, snakes and frogs. Here are some pictures from the activity

Stars, Stars, Stars!

Professor Lombardi, was the man who led us on a great journey into space. We began by entering the planetarium to a dark and mysterious room with a dome as a roof. We began our journey talking about stars, constellations, and black holes. We discussed these in detail and then the lights dimmed. He then turned on the star projector and let our minds wander. It was really beautiful, and will remain with me for the rest of my life. Signing off for Creek Camp Session II 2013
Stay frosty campers.

Herp Hunt!

    Today we went HERP HUNTING! What? Yeah that is the same thing that I said.What is herp hunting, well herp means crawling creators in greek. Before we went to look for crawling creatures we had a small presentation from a herpetologist, she studies reptiles and amphibians and she was nice enough to share her knowledge with us. We learned a few types of salamanders, snakes and frogs that we might encounter during our trip to the woods. After she talked to us we also had the opportunity to touch her snakes and turtles and feed them which was pretty cool. 

   Then we finally went to the woods and looked for little salamanders and frogs along the woods. This was really fun! This was the first time that I did this and I didn't know it was that simple to find salamanders. You just have to carefully look under a rock or long near a stream. Okay, well it's not that simple, you have to be in the right place but that is the general idea of it. 

Heather feeding a turtle!

Northern Red Salamander