Scott Hayes | [email protected]
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
A sign-up sheet is now available for all citizen scientists who love lakes.
The 2023 is set to start in May, but Living Lakes Canada鈥檚 program co-ordinator Camille LeBlanc wants people to plan ahead for this year and for future years as well.
鈥淭he fundamental goal of the Lake Blitz is to raise awareness on how climate change and other human impacts (pollution and the spread of invasive species) are impacting lake health year to year, bringing that entry-level water monitoring into the mainstream by providing the tools and the language and the support for anybody to really monitor their lake,鈥� LeBlanc said.
The notice for this spring/summertime activity has gone out in this mid-winter period for two reasons. The first and most important reason is to help spread the word farther.
Secondly, it鈥檚 to make sure that lake monitoring kits get into volunteers鈥� hands with plenty of time to spare. The last-minute rush that organizers experienced last year may have inadvertently meant that some data was lost or uncollected.
Canada鈥檚 lakes are threatened by habitat loss, invasive species, pollution and climate impacts including rising water temperatures. Data is a vital survival tool that helps scientists and researchers record and track changes across time.
Registering as a volunteer means helping those scientists to broaden their reach. After all, Canada has the most lake area of this country, according to the . That means that our lakes need all the help that they can get.
Those who sign up will receive a free Lake Blitz Standard Kit that includes a thermometer, tape measure, field guide and datasheets. Living Lakes Canada offers free online training on everything. There is also a Level 2 Kit that can allow the citizen scientist the capability to measure pH and water clarity, among other parameters. That kit requires further training and costs $65 each plus shipping.
Volunteers also get access to monthly meetups and online workshops with expert guest speakers.聽聽
All of the data they collect will then be uploaded to the .
The also offers its own similar volunteer-based program called LakeWatch.
Living Lakes Canada is striving to make its National Lake Blitz as user-friendly and universally-accessible as possible so that more people become involved and more data gets collected.
鈥淚t's a very sustainable monitoring program, because it's easy for anybody to take up. It's fairly consistent,鈥� LeBlanc said. 鈥淚t's simple tools. You can really gain a lot of insights from comparing photos year to year and also looking at temperature trends.鈥�
It鈥檚 all with the goal of expanding data collection, something that Living Lakes Canada and other groups say is crucial yet inadequate. She referred to a by the World Wildlife Federation which found that 60 per cent of subwatersheds are data deficient.
鈥淒ata drives decision making. It's something that we want to use for research studies to really understand what's going on.鈥�
Registration for the National Lake Blitz closes on May 1. People can sign up by visiting .
