Lewis Creek Association Projects and Programs

Education
Student River Monitoring and Citizenship Wildlife Habitat & Tracking
Since 1992, the LCA has provided training and assistance for studying and gathering information about Lewis Creek to teachers and students in watershed schools. Data collected and analyzed include pH, alkalinity, phosphates, temperature, benthic macroinvertebrates, wildlife tracks, and bacteria. In addition to assisting with field trips, we have presented slide shows to students and led them in stream bank stabilization projects along the creek. We have also delivered teacher training about benthic macroinvertebrates.   Student displays, posters, and presentations have been generated through this program. In 1997, awards were presented to winners of a poster contest for tenth graders at Mt. Abraham Union High School. Ninth grade students at Champlain Valley Union High School presented to the LCA board an overview of the water quality findings of students during the previous five years.  Ten area schools have participated, and programs continue annually through the Champlain Valley Union and Mt. Abraham Union high schools.
A dozen teachers and more than 1,000 students have been involved over the years at the four area high schools (which include Vergennes Union and Middlebury Vocational). Seven teachers have been involved at the elementary and middle school levels, with more than 500 students participating. These efforts contribute to the LCA’s goal of developing a more educated citizenry with the skills needed to restore and preserve the creek corridor and watershed. We are also helping to build a stronger connection between the schools and their local communities. Special thanks also to the other following schools that we work with and support: Starksboro's Robinson School, Bristol Elementary School, Charlotte Central School, Hinesburg Elementary School, Monkton Central School and Ferrisburgh Central School.
Student River Monitoring and Citizenship A Curriculum Unit
The Lewis Creek Association (LCA) River Watch Program for Schools worked closely with three watershed area high schools to produce this Vermont standards-based unit for Vermont high schools. The unit includes biological, chemical, and physical tests while emphasizing the importance of water quality monitoring and stewardship in the local community. This project was funded by the Vermont Watershed Fund of the Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife, an education grant from Lake Champlain Basin Program, and by the citizens and towns in the Lewis Creek watershed.
Very special thanks go to three teachers from the Lewis Creek watershed high schools, Gay Mary Craig of Champlain Valley Union High School, Shelly Snyder of Mount Abraham Union High School, and Judy Wiger of Vergennes Union High School. It was their collaboration and ideas that made this project a success.
Finally, it is most important to note the invaluable knowledge and encouragement, both in the classroom and in the field, which we have all received from Dr. Dan Bean, Professor Emeritus of Saint Michael’s College and board member of the Vermont Academy of Arts and Sciences. Dr. Bean has faithfully shared his great depth of experience and has encouraged us all to develop a more educated citizenry by helping our student citizens gain the skills and understanding needed to actively restore rivers to a healthy and more natural state.
The special features of this unit involve the inclusion of four components--field, laboratory, classroom, and community. Equipment and books were purchased to support this unit. The books used with this unit include Guide to Water Quality Monitoring, Testing the Waters, Guide to Macroinvertebrate Sampling, Living Waters, and The Lake Champlain Basin Atlas (see bibliography).
Equipment used in this watershed included boots, trays, and nets for macroinvertebrate sampling. These materials are loaned out by LCA and utilized for community and educational projects in the Lewis Creek watershed. Other materials needed for this unit must be purchased, or might be received through the University of Vermont’s extension outreach program, The Watershed Alliance. The Watershed Alliance also provides teacher assistance and support from highly qualified UVM students. Lewis Creek Association and the Watershed Alliance are currently working to pursue the possible creation of a UVM website for Vermont schools and watershed groups to enter their water quality data, view results from other schools and groups, and compare collective results with Vermont Water Quality Standards.  Currently, this curriculum may be downloaded here: Curriculum
Curriculum Addenda These are PDF files that are viewed with Adobe Acrobat Reader.  If you don't have the program, you need to download it here.  Please be patient it will take a few minutes to view the newsletter, but you may scroll through it, and print it out when it comes into view with Adobe Acrobat Reader. Then, you can save it to a file on your hard drive for later viewing.
Wildlife Habitat and Tracking
Citizens in the Champlain Valley have been fascinated with the region’s abundant and diverse wildlife populations.  Since the mid 1990’s, Lewis Creek Association was encouraged to promote local wildlife habitat lands as important to residents’ quality of life and sense of place. Annual field trips, the LCA Roadside Wildlife Count, and discussions with wildlife biologists have all encouraged LCA to produce needed maps and databases to help with town and regional conservation planning.
The Lewis Creek watershed drains 80 square miles in 6 towns south of Burlington into the Great Lake Champlain. Each year, citizens trek the winter snows to survey known wildlife road crossings and to learn about local wildlife.  Tracks, sign, and habitat knowledge have contributed to a map of the active road crossings and wildlife travel corridors in the region.   Each marked crossing on LCA’s map depicts location  with a color-coded "pie chart" symbol for each species tracked.  This event offers citizens a way to “turn the table” and view the landscape as home to the local wildlife community. Submitted data forms help LCA compile information while all mapping is generated by Addison County Regional Planning Commission for Lewis Creek Association.   Recently, Vermont state biologists offered to join LCA and produce a "Conservation Habitat Map" for prioritized land conservation and planning. The map will depict the best contiguous habitat lands important for wide ranging carnivores and lands noted for their biological diversity.  So far, the draft map has correlated beautifully with LCA's maps of Travel Corridors of Wide Ranging Mammals and  Regionally Important Natural Communities.
By Spring 2003, a complete map of core habitat and linkage lands will be shared with conservation organizations, town and regional planners.  This map will include contiguous wildlife lands from Shelburne Farms, Shelburne Pond and the Muddy Brook region to the north; to the Hogback Range and the Bristol Pond region to the south.
LCA invites local residents to join the annual roadside count survey and field trips, --and to submit LCA Track and Sign Reports when important wildlife sitings have been made.  While you’re tracking, please don’t follow wild animals back to their dens. Many are shy and will abandon their homes if disturbed by humans. For information call 802 425 4437.
Your wildlife observations are important to us.   Please use this LCA Track and Sign Report form to send us verification your findings. Print it out and send it to the address on the form. We may call you for further information.
LCA Tracking Cards   LCA Tracking Cards have helped trackers in the field and they make a wonderful gift!    Here's the story: One of LCA’s trackers got the idea that life-size tracks would be much easier to use in the field than the “smaller than actual size” tracks found in field guides. She traced the animal prints she found in the wild, drew them on index cards, and tried them out during elementary school workshops. They were a great success, and the LCA trackers started asking for them. So two years and many more track tracings later, we produced the first set of LCA Tracking Cards.    One set of cards consists of 30 3”x5” animal track images for field identification. The durable waterproof cards are life-sized drawings to place next to tracks to verify which animal species recently passed by.    Used with a field guide that gives details about gaits, behaviors and habitats, these cards are a wonderful tool for wildlife enthusiasts.  You can purchase the cards by clicking on the link above. Thanks to generous donations from Terry and Debby Allen and Edith W. Illick, every penny of your purchase from LCA goes to support LCA programs.
Other Resources Check out the Vermont Association of Conservation Districts and the Vermont Statewide Environmental Education Programs for great educational materials!   Also, the EPA has released the Nonpoint Source Outreach Toolbox, a comprehensive set of Web-based resources designed to assist communities across the U.S. conduct locally effective watershed education and outreach activities.  The Toolbox includes a searchable catalog of nearly 800 print, radio, and TV ads and outreach materials in the following categories: lawn and garden care motor vehicle care pet care septic system care household chemicals and waste general stormwater and storm drain awareness.