Caddisfly larva                                     Water Penny                              Damselfly larva

Addison 8th grade -- Writings on the Bean
(Some of the student writings have been excerpted to focus on the details about Bean Creek and the aquatic insects – see “Bean Creek Reflections” at the bottom of the page. Where parts have been omitted, you’ll see an ellipsis, these three dots . . .)

We Looked at the Water, by Danny Adair
    ...We looked at the water, and bugs, and other life in the water. Then we wrote about what we saw. Next year, I would like to see more fish and insects. Also I would like to see a change in environment and in the way people treat the river. I think the best part was having the leech move around on me.

The Bean, by Samantha Anderson
    Friday morning, we went to Bean Creek. It was really cold that morning so we had to take a coat. Anyways! We got down to the creek and a lady talked to us about what to look for. It was okay down there; it wasn’t the best, but I made it fun for my partner and me. We found a lot of bugs...

Bean Creek, by Chelsea Brasher
    When we went to Bean Creek we saw a ton of wildlife. We saw a bunch of baby bugs and stuff. I also saw a huge leech. It was cool.
Overall Bean Creek turned out better than I thought. I thought it would br boring but actually it was kinda cool. I have never really realized how much wild life was in a creek.

Exciting Adventure at Bean Creek, by Alicia Badders
    It was on a cold day as Mr. Marcum’s class headed down to Bean Creek. There we got to see all different creatures. My friend Katie and me were partners. We found many different creatures. My favorite insect was a little mayfly. The size of it is about ¼ inch. The color was brown and it swam quickly. It stuck to the leech. It was quite funny because the leech was getting very mad and frustrated with the mayfly. The leech was squirming all around with this laughing bug on it. It was a good experience for all of us because it let us see the nature and life cultures of insects.

Bean Creek Watershed Field Trip, by Christopher Biggs
    ...I think the best parts of our Bean Creek field trip were that we were able to escape our classroom, which is the only classroom in the middle school that is completely sealed off and has no windows...plus it is very warm all the time because it is next to the boiler room. We were able to explore nature and its inhabitants freely with very minimal guidance...and we also were able to be very creative with ourselves and realize what other life exists outside our human race and our human dwellings and customs.

Bean Creek Reflection, by Meaghan Bennett
    ...At Bean Creek we got to actually see the bugs and explore all by ourselves. We got to catch the bugs ourselves instead of watching someone else do it.
    The best part about the Bean Creek field trip was looking in the water, exploring it, trying to find any bugs that caught our eyes. We didn’t have to find what they wanted us to find. We were allowed to look for anything we wanted, looking through the magnifying glass to find bugs.
    If we were to take another Bean Creek field trip, I’d want to actually step in the creek to try to find other animals that we didn’t get to see in the tubs that we looked through (with the creek water in them). That is really the only thing I’d change about it, if I were to be the one in charge of the field trip. If there were no limit on how far you could go through the creek would be cool also. We could go as far down Bean Creek as we wanted.

At Bean Creek, by Amanda Chambers
    ...At Bean Creek there were lots of little bugs in the water. I was dared to touch a crayfish but when I touched its back, I jumped and screamed. I’m a bug chicken!!!
When we go back next year I want to see more of the creek and learn more about the trees. I like trees. Last year I took an extra-curricular Tree Hunters class. I like trees. Trees are cool. Oh, I also like peanut butter. But that has nothing to do with this.

Bean Creek Reflection!, by Nichole Dart
    ...We got to go outside and breathe fresh air instead of staying inside and listening to other people talk. We had medium-sized clean boxes with a big rock in it and some water from Bean Creek. You have to move the rock around for a while and some insects start coming out. My partner Jessica DeFay and I saw a lot of insects and life forms. We saw an assortment of larvae, bloodwaorms, a leech, and one of the larvae was mating with another which was a very interesting and educational sight. We got to use a magnifying glass, tweezers, and a cup to put our insects in.
The best part of Bean Creek was seeing a huge clam that was still alive, which is a very unusual sight at Bean Creek because not many clams that are living can be seen there.

Bean Creek, by Lisa Ellis
    A few weeks ago, we visited Bean Creek. We wanted to study the microorganisms that lived in the water. I was very surprised at what we found so late in the season.
    One of the organisms that we saw most was the caddisfly larva. This was an amazing insect that looked a lot like a small worm. It moved around much like a worm and had tiny areas of its body that contracted so it could move. I noticed tiny little hairs on its body and it really liked the rocks for food and protection.
    We saw some other things like mayfly larvae, and one crayfish, and a dragonfly larva. We also encoutrered some leeches and a variety of worms. The most amazing things was we found a catfish. I really enjoyed our adventure.

Bean Creek, by Kelsey Grove
    About a week ago we went to Bean Creek. There were lots of little critters and bugs. There was even a catfish. I looked at the organisms under a magnifying glass. The water was dirty and murky.
    There were leaves, rocks, and dirt mixed into the water. I saw a lot of bugs and worm creatures.

Bean Creek, by Hanna Gogda
    On the day that we went to Bean Creek it was a cold day. After a while you got used to it. At first I thought that I would not have fun but after all I did.
    My favorite little creature there was the bloodsucker. Chelsea and I found a lot of them. I also liked the snails and other little ones, but I have no idea what they were.

When We Went to Bean Creek, by Lyn LaCoe
    When we went to Bean Creek, it was very cold. I saw squirmy bugs who were wiggling around. They looked really mean, almost like they wanted to tell you to stop messing with their environment. It was pretty fun. I liked to try to figure out what kind of bug they were.        There were some pretty big bugs in there ! There was a large variety of critters in the cold water.

I Saw This Leech, by Gage Marshall
    I saw this leech. It was long and kind of sticky. At first I didn’t know it was a leech, so I reached my hand in the bucket and it stuck to me. I didn’t let it stay on very long because it felt weird. It was also hard to get off. It was stuck on the side of the bucket and wouldn’t come off.

Bean Creek, by Heather McCombie
    On a cold morning in October the 3rd hour class and I walked down to Bean Creek. There we pulled dirt out of the Creek to see what was living in it. We found a lot of stuff like leeches, and larvae from many different bugs.
    I have never tried going to the Creek and pulling dirt out to inspect it. So this was a new experience for me. Looking through the dirt was sort of interesting because there is life there I never knew was there.

Bean Creek, by Lacey Miller
    When my class got to Bean Creek I wasn’t really excited because it was really cold and we were going to get wet. But right when I saw all of the little crawly bugs, and all of the slimy gross leeches, I started to go crazy. My partner Amanda and I found a lot of things. The best part was when Josh wasn’t paying any attention when we were yelling at him and he fell in a hole.
    The thing that I would change would be to let us get closer to the water like the high schoolers did.

Bean Creek Reflection, by Kelly Naughton
    The field trip was unique, cold, tiring, and fun! I can really say that I enjoyed Bean Creek. It was hands-on and up close. Compared to other field trips, this one was in fact different! Out of the ordinary, I guess you can say! But I bet you’re wondering why? Because we were involved, we were the ones searching under dirty rocks, wet leaves, and the mucky water. But the next time I go to the Bean I hope it’s warm and I can enjoy it and just try to take it all in!

Going to Bean Creek, by Tom Ohm
    Going to Bean Creek was pretty cool. Plus it got us out of class. I didn’t really know what the Bean Creek was or where it is, until that day. Those little wormy organisms were pretty hard to find. They only must have been 2 or so millimeters long. But that was the challenging part about it. It was pretty interesting until we had to leave. We should have been able to go into the creek to scoop up things, too. But oh well. I mean we got to examine the little larvae and worms and all the other things with a partner. I liked that trip, did you?

Boatie and Clammie, by Emily Palmer
    ...While we were there me and Kelly Naughton found a huge bug. Well, it wasn’t huge, it was big. We found out it was called a Boatman. So we named him Boatie. It was really sad to see him go. We had to let him back in the river afterwards. We also found a live clam. We named her Clammie. It was a lot of fun to find bugs!

Bloodworm, by Keyla Raby
    Our class took a trip to Bean Creek. At first I thought it would be boring, but when I got there I saw how cool the insects were. My partner Alicia and I found a bloodworm. It looked like a fiery red string, but it moved. When I say moved, I mean it squirmed and wriggled and scrunched all over the place. We also saw a big worm that looked like it was having a seizure. It was going fanatic. I had fun at Bean Creek and I would go back in the spring.

The Leech, by Tony Robertson
    The creature that I am going to write about is the leech. The leech was about 2 inches long and moved around a lot. When it moved it squiggled around in the water. It fought with other creatures in the water. The color of this leech was a dark red or maroon. It looked like a very small eel. It would move by wiggling and siggling side to side. It was quick for its size.

Bean Creek Reflections
by Kyra Shepherd

Tiny little creatures hiding in the sand.
Each with their own body features.
Some will grow up to be beautiful bugs that live on land.
Some people think they are scary, mean creatures.

But we must come to understand
That whether or not they live like us
That each and every organism is grand.
But when humans see them they make a fuss.

Some creatures I saw were great.
I got to take really good looks at such tiny bugs.
Some had 6 legs and some had 8!
Then I realized the bugs were so cool.

So next time you go to the Bean Creek stream
You might see them if you look close
And if you find one of these great bugs you will beam
Because they are able to hide very well, so look hard!

Bean Creek
by Mitch Silveus

Bean Creek is full of life
Hopping with bugs with no wife.
All the leeches freak people out.
Nobody likes it, I highly doubt.

Bean Creek is a wonderful place.
Have a good time and set your pace.
Everyone has a good time.
It’s really fun if you don’t mind.

Bean Creek is tons of fun
Finding bugs in a wonderful sun.
And if you play squirt guns
I wouldn’t put the water in the gun.

Bean Creek, by Nate Stanton
    My trip to Bean Creek was exciting. As soon as I got down there, my partner and I found a good-sized leech just laying in the water. We also found a live snail and a bunch of larvae for insects. We found a few clam shells but I think only one was alive. Overall the experience was great and I have a lot of fun.

Our Visit to Bean Creek Watershed, by Mykel Sumner
    We left Mr. Marcum’s room early Tuesday morning for a visit to Bean Creek. A lady named Mrs. Kauffman from Eastern Michigan took us to the creek along with Mr. Marcum. Chad Tison was my partner.
    While we were there we found many things. One of the most interesting things was a caddisfly larva. We found it in the creek on a rock.
We also found a wter penny on a rock. It looked like a penny that was stuck to a rock, but it was really an insect or bug. It was really neat looking.
    We also found several other things. We found a crayfish, a leech, and some psychopathic worm. If you touched the worm with the tweezers it would start squiggling really fast. I nicknamed it psycho worm.
    After having a good time, we had to leave to go back to the school. It was a really fun trip, though, and we got to see logs of neat things that you don’t get to see sitting in the classroom.

Bean Creek, by Chad Tison
    There were creepy, crawling little critters that popped out and gave you the jitters. You never know, they could’ve been jiggers. It was very neat, but I could’ve used a better seat. The things were so small they’d curled up in a ball, and you could hardly see them at all. I had such a blast, but it went very fast. I’m sorry I have to go and oh yeah, I named a little critter Moe.

Bean Creek
by R. J. Vayda

Bean Creek, Bean Creek,
all it is is a tiny leak
full of plants and life
the tension so thick you could cut it with a knife

Bean Creek, Bean Creek
has all the bugs you could ever see
full of worms and leech
it makes all the girls screech

Bean Creek, Bean Creek
it has more life every week
a branch is an environment in itself
if life was money it would have the most wealth

Have You Ever Visited Bean Creek? by Kelley Watson
    Have you ever visited Bean Cree? Well, believe it or not, my 8th grade class walked down to Bean Creek one cold, cloudy day. I’m going to share with you a little information about Bean Creek that I observed.
    We were able to see many different water animals. There were a lot of dark leeches and aquatic worms that I saw. Now, Bean Creek down in Addison is not the most beautiful creek, but it sure does have a lot of insects living in the creek.

The Bean Creek Project, by Eden Zysk
    About a week ago my class went down to Bean Creek. We saw a lot of different squirmy things. We saw a lot of different larvae and the biggest one was a dragonfly larva. It had long legs and looked pokey. We saw a crayfish and a little catfish. It was really cold out, but there were a lot of scary lookin’ things in there. All in all, it was fun.

Bean Creek Reflections
...I would like it in a warmer season and if they would’ve made it inside! (Jake Allen)
...What I would like to see different for the next Bean Creek field trip is that we would be able to go down to the creek and pick things that we wanted. (BreAnne Benner)
...Bean Creek was different from other field trips because we had to walk and it was freezing cold. Next year I would want to be able to go into the water and look... (Jaron Butts)
...Next time we should be able to find stuff in the water. (Hans Calloway)
...The best part of the Bean Creek field trip was...looking at what things live in the creek. (Jennifer Clark)
...I would like to see a crayfish or any other animal that is bigger than what I saw the other day. I would also want to see the creek without all of the garbage in it and without all of the bricks. (Bryon Cole)
...I think the best part of Bean Crek was when we found the water creatures, and being outside. (Jessie Camacho)
...The best part of Bean Creek was being able to get right into looking for things and being able to work with whoever you wanted. (Dana Cook)
...I would like to see new creatures and I would like to see us be able to go for a longer time. (Kara Cripe)
... They should let us bring our fishing poles and go fishing in the Bean and see if we can catch some fish. (Derek Clemons)
...I also wish we could get some of our own bugs and everything. I wish that and I wish there would have been something to sit on and more time, and not to be rushed. But all in all it was fun. (Emily Davis)
...For the Bean Creek trip next year, I would like to see a longer time down there and warmer weather. (Travis Dear)
...It would be cool if we could get in the streams ourselves and look for different animals. (Josh DeBruler)
...I think the best part of Bean Creek was watching the bugs mate. There was another animal I think was very awesome-looking called a dragonfly larva. (Jessica DeFay)
...We got to hold bugs we found in the water. They were all wiggling and squirming in the water. A lot of them were stuck to rocks. The best part was when someone found a catfish. Then we found the leech.... (Mitch DeFay)
...I think that we should be able to see things that are found up the river. (Sara Dillon)
...You got to do hands-on stuff. You didn’t have a director or anybody that told you what you had to do. You could explore on your own. (Danielle Douglass)
...It was outdoorsy and I got to look at creatures. (Nick Eastman, Casey Glover, Corey Fulwood))
...We got to see a boatman. It swam like really fast through the water. (Nate Elston)
...We were outside the whole time and everything we did was hands on. (Tom Ferguson)
...I think the best part at Bean Creek was when I saw the leech for the very first time ever. They look like small little worms but black. I would like to see the entire creek. (Kyle Ford)
...You got to see different creatures and feel how their skin is on their body. You got to experience the different animals and a few of the clams and bugs. (Matt Fox)
...I thought the best part was finding the animals. I would let us go as far down the creek as possible. (Donny Freed)
...It was at some point exciting. We saw really cool bugs. We saw a boatman and called it Boaty. Eno called him that, it was really funny. (Eryn Fulwood)
...I’d like the field trip to last a little longer so we can try and find more different bugs. I liked that we got to actually see the little critters and what they looked like. (Stephanie Gentz)
...We got to look at ugly bugs on rocks. It was pretty interesting. (Josh Goethals)
....We got to find things like caddisfly larvae and dobsonfly larva. We got to walk to a park. I would like to see the river. I would like it to be warmer. Not too warm. I would like to see the stuff inside the river. (Robert Gould)
...The best part of Bean Creek was when we found a catfish and a crawfish. It was really cool. I didn’t know we had crawfish in Bean Creek! (Tori Hastings)
When our class went to Bean Creek it wasn’t nearly as fun as it would have been going to a Museum. For one thing, we had to walk instead of taking a bus. We also had to stay out in the cold...(Jamie Leindecker)
...The best part of Bean Creek was when me and Kara caught a leech and a catfish. (Brandi Mackey)
...I would like to go somewhere I hadn’t been. I would like to stay longer and not be so cold. (Jimmy Mickel)
...We got to touch the animals and bugs that had come out of the river. It was a different experience for us. We got to learn more about the environment around us. (Kim Miller)
...When I go back next year I would like to see less trash and gunk and cleaner water with less toxins in it than other streams. Because, man, it’s a dump. (Alex Moore)
...I would like to have a longer field triip to explore more and find more creatures, to see their habitat and see what else could be in the creek. (Anthony Pasley)
...We found a lot of bugs and clams, it was boring, so I talked the whole time but my group was the only group that found a caddisfly larva. (Cate Robinson)
...We got to pair off and explore the creatures in the water (Susan Russell)
...We went to see all the bugs and the things that live in the creek. We had a seat on a tarp and looked into a magnifying glass. (Tyler Schupbach)
...The best part of Bean Creek was when we got to pick up the bugs and look at the weird stuff like a catfish that someone found and leeches, caddisfly larvae, and that is it. (Dylan Schwyn)
...Mainly I think we should have more time and maybe we could’ve tried to clean up some garbage, for the animals. (Taylor Shute)
...When I was at Bean Creek I hd a lot of fun because I was able to touch and see some tiny water organisms that I have never seen before. (Frank Thomas)
...The best part was getting to touch and see all the different types of creatures. It was fun to look at them through magnifiers. (Jayme Thornton)
...The best part of the Bean Creek field trip was the walk there and the walk back. (Chris Watson)
...Something I would like to see different is less leeches. I don’t like leeches. Something else is more different insects. It would be neat to see more insects living there. (Erika Webb)
...The best part about Bean Creek was that we got to see many different types of bugs and animals that live in the water. (Cassie Williams)
...I would like to see the creek clean up some, and we shouldn’t go to that part of the river because there was so little water in the creek there. (Isaac Williams)
...The best part about the field trip is that it was in our community and we weren’t forced to mess with what we found. It’s nice to know that there is more to Bean Creek than just garbage that you see on the surface. It’s great to know what actually lives there. (Amanda Witte)
...I would like to go to a different place because we already saw the river once. The bugs were cool though. (Cody Yettaw)