Keeping water clean is an important part of protecting the Ipswich River. This job requires community members coming together and looking out for the river. This basically describes the RiverWatch program; a community driven, volunteer monitoring program which tracks indicators of river health. Many dedicated individuals take part in the program and we are pleased to also work with Essex Technical High School. Essex Tech hosted the annual volunteer monitor training on March 10th in their school with the help of students and teachers in the Natural Resources Management Program.
A successful RiverWatch training was held at Essex Technical High School thanks to the students in the Natural Resources Management Program.Students in the Natural Resources Program at Essex Tech receive a high quality education through project based learning on the management of natural resources: water, soil, forests and wildlife. The school is located in Danvers, near the Ipswich River, and students spend part of their time studying the river environment and learning how to monitor river health.
The students gave an excellent presentation about their program and were then very helpful using their skills to assist volunteer monitors to complete the tasks that are part of the training process. Volunteers complete this annual training to become certified to collect high quality data at 32 sites across the watershed on a monthly basis. This data is a record of river health over time and throughout our work advocating for improvements in water and habitat management.
We are working to expand the RiverWatch program as part of our vision for 2020. This means more tests at more sights, resulting in better knowledge of our river’s health. Our ability to expand the program is closely linked with the success of our annual fundraiser, Paddle-a-thon. Our Clean Water Program, of which the RiverWatch program is the heart, is funded by the Paddle-a-thon. To support the program and clean water, please register for Paddle-a-thon 2018!