The National Great Rivers Research and Education Center (NGRREC) and Barrington Area Conservation Trust (BACT) are holding a Family Field Day for Flint Creek at Barrington High School on April 16, 2016. Family Field Day is a community-wide river stewardship initiative within NGRREC’s Stream Discovery Program. Family Field Day specifically allows students and teachers to take what they have learned from the Stream Discovery program and lead community-wide stream monitoring and restoration activities. This year, NGRREC will partner with BACT to empower Barrington High School Environmental Science Classes to lead water quality monitoring, invasive Buckthorn removal, litter pickup, and native grass planting activities along Flint Creek. Flint Creek is listed as an “Impaired” stream by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency for high levels of phosphorous, fecal coliform bacteria, algae, and low dissolved oxygen. By monitoring the water quality of Flint Creek, students and community members can gain a better understanding of the condition of local water resources, and work to improve the water quality by removing invasive plants and trash, and planting native plants that filter more pollutants and stabilize stream banks.
