IF you\u2019ve ever wondered what types of insects live in the waterways near you, staff at the Corangamite Catchment Management Authority would love your help.<\/p>\n
Citizen science project officer Kristen Lees is seeking the support of community volunteers who can assist the authority to test and monitor the water health of a local lake, river, creek, or wetland.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe empower the community to collect water quality data, which goes onto a big public portal, and gets used by waterway managers, like the City of Ballarat, and others, to basically assess the health of a particular waterway,\u201d Ms Lees said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll be training people in water testing, and how water bugs are an indicator of waterway health. Some bugs are very sensitive, and will get a high signal score, and some are more tolerant and will get a low score.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have multiple testing sites along the Yarrowee and Leigh rivers, and Lake Wendouree and Lake Esmond.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Corangamite CMA currently has 126 volunteers working across 130 water watch sites, including 10 estuaries.<\/p>\n
The project has been running for 30 years and has seen 680 volunteers working across 800 sites.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe program connects people with the waterway and likeminded people,\u201d Ms Lees said. \u201cThe community have a lot of local knowledge, so they are our eyes on the ground.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re doing citizen science that has a real impact. The data is used and it\u2019s credible, after 30 years.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur data has been used to assess waterways before and after the Scotsburn fires, for example. There are a number of stories that data can tell about a system.\u201d<\/p>\n
Corangamite CMA provides all the equipment and training. The Ballarat East Neighbourhood House will have a water testing kit accessible. Visit bit.ly\/3QIYB1M to register.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
IF you\u2019ve ever wondered what types of insects live in the waterways near you, staff at the Corangamite Catchment Management Authority would love your help. Citizen science project officer Kristen Lees is seeking the support of community volunteers who can assist the authority to test and monitor the water health of a local lake, river, […]<\/p>\n