Field Trip Descriptions:

Field Trip # 1 - Urban Stormwater BMP Tour (greenroofs, pervious pavement, bioretention areas, wetlands).

Participants will visit several different innovative stormwater and S&EC
sites in central and eastern North Carolina. Included in the tour are
multi-year monitoring locations of a stormwater wetland, bioretention
area, permeable pavement application, water harvesting system and green roof. Paricipants will help install a "backyard" rain garden as part of the tour. A local LID and
LEED site is part of the tour. Participants will also visit the NCSU
Sediment and Erosion Control Research and Education Facility (SECREF), where they will actively participate in demonstrations of the latest erosion and sediment control systems, including porous baffles and polyacrylamide.
Dress for this tour should include attire that is OK to get a little dirty.

Field Trip # 2 - Rural BMP Tour in the Neuse River Basin where a nitrogen reduction goal has been met.

In 1997, state rules mandated that the agricultural community in the Neuse River Basin reduce their nitrogen loads by 30% in five years. In response, the Neuse Team (funded through NC Cooperative Extension) began work in the basin. This field trip will highlight some of the work accomplished by the agricultural community and the fieldtrip route will follow the Neuse River from Raleigh to its estuary in Craven County. The first stop will be in Wayne County, at the Center for Environmental Farming Systems. We will view and discuss a riparian buffer experiment that is comparing the effects of five different vegetation types and two widths. Buffers were a major component of the nitrogen reduction plan. Nutrient management programs and activities will also be presented. The next stop will be in Lenoir County where we will discuss the the effectiveness of naturally regenerating buffers. The last stop will be in Craven County in the Core Creek watershed, which represents about 50% of all agricultural acres in the county. We will view and discuss implemented best management practices: controlled drainage, a restored stream, and a restored wetland.

Fieldtrip # 3 - An Introduction to the Ecology of Aquatic Insects. (limited to 20 people)

This field exercise is intended to introduce the registrants to basic collection protocols and identification of aquatic insect groups. The discussions will concentrate on how these organisms are used in water pollution assessment. Members will be taken to the Flat River in Durham County, which is a relatively unstressed stream system and given demonstrations on how fauna are collected and encouraged to also collect specimens themselves. Streamside lunches will be provided as part of this trip. NCSU maintains a forest research station near this location and after lunch, laboratory exercises will be conducted demonstrating basic identification methods. Emphasis will be given to the EPT (Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera and Trichoptera groups).
What to bring: Participants will be encouraged to collect specimens as part of teams so plan to bring waders and any field gear (rain gear) necessary. We will have some containers there as well if participants would like to collect reference specimens.