Watershed Environmental Education

Terry’s Creek passes by Rising Sun Montessori School in Floyd, VA. Students first learned about the watershed by looking at maps and discussing what the term “watershed” means. We then hit the road to walk and explore the watershed, seeing the actual terrain we saw on the maps. We learned about how water flows underground and seeps out of the ground, how water falls as precipitation and flows downhill into surface waters, and how wetlands are important to clean and provide areas for flooding. Although we didn’t see the very beginning of the stream, we came close! We also got to see areas that had recently been logged and talked about how that affects how clean the water is and how it affects the “bugs” in the stream.

Labeled Geographic Field Trip Overview

Blue Lines Showing Terry's Creek and Smaller Tributaries

Pictures of Our Watershed Experience!

We learned history too! It's the first African American school in Floyd County.

Hiking to look for seeps in the field above Terry's Creek.

Another bonus! We experienced an old-growth tree - not too many of these around.

After our hike, we got some water samples and tested the water and studied the critters. The pH was 7.0; No turbidity; and great levels of dissolved oxygen. The water was about 50 degrees.

Looking for critters in tributary of Terry's Creek.

Macroinvertebrate Identification Key