Friday, May 4, 2018

All-volunteer ‘River Dipper’ program monitors health of local waterways

The Black River Action Team, in their 6th year of water quality monitoring in southeastern Vermont, unveils plans for 2018.

River Dipper volunteers sample 14 sites on the main stem of the Black River and select tributaries, each month from May through September. BRAT will continue weekly monitoring 6 swimming holes for bacteria, with results being posted at the "Is It Clean?" website hosted by the Connecticut River Conservancy at http://connecticutriver.us/site/content/sites-list.

For 2018, students from three Springfield schools will conduct bioassessment projects, learning about the aquatic macroinvertebrates ("river bugs") that live at some of the River Dipper sites. The biological data will support the chemical results, deepening and strengthening the overall picture of water quality in the watershed. "These young people are going to be the next generation of town managers, select board members, landowners, and voters," says BRAT Director Kelly Stettner. "I'm eager to help them make connections between land and water, humans as part of the larger ecosystem, and themselves with the river." This educational partnership is made possible by a grant from the Vermont Watershed Grant Program and support from the participating schools. Projects range from on-site "bug hunts" and exploring leaf packs, to nature journaling and designing and deploying a water sampling device. Learn about the Watershed Grant Program at http://dec.vermont.gov/watershed/cwi/grants/watershed-grants

A display will be installed at the Springfield Town Library for the month of June as a tribute to National River Appreciation Month; the display of BRAT and student work can be viewed just inside the library entrance at 43 Main Street starting the first week of June.

Contact BRAT Director Kelly Stettner at blackrivercleanup@gmail.com or visit www.BlackRiverActionTeam.org

(Photo: BRAT volunteer Rodger Capron collecting water sample from the Tolles Dam swimming area in Weathersfield)

No comments :

Post a Comment


Please keep your comments polite and on-topic. No profanity

R E C E N T . . . C O M M E N T S

Springfield Vermont News is an ongoing zero-income volunteer hyperlocal news gathering project. No paid advertising is accepted on this site but any Springfield business willing to place a link to this news blog on their site will be considered for a free ad here. Businesses, organizations and individuals may submit write-ups and photos about any positive happenings here in Springfield that they are associated with and would be deemed newsworthy. Email the Editor at ed44vt@gmail.com.

Privacy statement: This blog does not share personal information with third parties nor do we store any information about your visit to this blog other than to analyze and optimize your content and reading experience through the use of cookies. You can turn off the use of cookies at anytime by changing your specific browser settings. We are not responsible for republished content from this blog on other blogs or websites without our permission. This privacy policy is subject to change without notice and was last updated on January 1, 2017. If you have any questions feel free to contact Springfield Vermont News directly here: ed44vt@gmail.com

Pageviews past week

---

Sign by Danasoft - For Backgrounds and Layouts