Things You'll Need:
- Microscope
- Slides
- Eye dropper
- Minnow net
- 5 gallon white plastic bucket
- Several clear plastic jars with screw-on lids
- Field guides
- Books with a pond life theme or pond creature characters
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Step 1
Choose a pond to study. This might be one in a nearby park, or you can build a mini pond in your own backyard. You can even use a virtual pond for an online study of pond life.
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Step 2
Take water samples from more than one part of the pond. Make a slide from each sample and look at it under a microscope. Use a field guide or science text to help you identify the creatures you find. Tips for making wet mount slides and using microscopes are found at the end of this article. Make sketches of each of the creatures in your water sample. Label the parts of each. Calculate how many of the creatures inhabit the volume of your pond, based on their numbers in your sample.
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Step 3
Record the water level of your pond over time, in the morning, evening, before and after rainstorms, and through all four seasons. Make a graph with your data. Take new water samples each time you record the water level. How has the population of microscopic organisms changed as the water level rises or falls? Allow at least one of your samples to settle for a few hours. What layers do you see? Use the minnow net and 5 gallon white plastic bucket to capture and study creatures from your pond. Be sure to return them to the pond within an hour or less.
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Step 4
Photograph the plants and animals surrounding and using your pond. Which are producers? Which are consumers? Which are scavengers? Note whether or not your pond appears to be in or out of balance. Signs of lack of balance would be stagnant, smelly water, algae bloom, dead fish or animals at the water's edge, browning of plants or a sharp change in water level.
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Step 5
Join a 4-H group and take your project results to a project judging. Enter your results in your county fair as well. Get the word out about the conditions you find in your pond. Network with your local Soil and Water Conservation District or your city health department to compare their data to your findings.
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Step 6
Shadow someone working in the Soil and Water Conservation field. Ask them what prompted them to spend their lives studying water quality issues. Volunteer. Build your resume' as a water quality activist.
