Monitoring stream health
Stream health monitoring and assessment is a hands-on look at a freshwater ecosystem. It involves the measurement of water quality indicators and observations of the physical and biological features of a local waterway.
In this activity, students use a variety of water quality indicators to gather data about a local stream. The activity provides step-by-step instructions, protocols, recording sheets and how-to videos for monitoring stream health.
Stream health monitoring and assessment
How do we know whether a stream is healthy or not? Stream monitoring and assessment is important to understanding the impacts of land use on waterways.
Regional councils may have stream health monitoring and assessment equipment available for community use. Contact your local council for information on how to borrow a set and whether the council can offer assistance with monitoring.
Stream health monitoring offers opportunities for cross-curricular learning and practice using the science capabilities. The article Rivers and Us – a context for learning has additional information about curriculum links, pedagogy and resources to support teaching and learning.
By the end of this activity, students should be able to:
measure physical factors including clarity, temperature and pH
measure the water velocity of the stream flow
collect and sample macroinvertebrates living in the stream
assess the stream habitat
use the data they’ve collected to consider potential actions they can take to improve the stream habitat and water quality.
Download the Word file (see link below).
Related content
The interactive Water quality indicators has videos of senior water quality scientist Dr Eloise Ryan explaining a number of indicators used when monitoring stream health and why they are important.
In this recorded webinar Alex Daniel from the Waikato Regional Council shares her approach to planning for a successful stream monitoring experience.
Environmental DNA is a tool scientists use to monitor freshwater ecosystems. Find out more about environmental DNA and use this hands-on and feet-on activity to ‘sample’ eDNA in a lake system.
Acknowledgement
This activity has been developed in partnership with the Waikato Regional Council as part of the Rivers and Us resource.
Waikato Regional Council
Waikato Regional Council is a local government body. They work with communities, iwi and industry to sustainably manage natural resources, enabling a strong economy and a high quality of life for all. Their activities help look after the region's water, soil, air, geothermal areas and coasts.
