learn over lunchIndiana Watersheds Webinar Series Webinars to Strengthen Watershed Management in Indiana

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Getting Their Feet Wet: Community Sampling of the Wabash River



Volunteer Blitz samplers

Aired: November 13, 2012 from noon to 1pm EST

Learn about the Wabash Sampling Blitz that has engaged over 600 volunteers in water quality sampling. The Wabash River Enhancement Corporation (WREC) is a nonprofit organization that was established in 2004 to improve the quality of life in the Wabash River Corridor in Central Indiana through improved environmental management, community education and economic development. In the fall of 2009, WREC teamed up with researchers at Purdue University to establish a volunteer monitoring program called the Wabash Sampling Blitz. Its purpose is to not only get a snapshot of water quality every fall and spring throughout two local watersheds, but also to improve environmental awareness in the community by engaging citizens in the process. Volunteers collect data on turbidity, temperature, pH and nutrients, and secondary samples they collect are sent to a lab for E. coli and nutrient analyses, all of which are used to assess the quality of streams in the area, as well as in education efforts by WREC. Blitz success is shown by the usefulness of data that is collected and by volunteer participation. An average of 161 people volunteered an average of 416 hours each Blitz, and 126 of 604 unique volunteers participated in more than one Blitz. It is clear this effort is impacting the community in multiple ways.

 

 

Meet the Presenters:

Sara Peel, Director of Watershed Projects, Wabash River Enhancement Corporation

Rebecca Logsdon, Ph.D. Student, Agricultural & Biological Engineering, Purdue University

Lindsay Payne, Ph.D. Student, Ecological Sciences and Engineering, Purdue University
 

Presentation slides (in pdf)

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