Try something different. Here is an opportunity to do some citizen science and collect insects for a real measure of stream quality. The aquatic insects being collected, when identified to family level, provides a direct measure of stream quality. Plus, you get an intimate view of life in the river.
This is the fifth year for the Benzie Conservation District collecting insects from rivers and streams in Benzie County. This year is the third where members of the TAPC will have a chance to help out. We again will collect at three sites along the Upper Platte River; Reynolds Road, Veteran's Park and Indian Hill Road. We had a great team last fall and hope to have such good representation from the paddle club again.
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. John Ransom will be doing a training event at the district office in Beulah at 10:00am on Monday, May 9, 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 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.