Bonanza Creek Schoolyard LTER Deadman's Slough Monitoring

Ruth Kramer's 4th grade class at University Park Elementary School reports for Fall 2003

We visited Deadman Slough behind our school every Friday last fall from August through October (2003). We collected student samples each visit which we then categorized into animal, plant, water quality, and soil as sampling techniques. We created journals and also did individual animal/fish reports. Lots of parents were involved helping us sample from the slough. We also put out animal traps in the slough which yielded 8 Alaskan Blackfish, 2 Burbot, triops crustaceans, dragonfly larvae, plus assorted insect nymphs. We had an aquarium from Fish and Wildlife set up in the commons of our school which we put all our fish and critters into as it was a cool circulating aqaurium. We were also able to put logs, leaf litter, and plants into this aqaurium and keep it running all winter.