Creatures of the Deep

Week of March 29, 2026 – April 4, 2026

by Kaylen Iorio, Environmental Educator

Throughout the year, 3rd graders throughout the Syracuse City School District are receiving Nature in the City (NITC) lessons revolving around water. In their first lesson, students identify parts of the water cycle and discuss how humans impact this cycle. They also observe how pollutants like pesticides, road salt, and trash can get into our waterways when large storms bring lots of rainfall. 

In their second NITC lesson we dive a little deeper into who’s living in the creeks, ponds, and lakes around Syracuse. We discuss how those creatures survive in aquatic habitats and what they can tell us about the water quality. Before each lesson, NITC educators collect Benthic Aquatic Macroinvertebrates from Philip’s Pond at Baltimore Woods to bring into each classroom. We collect animals like dragonfly larvae, dobsonfly larvae, leeches, predacious diving beetles, water boatmen and so many more! These animals live at the bottom of freshwater habitats, lack backbones, and although small, can be seen without a microscope. 

Before observing the creatures up close, students are asked to create their own aquatic animal by adding adaptations that will help it survive within a pond habitat. This activity is so much fun and allows the students to be creative while understanding the concept of adaptations. As the classroom adds more and more features to the creature it can start to look pretty silly! 

Then students get to see real Benthic Aquatic Macroinvertebrates up close! Students are so excited to see creatures they’ve never seen before and the different ways in which they’ve adapted to their environment. Many of the invertebrates are dark brown and black in color and students often point this out as an adaptation to help the animals to camouflage in their habitat. Dobsonfly larvae are often hiding underneath leaves and even when the leaf is turned over you can hardly see the invertebrate because it is so well blended into its environment! 

I’ve noticed students sharing how the creatures are moving through the water and identifying the apparatus they’re using to move around. In one classroom, the students were fascinated by how the leeches move by suctioning their back end to the ground, moving their front end forward, and then sliding their back end up. The students told me that leeches use suction to hold themselves down in the water because they don’t have legs to crawl like the other animals! When I asked why they think a lot of the invertebrates have legs the students tell me it’s because they live at the bottom of the pond and need to climb and hold themselves onto the leaves and sticks to camouflage! Having this experience is incredibly helpful for students to make discoveries about different types of animals and how they’re adapted to their habitat. It’s amazing to see how quickly students connect the animals’ adaptations to where they live! 

Soon, 3rd graders in Syracuse will get a special NITC lesson where they’ll get to explore the habitat where Benthic Aquatic Macroinvertebrates live and even get to collect the creatures themselves!

We invite our members to enjoy a weekly blog written by our naturalists. Every blog will be uniquely different but always inspired by nature. We may share a memory from a recent hike at The Woods or teach you about an animal or plant that lives on the preserve. No matter the topic, we will be sharing with you our passion for nature and celebrating the connections we all have to the natural world. Each blog will be connected to a weekly set of activities and ideas to help you put nature in your hands, even if you’re at home!