Students Participate in Biomonitoring Workshop
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On Monday, May 6, 2002, F. X. Browne, Inc. conducted a biomonitoring workshop for 11th and 12th grade students from Palisades High School in Kintnersville, PA.  The students, who attend Paul Cross’s Environmental Science class, had been learning about aquatic biology as part of their regular classroom curriculum.  The workshop gave the students a chance to expand their knowledge with a real-life experience. 


Palisades High School Students on site at Cooks Creek


Cook Creek Restoration Project Location

The workshop is part of the Cooks Creek Restoration Project, a local stream improvement initiative sponsored by the Bucks County Chapter of Trout Unlimited and funded by the Pennsylvania Growing Greener Program. 
During the workshop, students learned how to collect and identify aquatic insect samples to determine water quality and how to perform visual assessments of the stream habitat.  A second workshop will be held in the near future at the same location for students to conduct more intensive studies.


Students pick through samples to identify aquatic insects


Groups of students examining samples

 This section of Cooks Creek is scheduled for a stream restoration project to be conducted this fall.   Students from Palisades High School will be assisting with this restoration by planting trees along the stream.  Mr. Cross hopes to continue the student biomonitoring as a permanent part of his curriculum so students can assess the quality of the stream each year.
Scott Douglas, a representative of the Durham Township Environmental Advisory Council and the Cooks Creek Watershed Association was also on hand to assist with the workshop.  The workshop was held on a section of Cooks Creek that runs through Durham Valley Farm owned by Gerald Ulmer. 


Environmental science teacher Paul Cross and Durham Twp. representative Scott Douglas


Students take samples using kick nets

 The Growing Greener Program was signed into law by former Governor Tom Ridge in 1999 and will invest nearly $650 million to preserve farmland and protect open space; eliminate the maintenance backlog in State Parks; clean up abandoned mines and restore watersheds; and provide new and upgraded water and sewer systems.

For more information on the Cooks Creek Restoration Project please call Shandor Szalay at 215-362-3878 or email at sszalay@fxbrowne.com.  Please visit http://www.fxbrowne.com for more information on other projects or services.