Details of T21's partnership work with Thames Water and the local authority to engage citizen scientists in monitoring and managing water quality on the Lea and the Tidal Thames

1. THAMES RIVER WATCH AND LOVE THE LEA
Thames River Watch and Love the Lea | 2nd October 2015 | © Thames21
Alice Hall

2. THAMES21’S WORK
1 Thames River Watch and Love the Lea | 2nd October 2015 | © Thames21

3. CITIZEN SCIENCE MONITORING
2 Thames River Watch and Love the Lea | 2nd October 2015 | © Thames21
Many benefits of citizen science monitoring
• Improving understanding in the issues affecting London’s waterways
• Raising awareness through education work in schools
• Gathering really valuable data
- influence decisions about management of waterways
- communicate messages to a wider audience
Geographical areas
• Thames River Watch
• Love the Lea
• Ravensbourne
• Brent

4. LOVE THE LEA
3 Thames River Watch and Love the Lea | 2nd October 2015 | © Thames21

5. LOVE THE LEA
4 Thames River Watch and Love the Lea | 2nd October 2015 | © Thames21

6. LOVE THE LEA
5 Thames River Watch and Love the Lea | 2nd October 2015 | © Thames21

7. THAMES RIVER WATCH: A NEW PROJECT
6 Thames River Watch | 14th July 2015 | © Thames21
Engaging Londoners in the tidal Thames
Citizen Science leading to an important data set for the tidal Thames
Understanding the health of the tidal Thames

8. THAMES RIVER WATCH: GETTING SET UP
7 Thames River Watch | 14th July 2015 | © Thames21
What to monitor?
Which monitoring equipment to use?
How to engage people, schools and businesses?
How to equip volunteers with skills for citizen science monitoring?
How to gather data from volunteers?

9. THAMES RIVER WATCH: GETTING STARTED
8 Thames River Watch and Love the Lea | 2nd October 2015 | © Thames21
What to monitor?
• Water quality
• Litter
• Invasive non-native species

10. THAMES RIVER WATCH: GETTING STARTED
9 Thames River Watch and Love the Lea | 2nd October 2015 | © Thames21
Which monitoring equipment to use?
• Appropriate for monitoring the
conditions in the tidal Thames
• Affordable to give to team of
citizen science volunteers
How to engage people, schools and
businesses?
• Thames21 works with over
20,000 volunteers each year
• Project identity and branding

11. THAMES RIVER WATCH: GETTING STARTED
10 Thames River Watch and Love the Lea | 2nd October 2015 | © Thames21

12. THAMES RIVER WATCH: GETTING STARTED
11 Thames River Watch and Love the Lea | 2nd October 2015 | © Thames21
How to equip volunteers with skills for citizen science monitoring?

13. THAMES RIVER WATCH: GETTING STARTED
12 Thames River Watch and Love the Lea | 2nd October 2015 | © Thames21
How to gather data from volunteers?

14. THAMES RIVER WATCH: UP AND RUNNING
13 Thames River Watch and Love the Lea | 2nd October 2015 | © Thames21
Project was launched in February 2014
Big Count events held in February 2015
• Celebrate the achievement of our citizen science volunteers,
• Worked with experts to analyse and interpret data
• Communicate the messages of the project to a wider audience,
• Recruit new volunteer to the project

15. THAMES RIVER WATCH: UP AND RUNNING
14 Thames River Watch and Love the Lea | 2nd October 2015 | © Thames21

16. THAMES RIVER WATCH: UP AND RUNNING
15 Thames River Watch and Love the Lea | 2nd October 2015 | © Thames21

17. THAMES RIVER WATCH: 2015 AND BEYOND
16 Thames River Watch and Love the Lea | 2nd October 2015 | © Thames21
2015
• Core work continues - training new volunteers, delivering education
work, keeping the interest of the volunteers already involved
• Greater focus this year on litter monitoring
• Big Count events in 2016
What next?
• Perhaps include laboratory monitoring of emerging chemicals, heavy
metals and micro-plastics
• Creating community hubs to bring citizen science volunteers together.

18. BLUE GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE
17 Thames River Watch and Love the Lea | 2nd October 2015 | © Thames21

19. Thames River Watch and Love the Lea | 2nd October 2015 | © Thames21
Alice Hall | alice.hall@thames21.org.uk | 07554 402772