BY KAREN BOSSICK

What are aquatic macroinvertebrates? And why are they important?

They’re small spineless animals that live in the water and are big enough to see with the naked eye.  And they can help tell us just how healthy the Big Wood River is.

Pat Edwards, director of the Environmental Professional Program at Portland State University, will talk about how macroinvertebrate sampling can be a critical tool when evaluating the health of a river at 6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 19, at The Community Library.

The program is co-hosted by The Library and the Wood River Land Trust as part of the Land Trust’s Thinking Globally, Acting Locally speaker series.

The program will examine macroinvertebrates, such as insects, worms, mollusks and crustaceans that make their homes in rocks, leaves and the sediment of streambeds. Then there will be a short presentation of the Land Trust’s new macroinvertebrates sampling program.

To see it in person, go to https://thecommunitylibrary.libcal.com/event/9510696. the program also will be livestreamed and available to view later at https://vimeo.com/event/2690867.