Construction of a Small Fresh Water Ecosystem

Abstract

In the spring of 1982 I created a small fresh water ecosystem in my backyard. During the summer, I spent many quiet hours inhaling the fragrance of water lilies while watching the metamorphosis of tadpoles into frogs and studying in detail the delicate patterns on the wings of dragonflies attracted to the edge of the pond. During these times I began to wish for a way to re-create this setting on my school campus so that we would have a constant supply of microorganisms available and an area to expand the possibilities for independent study projects.