RSU Assistant Professor of Biology Dr. Cheyanne Olson (left) with RSU alumna Jessica Burke of Bartlesville (center) and current RSU student Katrina Sherrick of Claremore.
Members of Rogers State University’s Biology Department hosted a workshop to teach regional Girl Scout troops about aquatic macroinvertebrates and more.
Called “Creek Stomp at Dog Creek,” members of the Will Rogers Service Unit, consisting of troops from Justus-Tiawah, Chelsea, Claremore, Pryor, and Catoosa, joined RSU Assistant Professor of Biology Dr. Cheyanne Olson and volunteers along Dog Creek in Claremore Saturday, Oct. 14, for a day of fun and education.
“We had several booths set up, the first station being a 3D model of a watershed called an Enviroscape,” Dr. Olson said. “Girls could add chemicals to the model, like fertilizers, where they would end up when it rains.
“The second booth had a game called ‘Macroinvertebrate Mayhem’, which taught girls about sampling the aquatic insects in a body of water, and the third station was crafts,” she continued. “Girls could make a ‘fish print’ using rubber models of native fish or make a bracelet, based on the water cycle.
“The last booth had live fish and macroinvertebrates that we had collected from Dog Creek that morning,” she said. “Finally, I took girls on several trips to the stream to catch fish and to talk about water quality health.”
Aquatic macroinvertebrates are insects in their nymph and larval stages, such as snails, worms, crawfish and clams that spend at least part of their lives in water. Macroinvertebrates play a large role in freshwater ecosystems by recycling nutrients as well as providing food to higher trophic levels.
More than 60 people participated in the workshop, including 20 adults and 41 girls, ranging in age from 5 to 17.
Olson said that events such as this are important as they expose young girls to opportunities available to them in the field of biology.
For more information about RSU’s biology degree options, visit www.rsu.edu/biology.