The Mississippi Wildlife Federation’s Adopt-A-Stream program would like to offer programs for Envirothon students to help increase knowledge regarding the following Envirothon Aquatic Ecology key points:

• Methods of conserving water and reducing point and non-point source pollution.
• Identify common aquatic organisms that relate to water quality.
• Identify major Families and common names of native Mississippi fish.
• Identify common names of aquatic plants.
• Learn to delineate the watershed boundary for a small water body.
• Learn to describe the changes to the aquatic ecosystem based on alteration to the aquatic habitat.
• Identify the processes and phases for each part of the water cycle.
• Explain the different types of aquifers and how each type relates to water quantity and quality.
• Describe the benefits of riparian and wetland areas; including both function and value.
• Learn methods used to assess and manage aquatic environments. Use water quality to assess the general water quality of a specific body of water. Learn chemical testing of water to determine water quality.

The programs are generally 1-2 hours of classroom time. If the group is interested and a stream or other body of water is available the program can also be expanded to include field study. (Field studies involve hands on use of the World Water Monitoring Challenge chemical kits. We will conduct water quality test for temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, and turbidity (clarity) which will help determine the quality of the water. We will then survey and identify macroinvertebrates that are found in different water quality with dip nets and trays.)