VBAP Volunteer Teachers

VBAP volunteers are needed every year typically in the fall to help with field days on a local river or stream with schools. Training is typically for a few hours in August for new volunteers in association with NH Fish & Game and/or the GMCG Education Coordinator. Volunteers learn how to identify macroinvertebrates to the level of Order, and then how to use the state’s protocol to assess water quality. On field days, volunteers assist the Education Coordinator to run a station (fun bucket, water quality testing, microplastics sampling, macroinvertebrate sampling, habitat assessment) and then assist with the sorting and counting of the macroinvertebrate sample. No experience is necessary.

More information, including an archive of all annual VBAP reports can be found here.

Students from Ossipee Central School collect macroinvertebrates for the VBAP program on Beech River.

Watershed Workbook  for Teachers and Students

Teachers: Aquatic Animals Teacher’s Unit               Students: Aquatic Animals Student Unit

Each fall, local school children help GMCG sample rivers and streams for macroinvertebrates, tiny critters that have no backbone and are visible to the naked eye. Aquatic macroinvertebrates can tell us about the water quality of a waterbody since some species are sensitive to pollution, while others are more tolerant of pollution. The program gets students actively engaged in an ongoing community science program that tracks water quality over time through the Volunteer Biological Assessment Program (VBAP), a partnership with the NH Department of Environmental Services.

Students or teachers interested in participating in VBAP can contact GMCG to sign up for training in August, or schedule a date when their class can sample a local river in September with biologists. For more information about the program, visit: the NH DES Biomonitoring website and learn more about NH Fish & Game’s Watershed Education Programs.

What teachers & students say about the program

“I was just bragging to the school board the other night about this program (VBAP).  I told them this is one of the few times that students are doing real science and doing something worthwhile with the data.  They aren’t just doing it for the sake of doing it.” – Jeremy Hillger, Principal Sandwich Central School

“Thank you so much for having us to the river. It was a great learning experience and the whole class loved it. (I think some of them might become biologists). That would be cool. Thanks for the t-shirts too. P.S. my favorite macroinvertebrate is the caddisfly because of its pretty case.” – Mackenzie

“I wanted to thank you for letting us come to the river. We all learned a lot about macroinvertebrates and a lot of other things. I had a lot of fun doing the rock scrubbing and plucking all of the creatures. But most of all we all had fun!” – Logan

“Thank you for the t-shirts and helping us identify the macroinvertebrates. I learned how to collect macros and I learned a lot about them. One thing I learned is that caddisflies build a little case to protect them from predators. I had a lot of fun!” –Melissa