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Izaak Walton League of America

Izaak Walton League — Save Our Streams

Save Our Streams is a national volunteer stream-monitoring program that trains everyday citizens and school groups to identify aquatic macroinvertebrates and assess stream habitat. It pairs that field protocol with Creek Freaks, a youth watershed curriculum aimed at upper-elementary and middle school classes, and a national list of volunteer trainers who provide the field training for certification.

Visit Izaak Walton League — Save Our Streams ↗

What you will find there

  • Free biological-monitoring training that certifies volunteers, including student groups, to identify aquatic macroinvertebrates and assess stream habitat
  • A downloadable chemical-monitoring instruction sheet for a 30-minute water-testing activity that requires no prior training
  • Nitrate Watch and Salt Watch citizen-monitoring programs, with free test kits available on request
  • Creek Freaks, a youth-focused watershed curriculum with educator training for upper-elementary and middle school classes
  • A Find a Trainer list for contacting volunteer trainers who provide field certification, plus equipment loan stations in Iowa

Our take

The program offers field-tested stream science and volunteer trainers who provide field training, which can help teachers who are unsure how to run water-quality monitoring safely. The Creek Freaks curriculum for grades 4-8 is posted on a separate IWLA resource page (iwla.org/resource/creek-freaks-curriculum/) rather than on the Save Our Streams page.

Pairs well with our materials