Conservation and Cub Scouts

"All things are connected, like the blood that unites one family. Whatever befalls the earth, befalls the sons of the earth.  Man did not weave the web of life; he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself."- Chief Seattle

The Scouts and Leaders of Pack 230 could not possible put it better than Chief Seattle did. Nature is a finite resource we all share.  

Since its inception Scouting has concerned itself with conservation and the preservation of our natural resources!  Today more than ever environmental problems represent an issue to which young people are particularly sensitive.   Protecting the environment represents a significant challenge for young people.   It has both a universal and spiritual dimension and it is a determining factor for the future quality of individual and social life.   Consequently, we believe actions to protect the environment can and should be used as a priority vehicle for the educational goals of Cub Scouting.

Pack 230 is doing its part to ensure that our Scouts are educated and socially committed to conservation and the stewardship of our natural resources.

Delaware Stream Watch - Lower Shellpot Creek

Pack 230 has joined other conservation aware individuals in monitoring the health of our hydro-ecology.  The Bear den is now checking the health of the Lower Shellpot Creek each season to determine the health of the stream.   Data collected by the Bears is sent to the Ashland Nature Center where it is correlated with data sent by other groups monitoring the stream and others like it throughout the Piedmont Basin.  

The Piedmont Basin and Shellpot Creek
Click the map for a larger view of Delaware's River Basins.

Named for the geological area in which it resides, the Piedmont Basin encompasses the Naamans Creek, Shellpot Creek, Red Clay Creek, White Clay Creek, and Christina River watersheds.  The Piedmont Basin's many streams, wetlands, and tidal rivers support uniquely diverse fish and wildlife populations, provide abundant recreational opportunities, and supply approximately 70% of the drinking water for New Castle County.

The Stream Adoption program allows individuals to provide an assessment of stream health and serve as a screen for problem situations.  Stream Adoption began with a workshop in which the Cub Scouts were trained how to determine water quality and locate pollution sources on the adopted stream.  

How the Program Works

There are three methods of survey, including visual, macro invertebrate, and physical or chemical assessments.  A visual survey is simply a check for litter, discoloration, fish kills and other signs of pollution.

The Visual Survey
Beginning with a 100 yard section of the stream the Scouts evaluate the overall condition of the stream.  They check the streams velocity (how fast is it moving), its width and depth, they evaluate the condition of the bottom (rocky, sandy, muddy), and check to see how much algae is on the bottom.  Scouts then check the area for litter and inorganic materials that don't belong.  Finally, they check the water to assess its odor, color, and surface coating.

Scout checking water odor

Chemical/Physical Survey
After completing the visual survey, Scouts will check the chemical and physical conditions of the stream area.  Scouts will evaluate the air and water temperature, then check the streams pH and dissolved Oxygen content.

Scout checking pH

Biological Survey
Finally, the Scouts will do a biological survey of the stream.   Scouts get to search the stream for any living organisms they can find.   In addition to being the part the scouts like best (they get to get wet ...inevitably...) this is the best overall indicator of the stream's health -- what living organisms will the stream support.  

Larva and small organisms discovered.

Conclusion
After collecting their data the Scouts provide an overall rating to the stream.   This is harder than it looks since the boys need to retain their objectivity, as well as rely on their accumulated data rather than projecting their own hopes onto the conclusion.  

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Field blog:
November 2003
A mild day (thank goodness). Water is moving pretty fast...about that of a fast walk.  The temperature is about the same as the air - 60ish.  We've recorded the water depth as 27" with a stream width of 15' 11".   The streambed is made up of varying sized rounded stone and gravel.  We've found some litter, but suspect it has come downstream as a result of the heavy rains we had last month.  It's obvious there has been a lot of water through the area as we are seeing lots of debris piled up around the bends of the stream.  Big excitement when our scouts discovered a dead opossum.   Aside from a few wet feet we only had one scout fully immersed.  I chalk that up as a win!

February 2004
We're grateful for another nice day!  The Opossum is gone (yes that's the first thing the scouts checked).  Apparent changes in the stream this winter.   The stream is much smaller and colder than it was back in the fall; only 40 degrees.   The stream is about 12' wide and down to about 18" deep.  We are also seeing a lot more algae growing along the stream bottom.   Rocks and sand are all covered with a very slippery coating.   Searching for signs of life in the stream was much harder and we didn't find much of anything.   As usual, our scouts managed to get wet...no big surprise...but we also had two leaders go down!   Sorry, no pictures.... ;-)

May 2004
Big changes from the cold dead stream we were seeing back in February!  There's lots growing on the bottom of the stream.  We're seeing long stranded algae coating much of the stream bed.  There is some multi-colored algae near the edges of the stream.  We're not sure if this is just algae that has been exposed to air as the stream rises and falls.  The stream is much higher than when we saw it last; about 23" deep and broader as well.   We're not finding many fly larva - perhaps to early in the season - but it's been warm.  We are finding planaria in fairly large numbers.  Generally, not a good sign for our stream's water quality.  We set a record for getting a scout wet; 10 seconds after reaching the stream we had a scout completely immersed.  Anybody else detecting a trend here?

August 2004
A late afternoon start and we're already losing daylight.  Excitement, excitement!  We're having trouble getting the scouts to focus beyond the variety of minnows they have discovered.  For the record, they caught 10 - 12 or them; varying sizes from 3/4 inch to 1 1/2 inches.  Finding planaria again as well as quite a collection of snails.  Our insect chart says the snails we are finding are not of a variety that indicates clean water.  We're finding evidence of may fly but aren't seeing any larva.  Water level is back down, but this isn't surprising as it's been dry for the last several weeks.  Water level is below 12" and we are having trouble recalling exactly where we have been measuring stream width as the lowered water level has changed the way the stream looks.   Our best estimate says a width of 9 ' wide.  And!  We've broken our streak...nobody's wet!

Click here to see more photo's from our Fall Stream Watch!