CITIZEN SCIENCE
THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE DATA
Citizen science is a really important part of our work. Like all of our volunteers, these specially trained groups include people from a wide range of backgrounds. But they all share one thing in common- a passion for nature and the outdoors.
Together, they take part in training courses and events, learn about the natural world around them, then use their skills to collect data for us. It works both ways too. Whilst we get valuable data and evidence, each citizen scientist gets all the training and equipment they need for free. Plus, many of our citizen scientists have noticed big improvements in their health and wellbeing. Improved mood, increased relaxation, and better physical health are just some of the benefits.
Over the last few survey seasons the Ribble Trust team have made big changes to our programme. By making data more accessible, standardizing methodologies, improving health and safety practice, and communicating more effectively we’ve managed to improve the experience for our citizen scientists.
What Is Citizen Science?
Citizen scientists play a critical role in environmental and river conservation efforts.
These volunteers are often local residents who have a deep connection to the natural world and a desire to protect their rivers, and the wildlife that relies on them, from harm.
Through their participation in various citizen science programs, these individuals collect valuable data that can be used to monitor changes in water quality, track the movement of wildlife, and identify potential threats to the environment.This data can then be used to influence everything from woodland creation to farmland habitat schemes to barrier removals.
As the eyes and ears of the catchment, our citizen science groups are often the first to notice patterns in data, changes to rivers, and issues. Plus, by providing a wealth of data, citizen scientists enable organisations like Ribble Rivers Trust to better target our work. This means we can make more informed decisions about which projects are needed to protect and improve rivers and other vital natural resources.
In addition to providing valuable data, citizen scientists can also help to raise awareness about environmental issues and engage the public in conservation efforts.
By empowering local residents to take an active role in protecting their environment, citizen science programs can foster a sense of community ownership and responsibility for the natural world.83
Our citizen science activities
Riverfly monitors
Riverflies are another important part of a healthy ecosystem.
These tiny insects form the basis of all river ecosystems, providing food for everything from other insects to fish to birds. Of course, these then go on to provide food for other, larger animals.
Riverflies are easy to collect and count and as our volunteers only have to identify eight species to group level, it’s relatively easy (with a little practice!).
The Riverfly Partnership’s riverfly monitoring scheme was one of the Trust’s first attempts at gathering and using data through citizen science. Over 130 sites have been monitored since 2010 with almost 2,000 results submitted. These results have helped us to identify pollution incidents and discovered invasive species never reported in the catchment’s rivers.
RiverBlitz Events
RiverBlitz events are one off, one day events where citizen scientists join together to collect information about water quality and biodiversity within a small area. The aim is to collect as much valuable data as possible. In particular, we focus on areas where there are gaps in knowledge, to help guide our future work to improve the health of rivers.
During RiverBlitz events, citizen scientists work together in groups to collect information about three key features in the river.
Firstly, for biodiversity, we look at what lives in the water, like insects, snails and crustaceans. Secondly, for water chemistry, we collect samples and test them for chemicals called phosphates and nitrates, which affect water quality. Finally, for habitat, we carry out simple assessments to record how natural the river bank, bed, and plant life is. Together this builds a complete picture of the health of a river.
Water quality monitoring
Water quality is a big issue in the Ribble catchment, and we collect data on a wide range range of factors, from bacteria levels through to water chemistry.
Our citizen science events focus on key areas of interest. For example, Edisford Bridge Bathing Water, is currently failing to meet the water quality standards required to be classed as fit to swim in.
Last year, citizens scientists identified numerous locations upstream of the bathing water where results exceeded recommended standards.
The information was shared with the Environment Agency, which they used to focus their interventions and resources.
It also helps to direct the efforts of our Team to ensure we direct our efforts where they could make the greatest impact not only for the Bathing Water, but for the health of the Ribble catchment as a whole.
