Seventh grade Life Science students will have completed a number of water quality and ecosystem activities prior to this MWEE field experience. You will see those activities referred to (e.g. Beneath the Surface) in the following two Testing the Waters guides posted below. Seventh graders will be given the student guide which they will bring with them on the field experience.  Please read both the student and teacher's guide to gain an understanding of the activities you may be facilitating.  During each field experience there are four stations, described in the guides, that GMU interpreters will be directing.   Depending on the site, we may have duplicates of each station.

- Testing the Waters Student Guide

- Testing the Waters Teacher-Interpreter Guide

To further enhance your knowledge of Chesapeake Bay water quality, click on this Livebinders URL for a folder full of informative links.  

Park Information you should know to add value to your station.

Lake Accotink map.      Read through the history of the lake, why and when it was built.  The last sentence, which is cut off reads...Camp A. A. Humphreys is known as Fort Belvoir.

Description
The headwaters of Accotink Creek are located in the center of Fairfax County and the stream drains southeast  into Accotink Creek which flows into Accotink Bay which meets Gunston Cove which flows into the tidal Potomac River which flows into the Chesapeake Bay.   Accotink creek's connection to the Bay.

Major Streams and Tributaries
Major tributaries to Accotink Creek include Bear Branch, Crook Branch, Daniels Run, Hunters Branch and Long Branch.

Watershed Size
51 square miles, total,  38 square miles within Fairfax County

Unique Features
Lake Accotink, with a surface area of approximately 70 acres, is located in the central portion of the watershed. Approximately 12 square miles of the watershed are not under the jurisdiction of Fairfax County, lying within the City of Fairfax or Fort Belvoir.  Why is Lake Accotink shrinking? Sedimentation! Learn more about sedimentation in Lake Accotink.

Lake Fairfax map.  Lake Fairfax is fed by

Burke Lake was constructed in

Bay Daily Blog:  gives you some Bay-related topic to share with the students if time permits.