When Brown’s Creek Watershed District hosts its annual Community Watershed Celebration & Bird Festival this Saturday (10am-1pm at Brown’s Creek Park in Stillwater), visitors will have the opportunity to take home something unique that they may not be expecting – their very own handmade caddisfly print.
In rivers and streams, tiny creatures including insects, leaches, snails, and mussels are the biological building blocks that help to support turtles, frogs, fish, and other animals. Macroinvertebrates include any creatures large enough to see (macro) that don’t have internal skeletons (invertebrates). Species that are signs of a clean stream include mayfly, stonefly, and caddisfly larva, which are also insects that trout love to eat.
“I love creating community arts projects that bring together nature and art making,” says Jennifer Awes Freeman, one of two artists participating in the event. Freeman makes printmaking stamps out of linoleum (commonly known as linocut stamps) and will be bringing an array of stamps for people to make prints of their favorite Brown’s Creek macroinvertebrates. She led a similar activity this summer, featuring aquatic plants that live in Stillwater’s Long Lake.
Macroinvertebrate surveys help biologists to evaluate stream health. Healthy streams will have more aquatic insects and a higher diversity of species, which in turn, supports more species of fish. At Brown’s Creek, students from Stillwater Area High School actually help to monitor aquatic life through a partnership with the Washington Conservation District. The students learn how to collect macroinvertebrates from the streams and practice sorting and identifying the tiny animals they find using taxonomic keys. Based on the number and diversity of species they find, they then calculate an “index of biotic integrity.”
Saturday’s festival will also feature a number of activities inspired by birds. The University of Minnesota Raptor Center will lead an educational program with hawks, owls, and other birds of prey. The center rehabilitates injured raptors and returns them to the wild; birds that can’t be safely released sometimes become ambassador animals for public programs. Ben Douglas, a local bird enthusiast and volunteer with Carpenter Nature Center will also share entertaining stories about birding, as well as practical ways to make your home and neighborhood safer for birds.
If you really, really love birds, you can even dress up as your favorite bird and enter the second annual Bird Costume Contest. Costumes of all skill levels are welcome, from simple DIY outfits to elaborate feathered creations.
The Community Watershed Celebration & Bird Festival was originally created by the Brown’s Creek Watershed District as a way to showcase stream restoration projects along Brown’s Creek and teach community residents about the insects, fish, and wildlife that call Brown’s Creek home. Sustainable Stillwater Minnesota and Bird City Stillwater have since joined forces with the watershed district to create a fun and imaginative community festival that is entirely centered around nature.
This year’s event will be held on Saturday, Sept. 19 (10am-1pm) along the Brown’s Creek State Trail at Brown’s Creek Park. In addition to bug prints and bird costumes, the festival will include interactive stations led by local conservation groups, crafts, games, and interactive experiences designed to inspire the next generation of environmental stewards. The event is free and easy to get to by bike, on foot, or by car.
East Metro Water 