That cute rock stack by the creek just killed a bunch of mosquito killers.
Dragonflies spend most of their lives underwater, sometimes up to five years, clinging to rocks while they grow.
A single dragonfly larva eats hundreds of mosquito larvae before it ever flies.
But dragonflies are just one species. The rocks in a healthy stream are also covering caddisfly larvae, mayflies, stoneflies, water beetles, salamander egg clutches, and the freshwater snails that fish depend on.
Eastern Hellbenders, an endangered giant salamander species, lay their eggs specifically under flat stream rocks. Moving the rock kills the clutch.
When you pull a wet rock out of the water and stack it on the bank, everything clinging to that rock dies. They desiccate within minutes in the sun.
A single rock pile is dozens of small lives lost. Most stream cairns are stacks of fifteen to twenty rocks.
If you see stacked rocks at a creek, knock them over. The stream rebuilds itself faster when rocks are scattered the way water put them.
Leave no trace isn't an aesthetic preference. It's real habitat protection.
BIKER DOWN | Would you know what to do if you were the first on the scene of a collision involving a motorcyclist? We're running a FREE Biker Down course on Sunday (19 April) at Safety Central in Lymm.
Find out more about the course and book your place
👉 https://t.co/AcpU8XpNRf
If you're riding regularly, please consider carrying our Biker I.C.E. Card. It gives emergency services staff vital information about the right treatment for you, should you be involved in an accident. https://t.co/bdWZ2NGlaf
Delivered my first Bike & Brew pack to Cafe Riverside Omelette House (No.164) in Saffron Walden this morning. What a lovely couple 🥰 it's their first year participating as a venue so make sure you visit to get a stamp Homemade baklava to die for 😋
Must have walked past this a hundred times and never noticed it. You can see why they started painting them red! One of the oldest post boxes in the country, or so the blue plaque says. Lyme Regis, Dorset.
#PostboxSaturday
If you're riding regularly, please consider carrying our Biker I.C.E. Card. It gives emergency services staff vital information about the right treatment for you, should you be involved in an accident. https://t.co/bdWZ2NGSZN
Why do you wear a poppy?
Whatever your reason - don’t underestimate the impact that wearing one has on those who serve, have served and their families.
Let us know in the comments ⬇️
#RoyalBritishLegion#Remembrance