Leaves that fall into streams form natural leaf packs that provide food for aquatic organisms.
Participants create artificial leaf packs and place them in a stream for three to four weeks.
The leaf packs are retrieved from the stream and examined in the classroom...
...leading to the discovery of aquatic macroinvertebrates that indicate stream health.
Schools enter their data into the online Leaf Pack database to share with the public.
LPN experiments teach the importance of streamside forests and promote their stewardship.
The Leaf Pack Network® (LPN) is a network of teachers and students investigating their local stream ecosystems. The investigation uses the Leaf Pack Experiment Kit from the LaMotte Company. After conducting their own leaf pack experiment, schools share data through the network. These data shed light on the important connection between streamside forests and the ecology of rivers and streams.
The Leaf Pack experiment involves creating an artificial leaf pack (dry leaves in a mesh bag), placing it in the stream for three to four weeks, examining the packs in the classroom and discovering different types of aquatic insects that are used as indicators of stream health.
Jump Into These Links!
Anyone interested in learning about riparian communities can use the resources available on the Leaf Pack Network®. Navigate the LPN website using the menu on the left, or start with these pages:
View data from a particular stream. Search by major watershed
or school.
Visit our learning center to learn about watersheds,
the link between trees and streams,
macroinvertebrates, or data analysis.
Explore
interesting resources from Stroud Water Research Center and other organizations that provide information about rivers and streams.
For
a detailed look at the Leaf Pack Network,
view our eight minute video.
