Course Preparation
Location
Our June workshop is held at the Ken Reid Conservation Area, 277 Kenrei Rd, Lindsay, ON K9V 4R2. If you’re using an older GPS, some have the road listed as Ken Reid Rd. We will be using the Field House facilities for training and testing purposes.
Our field session will take place in the local area and will require participants to meet at the Field House prior to departure.
Transportation
Participants will be responsible for their transportation to field sites. We will organize carpooling on the first day of the course to minimize our carbon footprint.
Parking
Participants will need to purchase a daily parking pass for the Ken Reid Conservation Area.
Clothing
Participants should wear comfortable clothing suitable for indoor activities in the Field House for each day of the course. Our fieldwork will take place on the morning of Day 2 of the course. Weather conditions may range from cool to very warm at this time of year (yes, it has snowed in early June!!). Please come prepared for all eventualities, as fieldwork may need to be conducted in inclement weather (*the exception being an electrical storm).
PLEASE NOTE: Hip or chest waders are required for Day 2 fieldwork.
Gear
Participants will be required to bring their supplies for both indoor and outdoor activities.
Recommended Gear:
Backpack
Cell phone
Calculator (*if you plan to use your cell phone as a calculator, please note that we will be conducting activities in and/or near water)
Hand lens
Notebook
Binder or file folder for additional handouts on the course
Pens/pencils/highlighter
Clipboard
Laptop computer (for classroom work)
Mosquito/tick repellant
Sunscreen
Water bottle
Course Materials
PDFs of the course training material and manuals will be available to participants prior to the
commencement of the course. Additional materials will be provided during the course in both digital and paper formats.
We recommend that participants download all materials and bring them to the course on a laptop or notebook. You will receive a welcome message from the course instructor prior to the course with specific directions regarding course preparation.
PLEASE NOTE: This course offers participants an opportunity to become certified as OBBN participants if they successfully meet or exceed the provincial certification standards. Participants who arrive at the course without prior preparation will likely not meet these standards.
Useful Resources
Participants will be identifying aquatic invertebrates of eastern North America. There are no required texts or field guides, but the following resources may be of interest:
• Bouchard, R.W., Jr. (2004). Guide to aquatic invertebrates of the upper midwest: Identification manual for students, citizen monitors, and aquatic resource professionals. Regents of the University of Minnesota.
• This is a very good publication for those who are interested in developing their taxonomic skills. There is a good general key at the beginning of the book, and nice descriptions of invertebrate groups and their habitats. Caution: the more detailed keys do NOT include all of the Families of organisms that you may find in benthic samples in this area, but certainly many of them.
• Needham, P. R. (1962). A guide to the study of freshwater biology. McGraw-Hill, Inc.
• This is a wonderful little book and fits easily into a backpack. It includes some excellent keys for and line drawings of a wide range of freshwater biota, from plankton to fish! There is also an excellent section at the end of the book about sampling and analyzing aquatic organisms and their environments.
Peckarsky, B.L., Fraissinet, P.R., Penton, M.A., & Conklin, D.R., Jr. (1990). Freshwater macroinvertebrates of northeastern North America. Cornell University Press.
• This is another excellent publication for those who are interested in developing further skills in taxonomy beyond the 27-group level. The line drawings are excellent, and the identification keys are written in reasonably understandable language (there is a glossary included). This book is excellent for both insect and non-insect groups of invertebrates.
• Voshell, J. R.. Jr. (2002). A guide to common freshwater invertebrates of North America. The McDonald and Woodward Publishing Company.
• This book, written by Dr. J. Reese Voshell, who passed away sadly in 2021, is an excellent guide to the study of freshwater invertebrates, including information about the biology and ecology of many groups of freshwater invertebrates that you may encounter in shallow-water freshwater environments. There are some excellent colour plates as well as a key to aid you in identification.
