Community monitoring hubs will open in July

July 10, 2020

Testing the water in Toronto Harbour, 2019

With temperatures soaring and people staying close to home, Swim Drink Fish is very happy to announce that community water quality monitoring programs will start running this month. That means more up-to-date water quality data from more places, including popular paddling areas like False Creek in Vancouver and Harbourfront in Toronto.

Community monitoring programs usually rely on groups of volunteers to collect samples and observations at least once a week all summer long. Because of COVID-19, Swim Drink Fish staff will be doing most of the sample collection themselves.

If you are eager to practice citizen science, don’t worry. We’ll be hosting a series of online trainings and talks so you can still learn how to collect and share information about your waterfront. You’ll be able to head out into the field whenever you want and collect valuable information for Swim Drink Fish’s database.

Make sure you’re subscribed to Swim Drink Fish’s newsletter if you want to be notified about upcoming training events.

Monitoring hubs in Vancouver, Niagara, and Toronto will be up and running in July. Monitoring hubs in Kingston, on Manitoulin Island, and on Lake Huron will open as soon as possible. With the temperatures soaring and many beaches overcrowded already, we hope the community monitoring data will help more people access the water safely this summer. Stay tuned.

Read more about Swim Drink Fish’s citizen science community monitoring program.

Update as of July 27:

The hubs in Vancouver, Niagara, and Toronto are up and running! 

Look for results on Swim Guide for:

• Vancouver: Olympic Village

• Niagara: Gravelly Bay - Sugarloaf and Waverly - Public Road Allowances

• Toronto: Marina Four, Rees Street, and Ontario Place West Island Beach 

Stay tuned for upcoming volunteer opportunities, if you haven’t already please sign-up for our newsletter!