Team of the Month - July 2011

Since this is not an award, but rather a way for the Stream Teams in the St. Louis area to get to know each other, our first Team of the Month was easy for me to pick - it is the team that I run at the Litzsinger Road Ecology Center.

Deer Creek near Laclede Station Road

Stream Team 2760, the LREC Stream Team, has been working together since about 2005 to collect water quality data on Deer Creek, a tributary of the River des Peres that flows through several communities in the 'inner ring' suburbs of St. Louis.  For the past 3 years, the team has been monitoring water quality on a monthly basis at seven sites in the watershed.  A recently completed report summarizing the results of their monitoring shows that high chloride and low dissolved oxygen are threatening aquatic life in Deer Creek.

In addition to the monthly water chemistry, the LREC Stream Team has been monitoring aquatic macroinvertebrates twice per year in Deer Creek near Litzsinger Road.  The stream has had surprising diversity, including caddisflies, riffle beetles, and at least two families of mayflies!

Besides their frequent water monitoring activities, the LREC Stream Team teaches children about watersheds, water pollution, and other related topics using their stream table, an EnviroScape model, and walking trips at the Ecology Center. They also hold periodic litter pick-up events to remove trash that floats into their half-mile stretch of Deer Creek.

This Stream Team is always open to participation of new members, including those who have been recently trained and need to get a bit of experience under their belts before going out on their own.  For information on upcoming monitoring opportunities with Stream Team 2760, contact Danelle.