Try something different. Here is an opportunity to collect insects for a real measure of stream quality. This is the third year for Mike Jones and the Benzie Conservation District collecting insects from rivers and streams in Benzie County. The aquatic insects being collected, when identified to family level, provides a direct measure of stream quality.
This year, Mike is letting me head up the Platte River team. We had a team in May and it would be nice to have TAPC representation again for this fall's event.
A sampling team consists of people wading the river taking samples from all the habitats at each site, a runner who brings samples to shore, and people sorting and preserving insects from the samples. So, people with their own waders are a plus. Mike Jones will be doing a training event at the district office in Beulah before the event, so if you are interested in some training on sampling or bug identification before the event please call him (website is www.benziecd.org). Otherwise I will train you on the spot.
We usually start at 9 am, first meeting at the park in Beulah to check in, and the collecting takes until about 2 pm. The Conservation District has been treating volunteers to lunch.
So if you are interested in seeing some of the life that we usually canoe over, then this is for you.