Citizen Scientists can now register to take part in this spring’s Land Yeo RiverBlitz. This is the second year of the project which aims to identify clean waters, to pinpoint pollution hotspots, and to help inform how actions could be taken to protect and enhance our waterways.
Bristol Avon Rivers Trust and Avon Wildlife Trust are seeking enthusiastic volunteers between 20th – 23rd May to take samples during their time spent near the river; whether it’s while exercising, walking, fishing, or exploring the waterways of the North Somerset Levels and Moors.
As a citizen scientist you will sample your chosen river or stream using our free and simple-to-use water testing kits. The water testing kits will test for nutrients in the water which will provide an indication of water quality. You will also be asked to take a look around and observe key features of the local environment which will give an insight into the wider ecological health of the river.
Click here to register for the Land Yeo RiverBlitz.
You can either receive your sample kits in the post or visit us on Saturday 21st May at Moorend Spout Nature Reserve in Nailsea to collect yours and find out all about the project and our wider work. Just enter your address for delivery or select ‘Collect at Land Yeo event’ to pick yours up.
The Land Yeo rises on Dundry Hill near Barrow Gurney Reservoirs and flows through various villages to Clevedon where it exits into the Bristol Channel. The target catchment also takes in the Middle Yeo and the network of ditches and rhynes where we would like to collect your samples. Data collected during the RiverBlitz will feed directly in to the Wilder Waterways project, which AWT and BART run collaboratively. Find out more here: Wilder Waterways | Avon Wildlife Trust
Our citizen science project has evolved since the first event in 2016, with the number of participants and amount of data involved growing year on year. Where we previously worked with a project partner to deliver the project, we have decided to go it alone in order to expand the number of events we can deliver throughout the year, engage more river guardians, monitor more of our watercourses and make more of an impact within the Bristol Avon catchment. At a time when Environment Agency monitoring is being reduced (by half since 2013), citizen science is more important than ever for anyone and everyone to help protect and enhance our vital freshwater ecosystems.
Our RiverBlitz project records high-level chemical and ecological health indicators of our rivers and streams, using easy-to-use testing kits and asking volunteers to observe a wide range of ecological characteristics in order to build up an in-depth and very useful picture of our watercourses. We hope you enjoy using the new platform and take the opportunity to get involved in the next event, the Land Yeo RiverBlitz.
