Help us monitor the health of a local stream near your home! There are approximately 3,000 miles of streams and 100,000 storm drains in Mecklenburg County. We have an extensive surface water quality monitoring program, but we need your help monitoring this vast network of streams and storm drains. Participating in the Volunteer Monitoring Program is also a great way to teach kids about the local environment.
The Volunteer Monitoring Program welcomes individual residents, families, civic clubs, scout troops, home school educators, and college students – anyone who wants to learn more about monitoring the surface water quality of streams.
If you are an elementary, middle or high school educator and you are interested in teaching your students about surface water quality, please see the contact below. A monitoring education program specifically for schools has recently been developed and may be available for your students.
Introduction to Volunteer Monitoring Workshop
Volunteers will participate in an “Introduction to Volunteer Monitoring Workshop”. This workshop will introduce participants to surface water quality and monitoring techniques. Once volunteers have attended the training and signed a contract, they can borrow equipment to monitor their assigned stream segment twice a year; preferably in the spring and the fall. Volunteers should provide monitoring data to us as soon as they collect it so we can quickly follow up on any issues found. Just fill out the
Volunteer Monitoring Form. To register for the next Volunteer Monitoring Workshop e-mail
Deania Russo.
Bug ID Day
Volunteers also have the opportunity to attend our “Bug ID Day”. This is a day when we welcome volunteers into our Laboratory to help identify and learn about macroinvertebrates (or “bugs”) that are collected in streams. Identifying the macroinvertebrates that live in a stream is a great way to assess surface water quality. Identifying them is usually a favorite activity for adults and kids too! The date and registration details for the next “Bug ID Day” will be posted here once they are confirmed.
Questions?
Deania Russo
Deania.Russo@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov.
Mecklenburg County Senior Environmental Specialist
980-314-3225