Beaufort Watershed Steward (BWS) co-hosted a recent course with Michelle Jones of the Pacific Streamkeepers Federation, with the goal of establishing a benthic invertebrate monitoring program in our watersheds. Yes, we’re adding a 7th monitoring program! Like me, your first question might be “What are benthic invertebrates?” They are organisms, bugs to many of us, who live at the bottom of water habitats. From an environmental science perspective they are important indicator species. Benthic invertebrates are more vulnerable than fish as they cannot swim away from poor water quality or pollutants. So monitoring their numbers over time in a consistent location is an excellent indicator of a stream’s health–they are like the “canary in the coal mine” for streams.
With funding from the Comox Valley Community Foundation, we were able to train a team of BWS volunteers to collect, sort and identify benthic species. Magnifying glasses required! The plan is to monitor six streams twice a year to establish a baseline inventory. With longitudinal data we expect to have sensitive data on stream health in our watersheds.
Many thanks to Michelle for a fabulous course: great fun wading in streams and learning about different bugs!