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WATERSHED WATCH

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Three adults and two children huddle around table outside as they analyze water samples.

 

 

Watershed Watch 2021

Watershed Watch is a one-day citizen science event to help gather data about the health of the Boise River. This year it is taking a new form! Typically, this annual event is held on a Saturday with the general public, however, in 2021 we’ll be bringing the opportunity to upper elementary students on Thursday, September 23. We encourage any adults who wish to contribute to water quality data collection to attend an IdaH2O Master Water Stewards workshop and borrow our water monitoring kit.

Each upper elementary class will be assigned an accessible site along the Boise River and will be led in hands-on water quality testing by water professionals from one of our partner organizations. Students will wade into the river to test the chemical, physical and biological health of the Boise River by conducting tests and searching for macroinvertebrates (water bugs) and invasive species. Data from the sites will be compiled and shared after the event to get a snapshot of the health of the Boise River. This event is a unique opportunity for students to do hands-on science in the field with local scientists and engineers.

Due to the unusual circumstances last year, we offered Watershed Watch as a virtual program – the information and videos from last year will remain on this website (see below) for any who wish to use it.

Please email us if you have questions about the program. Please put Watershed Watch in the subject line.

Teacher Resources 2021

Resources

Watershed Watch 2020


Is the Boise River Healthy?

Explore the Boise River virtually through videos and worksheets below to assess the health of the Boise River. 

Week 1: How Does Water Management on the Boise River Affect Water Quality?

  • Video (English)
  • Video (Spanish Subtitles)
  • Assignment (Assignments designed for 5th-8th grade students)

Week 2: Temperature and Turbidity

  • Video (English)
  • Video (Spanish Subtitles)
  • Assignment (Assignments designed for 5th-8th grade students)
  • Use this river video if you can't get to the Boise River to answer challenge 3 questions.

Watch Week 3: Invasive Species 

Watch Week 4: Organisms in the River

Watch Week 5: Nutrients

Watch Week 6: Environmental Engineering 

Watch Week 7: Rules and Regulations

Watch Week 8: Lab Analysis

  • Video (English)
  • Video (Spanish Subtitles)
  • Assignment (Assignments designed for 5th-8th grade students)

2021 Sponsors

City of Boise

City of Meridian

City of Caldwell

Idaho State Department of Agriculture

Idaho Department of Environmental Quality

United States Geological Survey

A Service Provided By
City of Boise