May 28th, 2019, twenty-three students from Ms. Patterson’s class at Flagstaff Junior Academy finally had a well deserved trip to Griffith’s Spring to remove invasive species and study water health.

 

The previous day, students participated in several simulations to look at both how invasive species disrupt an ecosystem and the way energy flows from producers, to primary, secondary, and tertiary consumers in an ecosystem. Once our big day arrived, we traveled to the spring to analyze aquatic macro invertebrates and remove invasive weeds.

 

This group was incredibly enthusiastic about both the weed removal and the exploration of the base of the trophic pyramid in the water! By this point in the season there were also a ton of tadpoles too! While not an invertebrate, and important indicator of water quality and ecosystem health!

 

We had a blast and it was a perfect way to end the season for us and for them!