Build Your Team and Define Your Focus

• Partner with an existing local group or establish a new one with at least 80 committed members.
• As a group, decide what your FreshWater Watch project will prioritize. Will you: Monitor potential pollution sources? Investigate water quality at special or protected sites? Track the impact of local restoration or conservation efforts?
• Ensure everyone understands the purpose and value of the project, and is excited to contribute

FreshWater Watch set up

• Once you have completed your 30-day challenge with ChangeX and received your funding, Earthwatch will get in touch to confirm the details of your project, provide more information and share an Agreement for the Group Manager to sign.
• Together we will work out how many water monitoring kits you need to cover your FreshWater Watch activities for your first 12 months.
• We will set up a personalised page for your group on our FreshWater Watch platform and create a data survey which you can access via an app or an online form.

 

Online training

Earthwatch will share an online training session with you and share some additional training resources, to explain and demonstrate how to:

• Register a username on the online platform
• Safely use the water monitoring kits
• Set up the mobile app (optional)
• Upload your data (via the app or online form)
• Interpret and analyse your results

Using this information, the Group Manager will train up all volunteers within the group so that they can safely and accurately collect data, and confidently use the online platform and/or mobile app.

Start monitoring!

• Your group can now get outside and start monitoring your chosen waterbody / bodies!
• We suggest that you monitor once a month, but you can monitor more frequently if you wish.
• Upload your data in real-time via the mobile app, or use a paper datasheet and enter your written results through the online form at a desktop computer or laptop when you return home.
• You will be able to see your results live on our online map, with an instant feedback message showing whether your waterbody is in good, moderate or poor ecological health.

Analyse and take action

• Using the online visualisation tools, review and analyse your data.
• Work with Earthwatch to draw some conclusions from your data.
• Communicate your findings, with your group and wider - think about which local stakeholders you could engage to maximise the impact of your collected data.
• Action planning - with your group, consider what next steps you wish to take to take/drive action.