Become a stream monitor, no experience necessary
April 9, 2010
by Christine Yeres
Last year more than 100 people helped Westchester County in its effort to monitor the health of local streams and obtain test results for a detailed database on water quality. Volunteers – 14 and older – are needed again this year. This year’s first training session is Saturday, April 24, at Teatown Lake Reservation, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
No experience is necessary to volunteer. The training session consists of a day outdoors, learning and practicing how to use specialized water chemistry equipment, collecting and identifying river critters such as crawfish and insects, and measuring physical conditions such as the amount of sediment in a stream.
The Westchester County Citizens’ Volunteer Monitoring Program (CVMP) was started in 2003 as part of a comprehensive program to protect the county’s water quality. The data collected by the volunteers is added to the baseline of water quality data for Westchester County streams. Over time, the data will be used to document the health of county streams.
Following the training, volunteers may join a team to collect data on a local stream or organize their own team. Volunteers will be able to choose monitoring locations and decide how much time they can commit to monitoring. To sign up for a workshop, contact Susan Darling at the Westchester County Department of Planning at 995-6535 or by email at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). Register at least one week in advance so that directions and information on the training sessions can be mailed to you beforehand. For more information, visit the CVMP website at: http://cvmp.westchestergov.com/. The program is funded in part by a grant from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
If you miss the Teatown session, there are two other training session opportunities:
* Sat., May 1, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m., Rye Nature Center, Rye
* Sat., May 8, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m., Ward Pound Ridge Reservation, Cross River
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