A New Year of Reflection: Learning to Protect Our Water, One Leaf Pack at a Time

As the new year begins, it’s a time to reflect on how our actions impact the world around us. During a rainy-day visit to Lake Tawakoni State Park last summer, Dallas EEI interns gained hands-on experience learning about water quality, conservation, and minimizing our impact on nature. From placing leaf packs to observing wildlife brought out by the rain, the trip served as a reminder that protecting our water resources starts with understanding them—and carrying that knowledge forward into the year ahead. Photos and info by Inter Levi Hounsel.

The unusual amount of rain in Dallas made the Dallas EEI intern’s trip to Lake Tawakoni extra special. Once we geared up in our waders, we followed one of the park rangers on a brief yet insightful hike. As we walked, we picked up any trash we found and discussed how to minimize our impact on the nature around us.

The main purpose of our visit was to place leaf packs; a tool to measure water quality. Leaf packs essentially act as nests for macroinvertebrates in the water to live in. We filled small nets with dead leaves and dropped them into the river, and will wait for the macroinvertebrates to move in. If the water is healthy, there will be a high volume of macroinvertebrates, if the water is unhealthy, there will be less.

            I think we were all surprised with how much fun we had on the hike, the rain brought out worms, frogs, and spiders all of which we learned about. We had fun rescuing spiders from puddles and trudging through the murky water, but most of all enjoyed the amazing nature at Lake Tawakoni State Park.