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Huron, Ohio (August 23, 2022) - The Lake Erie Volunteer Science Network (LEVSN) - a collaboration of 16 local water quality monitoring programs convened by Cleveland Water Alliance (CWA) - has published a set of standards for volunteer-collected data that will empower communities to tell a new regional story about the health of our watersheds and support smart environmental education, research, and management.
Residents of Lake Erie communities feel a powerful sense of connection to their water resources. For years, local organizers have harnessed this energy to power “Citizen” or “Volunteer” science groups that monitor water quality across their watersheds. However, challenges related to the credibility and consistency of the collected data have often meant that experts and communities struggle to fully leverage the power of volunteer science to fill critical information gaps and support management of our precious natural resources.
To address these challenges, the new standards - called the Lake Erie Baseline Assessment Framework (LEBAF) - were co-developed with researchers and decision makers at CWA’s 2022 Lake Erie Citizen Science Summit with a goal of unlocking the potential of local groups to address the most pressing water governance, research, and advocacy challenges currently facing Lake Erie communities.
“The Lake Erie Volunteer Science Network has accelerated the existing organizational and grassroots volunteer monitoring ecosystem with the latest technology and a standardized framework for collecting and communicating credible environmental information,” said Dr. Christopher Winslow, Director of the Ohio Sea Grant College Program. “This effort has shifted the movement from isolated engagement and education efforts to an organized network of advocates armed with robust, real-time water quality data to effect decisions regarding regional infrastructure investments, priorities, and policies.”
The standards provide a framework for new and old volunteer programs to elevate the credibility of their work and chart a path for expanding and improving over time. At the end of each field season, the Lake Erie Volunteer Science Network will analyze and communicate data-based findings to participants and the public, driving progress towards the goal of clean and accessible water for all Lake Erie communities. In partnership with The Commons, the collaborative has also supported the development of an Open API that will increase the visibility of volunteer-collected data through state and federal databases, enabling easy connection to decision making, analysis, and modeling tools. Over the past two years, the Lake Erie Volunteer Science Network has piloted cutting edge technologies that empower communities to monitor nutrient pollution and harmful algal bloom toxins. Now working with LimnoTech, its members are testing an affordable Sensor Kit, an in-situ sensor node with the capacity to gather basic physical and chemical data at significantly reduced cost.
“Old Woman Creek is excited for the opportunity to collaborate with others working on water quality monitoring in the Lake Erie basin,” said Dr. Jacob Cianci-Gaskill, Monitoring Coordinator for Old Woman Creek National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR). “The spatial extent encompassed by Lake Erie Volunteer Science Network is remarkable and will go a long way in capturing the environmental variability that occurs within Lake Erie tributaries. This work is crucial for understanding and protecting such an incredible natural resource as Lake Erie.”
The Old Woman Creek NERR and State Nature Preserve is a natural wetland on the southern shore of Lake Erie. Water quality monitoring within the Reserve has occurred since 1980 as part of a national monitoring program. The quantification of processes that occur in wetlands, such as water filtration capacity and nutrient processing, allows for more informed decision making and a better understanding of how to address environmental challenges like harmful algal blooms. The work that Old Woman Creek NERR does positively impacts local communities and contributes to our understanding of the importance of coastal wetlands on a national level as well.
Since its inception, CWA has managed LEVSN on behalf of the GLOW Lake Erie Partnership which includes Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation, Council of Michigan Foundations (CMF), Great Lakes Protection Fund, Greater Toledo Community Foundation, Lorain County Community Foundation, Cleveland Foundation, Northern Chautauqua Community Foundation, and Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo.
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