The PondWatch Project

The PondWatch Project

Introduction

Ponds are an important natural resource of your community. A pond is also a good indicator of the present condition of your immediate environment. Every pond supports a variety of life forms that can easily be identified and studied.

Ponds not only provide us with a wealth of resouces, they also afford tremendous recreational value to community members. It is very important that we realize the value of this resource and take steps to protect it from any adverse use or effects.

PondWatch has three different levels of participation:

Publishing reports, drawings and photos of a local watershed.
Replicating pond environments: Lamotte Pondwater Tour kit.
Field monitoring and data submission of a selected pond site.

Classes are invited to participate on any or all levels. The PondWatch project is closely aligned with the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks. Click here to see the various ways that this project fits with the current frameworks.

Purpose of the Project

The purpose of the "PondWatch" project is to make students aware of the importance of ponds as a natural resource. Students will learn about:

mapping and other geographical concepts
watersheds
water characteristics
pond cycles
plants, animals and human activities within watersheds
stewardship and community awareness

Through their investigation of local ponds students will learn important scientific and geographical concepts related to watershed study. Classes without the ability of local site visits to a pond can still participate in the class activity section by using the Lamotte Pondwatchers Kit. On a more advanced level, students may become involved with local conservation commissions in order to develop a knowledge of wetland bylaws and the importance of such legislation.

Project Protocol

All classes that participate in the PondWatch project should register with EduTel by filling out our on-line registration form. A complete list of participating groups will be available in the "Participants Listing" menu.

Materials needed for activities include:

good local map or USGS topographic map

water testing kit or Lamotte Pondwatchers Tour

fish bowls (5) or suitable substitute (2-liter soda bottles)

kitchen baster or suitable substitute (1 to 5)

aluminum foil (4 sq.ft.)

elodea plant (1 bunch)

goldfish or feeder fish ($.10 ea.) from a local aquarium store (2)

coffee filters (only needed if samples of water are cloudy)

2-liter soda bottle

permanent ink markers

timer, clock or watch

sunny counter top or table with good light source

camera and film

The first step for successful participation in "PondWatch" is to secure a good map of your community. You may want to investigate the possibilities of getting a map at your city or town hall assessor's office. Another source for maps is the United States Geologic Survey (USGS) topographic map series. These are usually available at local sporting goods stores or you can obtain an electronic version of your community's "topo" map at the Maptech web site.

Once you have obtained your community map you should choose a watershed that seems suitable for study. If possible, arrange a class visit to the site. Students should take "field notes" during their visit recording all aspects of the local environment. If a class visit is not possible you should supplement this part of the project with your own visit, carefully noting all information that will improve your student's understanding of the area. Bring along a camera to take pictures of the pond and any important activities that you discover in the surrounding watershed.

Students should prepare a report of the watershed including any historical aspects of the pond that you have chosen. Many pond sites have local historical value to their community. Please submit your students finished reports to this web site for publishing. See details for submission requirements.

Monitoring water characteristics is an important aspect for determining the water quality of your pond. Students (or the teacher when class site visits are not possible) should take regular samples of their pond's water, at various locations, in order to get an "overall" assessment of its quality. Any inlets or outlets of the pond should be clearly noted along with all activities that are observed within the immediate watershed. Tests should be performed on collected water samples for; temperature, pH, ammonia, dissolved oxygen and nitrates.

On successive field trips to the area students should note any fish species that they observe along with the presence of macro invertebrates. This data should be submitted along with water characteristics in the data submission form found below.

Data Entry /Download

In order to share information about pond characteristics with others it is important to send your data to the project database for download. All participants that are involved in the active field monitoring component of "PondWatch" are encouraged to submit their data on a regular basis. All data submitted will be made available for download to your client computer via standard FTP methods. Participants should compare their results with others in the project and look for patterns and anomalies. Active communication between participants is encouraged.

Data Submission Page - Click here to submit your PondWatch data.
Data Download Page - this will soon be linked to the download page.

Classroom Activities

We will be providing a few classroom activities that will get you started with the project. Teachers and students are asked to submit their own lessons and ideas for activities so that others in the program can use or modify them for use with their classes. All submittals will be reviewed for publishing on the web site.

Aquatic Environments

Succession

Student Publishing

We are especially interested in publishing student materials. Please review our guidelines for submitting work to be published.