Traver Creek Reflective Essay

On October 8th, 2015 I went to the Conodoguinet Creek with the rest of my 8-orange team. The main thing we were doing there was testing the level of water pollution. Before we arrived there we had to make a hypothesis stating whether or not we thought the water was polluted. Knowing a little bit about the creek and looking back on past years data, I stated in my hypothesis that I thought the water was polluted. While we were there, they had us do other activities that helped us determine the pollution level and helped us learn more about the creek. In total we did three stations to get all the information we needed to be positive about our statement on the level of pollution. We accomplished finding critters, testing the pollution levels, and testing the velocity of the surface water in one day.

So we can conclude that the creek is not polluted based on this evidence. The creek creature are mostly from group 1 and 2. Also, the creek water contains little to no nitrates and phosphates. The creek also contains a high amount of dissolved oxygen (9.8ppm to be exact) Lastly, the creek limestone neutralize acid rain. The pH of the water is also a healthy 7. After all this evidence we can conclude that the creek is not

The health of the Susquehanna River and Chesapeake Bay was found based on Biological (macroinvertebrates and wildlife) and Chemicals characteristics (pH, dissolved oxygen, phosphates, nitrates, etc.) as well as physical observations (amount of forested buffers, wetlands, etc.) Overall it was concluded that the health of the water was good to excellent. What was found was that many of the macroinvertebrates found in the water were sensitive or facultative, meaning the water quality was good enough for them to live in. Also, the level of ph, temperature, dissolved oxygen, phosphates, nitrates, and turbidity showed that the water quality was good. Finally, while we were canoeing down the Susquehanna River, observations were made on the land

Exercise Lab 1. How much does temperature vary in large and small aquatic environments? Lab 2. What determines the water clarity of lakes, rivers and oceans? Lab 3. Where does the phosphorus go? Lab 4. How does human activity in watersheds affect the quality of lakes and rivers? Lab 5. Are the Great Lakes being influenced by the global greenhouse effect? Lab 6. How is the flow of the Red Cedar River influenced by the weather? Lab 7. What is the relationship between flow and turbidity in the Red Cedar River? Page 2 4 6 8 12 15 18

Reflecting on this course over this semester, there have been many lessons learned that will be valuable, as we enter the business world. Our first lesson was to learn to work together, as a team, to prepare a short memo, long memo, letter, and email for use in the business world. This is a lesson that will experience many times as we do our daily work. Punctuation and grammar are so important to present to the client and other organizations that we are professionals. It could mean the loss of a sale or acquiring new business. It’s like dressing for work; looking professional or unprofessional.

My desire was to challenge myself and pursue my belief in life-long learning. And yes, the last eight weeks have definitely been a challenge intellectually in IDS 101. After the first two weeks of school, I seriously questioned why I would go back to school at fifty-one years of age for personal satisfaction. The days were long and I wasn’t sure I still had the self-discipline and determination that would be needed to finish. Over the last eight weeks, this class gave me numerous opportunities to hone my skills in critical thinking, research, and writing. This class has given me the necessary skills to continue toward completing my degree.

Cardno has assembled for you a team of experts in aquatic ecology, hydrologic modeling, data management and interpretation, statistical analysis, botany, wetland science, wildlife ecology, restoration, Geographic Information Systems, and environmental planning. Staff from our Tallahassee office, where this project will be managed, have successfully completed hundreds of projects in northwest Florida including contracts with the District, as well as the Suwannee River Water Management District, state agencies, and other municipal clients. Many of the staff included in this proposal are experts in their respective fields with advanced degrees and decades of experience working in water resources in Florida.

Brooker Creek is the largest natural area in Pinellas County. It is a preserved area where most of the organisms are protected by the state and cannot be touched or taken. This hike had a durability of one hour and it consisted on walking the entire trail and observing the different ecosystems found at the preserve. In order to see the different wild organisms that get to call the preserve home, we had to walk for around two hours. Some of the organisms mentioned by the guide of the hike and seeing at the preserve were: Golden orbs spiders, Coffee plants, lichens, mosses, sable palms, palmettos, blue gray knatt catchers, red maple trees, ferns, and tupelo trees. Although these organisms are very different from one another they are all able to live at Brooker Creek because of the different environments it has and offers its inhabitants.

The Cape Fear River Watch is a non profit organization initiated to “protect and improve the water quality of the Cape Fear River.” They intend to help the river water remain “fishable, swimmable, and drinkable.” The Cape Fear River Watch provides a wide array of education, advocacy, and action programs for members of the Cape Fear River community. The Cape Fear River contains environmental habitats including salt marshes and black water swamps. The distinct and unique culture of the Cape Fear River demands protection. Large corporations have abused the Cape Fear River over the last few decades. Over the last century, the river’s fish population has decreased drastically. The Cape Fear River has developed water contamination and air quality issues from coal ash emissions and waste, Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, and is now further threatened by the possible introduction of Titan Cement company. Theses companies have significantly impacted surrounding communities. Environmentally, these issues are destroying our water and air quality, and are detrimental to ecosystems within the river. As we explored the Cape Fear River during our field trip, our guide focused on these three main contributing factors to the destruction of the river. We explored the Rock Arch Rapids the River Watch constructed. We evaluated the different factors of water contamination from large corporations like Duke Energy. Sociologically, surrounding communities are facing issues

Firstly, in Bloomington Illinois, there are plenty of farms which means plenty of farmers using fertilizer. If it were to rain after a farmer used a heavy amount of fertilizer then it could run off into the creek which would cause eutrophication which could potentially kill off many of the organisms living in the creek (as this would cause a large boom in algae population). Lastly a way humans can affect the creek (or rather has been affecting the creek already) is through littering in general, when observations were being made on the creek numerous pieces of trash were discovered, plastic bags, beer cans, and a twelve pack of a beer box. Littering will pollute the creek which can kill organisms and damage the surrounding ecosystem. Animals or small organisms that use the creek as a water source no longer will be able to as it is now polluted. Even though littering was discovered around the creek it was minimal enough that this did not hamper the water quality enough to bring it down from a excellent to

The St. Johns River is suffering from a significant environmental disaster because of toxic substances from municipal and industrial wastewater, fertilizer runoff, failing septic tanks, and stormwater. Consequently, over 55% of the river miles, 80.4% of acres of large water bodies, 59.4 % of estuaries, and 31.4% of coastline miles do not meet water quality standards in Florida (Florida Department of Environmental Protection 119). For that matter, studying those pollution problems that the river faces is vital since one can use this information to salvage the natural resource which is at the brink of destruction.

It has come to my attention that a few fillings done by you had to be re-done by another provider. For instance, on your first day working at DAMC you did a filling on a patient in Jimmy Carter. However, the patient came back very upset because his filling came off and we lost him as a patient. Subsequently, a patient in Tara Blvd complained that a filling came off and it had to be re-done again. We understand that this happens from time to time, but being that it has happened in patient’s that you have seen. I am asking you to please make an effort and to take appropiate measures, so this issues won’t be repeted

On a still, warm morning our class set out on a hike to collect water and soil samples to explore. Our water sample was collected from the first portion of Sycamore Creek located on the Los Penasquitos Trail in Sorrento Valley. Collecting 6 in. deep into the creek, we wanted to ensure that the sample in the plastic test tube included soil, algae and vegetation from the floor. The sample was allowed to sit uncapped and covered with a layer of film for 24+ hours before microscopic observation occurred.

This study was done to assess the health of the Humber River watershed by collecting and analyzing benthic macro-invertebrates. It was predicted that most of the species collected would have high tolerances, and that the percentages of the benthic macro-invertebrates would mostly fall in the impaired or potentially impaired categories. Transects were measured out along the stream, and the D-net was held along the bottom to catch the invertebrates. Once 100 or more were caught, they were then counted and identified. The Hilsenhof Biotic Index was use to calculate the total tolerance of the organisms collected. The results showed that the distribution of species fell into the potentially impaired category, while the total tolerance was in the unimpaired range. This could be an indicator of a disturbance in the ecosystem that is affecting certain organisms more than others. The study was mostly consistent with the hypothesis.

Collecting water samples, recording water quality, and measuring stream discharge and velocity at the Northern Unit of the J. Phil Campbell Sr. Research and Education Center and Tanyard Creek peeked my interest in