Spring Bug Count

Rotary Club of Traverse City
Sun Jun 14, 2026 at 9:09 AM.
Traverse City, MI  49684
United States of America
Date: Sunday June 14th, 9:30am meeting time at the old Price Point Bridge: https://maps.app.goo.gl/qw5TWYprd8M9XEy97'
We’ll wrap up at the 1st site by 10:30 at the latest then head to 2nd site: https://maps.app.goo.gl/gGAUmj7VXGqun4bA8
 
We'll be all done by 11:30am.
 

Program overview (in case you want more details):

Who: We typically need 8-12 volunteers that love the outdoors and have decent eyesight (as the invertebrates (“bugs”) can be very small! We’ve had volunteers of all ages participate – from 2-year-olds to 70+ year olds. It seems young families have a great time – the kids have fun, learn, and spend time outdoors with their parents and community members.

 

What: Most volunteer work is done huddled around tables with stream samples (water/debris/mud/dirt/bugs) in a tray in the center. The volunteers need to find any living/moving critters and grab them with tweezers or pipette then deposit into our specimen jar while keeping track of numbers – we have a limited amount of time to find a minimum number of specimens. The rest of volunteer efforts are as follows:

  1. The manager of the event (typically me) picks up the needed equipment from the Watershed Center prior to the event. At the event, the manager fills out paperwork, takes photos, helps those with questions/concerns and makes sure protocols are being followed. The manager has to attend training every so often to be allowed to manage the project – typically once every two years. Once the specimens are collected and later ID’d and counted, paperwork is finalized then all gear and specimens are dropped off to the Watershed Center.
  2. There are two stream sampling volunteers who wear waders and carry nets into the stream – they gather nets full of stuff from either half of the 200’-ish of stream that we sample, carefully following protocols then bring back to the team collecting the critters at the tables. They typically are in the streams for 20-30 minutes per section.

 

When: It happens twice a year – once in the spring, again in the fall, typically on a Saturday morning, sometimes on a Sunday morning. The event is typically wrapped up withing 2-3 hours – roughly 1-1.5 hours per section. Once the samples are taken, I take them back to my house to ID in a controlled environment, sort, make the final counts and finalize paperwork. This stage usually takes 1-2 hours.

 

Where: There are two sections of stream that we sample. Currently, one is at the old Price Point building section of Kid’s Creek near US31, the other is a new site to us adjacent to Munson’s Cancer Center. We’re outside the entire time, rain, or shine.

 

Why: This data is sent re-analyzed by Watershed Center trained professionals then sent in to Mi Corps of Engineers for the final review/approval and documentation. This data is very important in keeping track of the health of our watershed. It can detect issues and help to resolve them before they become bigger ecological issues. Plus, it’s fun to get outside and give kids (and often adults) a chance to learn more about nature.