For week 2 of Source to Estuary 2023, we returned to the Piscawenkill, a stream that flows roughly 5 miles from Bald Mountain Road in northeast Brunswick, through the Troy Reservoir, west through Frear Park, and down to Glen Avenue and the Uncle Sam bike trail in North Central Troy, where it becomes a “buried stream” flowing underground to the Hudson a half mile away.
![A map of the Piscawenkill stream, which flows southwestward into the city of Troy. The visible part of the stream ends at the fieldwork site in north-central Troy.](https://www.mediasanctuary.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/piscawenkill-1024x711.jpg)
Our fieldwork this week consisted of a trash pick up and sampling for macroinvertebrates (small aquatic insects). We did these activities right at the point where the stream cascades down a steep slope between and housing complex and a parking lot and disappears into a 5 foot wide culvert. Along with a lot of trash (including a whole shopping cart pulled from the mouth of the culvert), media intern Aljahraun Wright, youth science fellow Muzzamil Moate, media mentor Alÿcia Bacon, and artist in residence Ipi Fernandez worked with macroinvertebrate mentor Doug Reed to collect several kick-nets worth of strained creek water, which we took back to the lab in a chilled, aerated bucket of stream water.
![Two men wade in a creek and use tools to extract samples from the water.](https://www.mediasanctuary.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/IMG_1263-2-768x1024.jpg)
![A Sanctuary youth ambassador, using a stick, lifts a thin brownish film out of a stream. He smiles at what he has found.](https://www.mediasanctuary.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/IMG_1274-768x1024.jpg)
![A woman pushes a shopping cart that contains what appears to be several bags of garbage. An older man carries a bucket and tools; two other women pass by in the background.](https://www.mediasanctuary.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/IMG_1292.jpg)
In the lab we used hand lenses and dissecting microscopes–and Doug’s expertise!–to identify a wide range of types of macroinvertebrates, from caddis flies and mayflies to midges and scuds. The macroinvertebrate species present in a given waterway can function as an “ecological indicator” that points to overall water quality, because some types of macroinvertebrates thrive only in clean, oxygen-rich water, while others can survive in highly polluted, low oxygen water. The types and quantities of macroinvertebrates we saw indicated that the water quality in this part of the Piscawenkill is not as bad as we might have expected for such an urban stream. NATURE Lab Coordinator Kathy High and Community Science Educator Ellie Irons provided documentation and support.
![Two clipboards rest on a metal counter. The clipboard on the left contains information about freshwater invertebrates; the clipboard on the right holds a blank form for scientific notes.](https://www.mediasanctuary.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/IMG_1295-1024x768.jpg)
![Five people examine samples in a lab. One woman looks at a sample with a magnifying glass.](https://www.mediasanctuary.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/IMG_1300-1024x768.jpg)
In coming weeks, we’ll check the stream for microplastic contamination with mentor Sarah Cadieux, and sample for sewage contamination as part of our regular Water Justice Lab monthly sampling with Riverkeeper.
To hear a bit from Doug and Muzzamil during last year’s macroinvertebrate sampling at other streams in the area, check out our 2022 interview series.
![An older man and a Sanctuary youth ambassador, both wearing wading boots, use a net to extract samples from a low-flowing stream. The two people are looking at something out of frame.](https://www.mediasanctuary.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/IMG_1265-1024x768.jpg)
![A young woman wearing shorts and a tank top stands on the edge of a low-flowing stream, pointing at something in the distance. There is a steep slope in the background.](https://www.mediasanctuary.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/IMG_1273-1024x768.jpg)
![Two light-skinned hands hold a wet, roughly triangular stone. The bottom of the rock appears to have algae and a few small worms on it.](https://www.mediasanctuary.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/IMG_1280-768x1024.jpg)
![A whitish, torn piece of material is strewn over a mossy rock at the edge of a stream.](https://www.mediasanctuary.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/IMG_1283-1024x768.jpg)
![Two light-skinned hands hold a yellow thermometer over a low-flowing stream. The thermometer reads 76.9 degrees Fahrenheit.](https://www.mediasanctuary.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/IMG_1285-768x1024.jpg)
![Four people, all wearing wading boots, stand in a low-flowing stream and use tools to gather samples.](https://www.mediasanctuary.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/IMG_1290-768x1024.jpg)
![Four people examine samples on white rectangular trays in a lab.](https://www.mediasanctuary.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/IMG_1300-1-1024x768.jpg)
![Six people take notes on clipboards in a lab setting.](https://www.mediasanctuary.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/IMG_1297-2-768x1024.jpg)
![A young Black man with cornrows examines an object with a magnifying glass in a lab setting.](https://www.mediasanctuary.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/IMG_1301-2-769x1024.jpg)