2. Riverfly Monitoring Initiative
Themes: Education and monitoring; Ecology and morphology
Objectives:
- Improve knowledge and understanding of the catchment
- Reduce the frequency and severity of pollution
Project description
Establishing Riverfly Monitoring along the Lower Lea.
Riverfly monitoring is a national scheme whereby local volunteers are trained in how to sample for and identify a range of freshwater invertebrates.This helps to record and report changes in water quality, resulting from pollution and low flows.
Every month, pairs of volunteers monitor the same site on their local river, building up a picture of the river's health and generating a score for it each month. If this score drops below a certain 'trigger level', it indicates there has been a pollution event and the Environment Agency are alerted so they can investigate and address the source.
A number of sites have been set up and we are looking for more volunteers to help record these, as well as increase the number of sites monitored.
If you would like to be trained as a Riverfly Monitor, please contact the Hub Coordinator on details below.
For more information please click here.