Scioto SWCD

Soil and Water Conservation District

Scioto Soil and Water Conservation District

12167A State Route 104

Lucasville, Ohio 45648

For Immediate Release May 18, 2006

News Release

Contact: Jeff Montavon

Phone: (740) 259-9231

Fax: (740) 259-9168

E-mail: jeff.montavon@oh.nacdnet.net

www.sciotoswcd.org

Minford Students visit Scioto Brush Creek

Unknown to many, but one of the best preserved natural areas in Ohio is located in Northwest Scioto County. Scioto Brush Creek, considered to be one of the cleanest bodies of water in Ohio, hosts a wide diversity of plant and animal life, which includes several of Ohio’s endangered and threatened species. Natural resource professionals from around the state recognize Scioto Brush Creek as being among the best quality streams in Ohio. Annually, the Friends of Scioto Brush Creek invite residents of the community and students from Northwest Elementary School to participate in Scioto Brush Creek Day – a field day designed to stimulate interest and educate the community about this superb natural habitat that flows through their backyards.

Although Northwest Local is the only Scioto County school district within Scioto Brush Creek’s Watershed – the area of land in which rain runoff drains into the stream – other schools from the area are traveling to the stream to use this excellent resource as a teaching tool. On May 17, Mrs. Lori Rolfe’s Fifth Grade Minford Middle School Talented and Gifted class visited Scioto Brush Creek to participate in Stream Quality Monitoring (SQM). To culminate their year long water quality monitoring study of the Scioto River and its watershed, the group visited the stream to make a biological assessment of the species living in Scioto Brush Creek. Students spent the day collecting macroinvertebrates from the stream and determining water quality based on the species found.

Jeff Montavon of the Scioto Soil and Water Conservation District selected Scioto Brush Creek as the sampling site because of the streams superb water quality. “Scioto Brush Creek is teaming with organisms that people often overlook,” explains Montavon. “It’s worth the trip out here because the kids usually find more species of macroinvertebrates here than they would in any other stream in the area.”

SQM or biological monitoring is an important way to assess the quality of a stream. Samples of organisms are collected from the bottom of the stream and based on the species found at the site, students can make a conclusion of the water’s quality. If a significant variety of pollution sensitive organisms – those that will seize to exist in water with slight pollution – is found in a body of water, it is an indication of excellent water quality. Macroinvertebrates are good indicators of a specific area’s water quality as they typically don’t move more than a few feet from a specific location during their lives.

Biological water quality indicators of Scioto Brush Creek are a sign of the streams excellent water quality. Scioto Brush Creek provides habitat for a variety of organisms such as mayfly nymphs, stonefly nymphs, hellgrammites, and a host of other pollution sensitive macroinvertebrates. Students from Minford’s Talented and Gifted Program have visited Scioto Brush Creek to participate in SQM for the past three years. Rolfe is already discussing plans for her students to return to the stream next year.

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