The Citizen Scientists of the Toronto Monitoring Hub

Author: Alysse Mathalon

“A President’s Choice shopping bag, a couple of tampon applicators, and a bright red condom, that is what I picked up out of the water outside of my house this morning.” - Shawn Vanderheyden, a resident of the Toronto Islands and a Toronto Monitoring Hub volunteer. 

How would I describe the volunteers who monitor at the Toronto Hub? They are caring, kind, intellectual thinkers, determined, helpful, inquisitive, proactive, and genuinely good people. 

Working with the volunteer citizen scientists this monitoring season has been incredibly rewarding. Together we are creating a community, a movement of people working for swimmable, drinkable, fishable water. 

A bit of background on the Toronto Hub

As of September 2020, for the past 5 summers, Swim Drink Fish staff and volunteer citizen scientists have collected water quality information at waterfront locations in Toronto that are popular, but that are not monitored by the City. We monitor the waters along the City of Toronto’s shorelines at Ontario Place West Island Beach, Humber Bay Park West, locations on the Toronto Islands, as well as in Toronto’s Inner Harbour. We test for E.coli and record environmental observations for things like pollution, wildlife, and the number of people present. High levels of E. coli indicate that sewage pollution is present in the water, along with other harmful contaminants. Testing for E.coli levels will indicate whether a site has passed failed the standard for recreational water quality in the City of Toronto. The results are shared with the public on the Swim Guide. 

Swim Drink Fish has learned that collecting information about the water and sharing it with the public is a recipe for positive change. Restoring our waters can take time, sometimes years, however, change also happens with the people who monitor the water. Citizen scientists form a community of water literate individuals whose curiosity and passion has motivated them to protect the environment. The Toronto Monitoring Hub is a gateway to becoming a water leader.

Meet the the Toronto Hub water leaders

Jane Anderson swims in Lake Ontario almost daily in the summer months, and even into autumn. She regularly checks the water quality at beaches in Toronto. Her personal observations have motivated her to connect with her city councillor to learn more and try to keep the beaches she cares about clean.

“We are so fortunate to live in a city where we can use the lake recreationally and feel safe. I think every citizen has a role to play in protecting our water. I like the concept of being a ‘citizen scientist’.” - Jane Anderson, Toronto Monitoring Hub Volunteer.

What is her vision for Toronto’s waterfront? Jane would love to see a world class open-water swimming venue at at least one of Toronto’s beaches that is safe (no boats allowed) for long distance swimming and includes distance markers. She thinks it would be amazing as a destination for athletes.

Jane Anderson monitoring water quality in Toronto’s Inner Harbour in August, 2020

Meet Paola Klos. She is a young professional who works in the events industry in Toronto. It saddens her that the world’s largest freshwater system is riddled with debris and sewage. The monitoring program helps inform the public on these issues, and how to improve. Paola realizes that taking care of the environment starts at home.

“I see so much waste in the harbour it’s mind boggling. I was raised in an environmentally conscious household, but even I have not done my best to reduce my waste. I’ve learned that it can start so small, with bringing your own reusable coffee cup to a coffee shop. And if that’s not possible then trying to reuse that cup at least once more.” - Paola Klos

Paola taking a water sample using the reacher pole in August, 2020.

Cat Scott has monitored the water at Ontario Place West Island Beach for two summers in a row. She is a film producer, and was working on a documentary about ocean conservation. She kept hearing about the connection people have to the ocean and how important it is to the sustainability of the planet. Growing up in Kingston Ontario, which is very far from the ocean, she was able to connect with the subjects of the film because she spent most of her childhood on the harbourfront. When she learned that Swim Drink Fish was looking for volunteers, she jumped at the opportunity to give back.

What keeps Cat coming back? The people involved with this organization are so much fun to work with (especially during those early mornings on the beach!). She keeps coming back for her fellow volunteers and coordinators.

Cat Scott monitoring water quality at Ontario Place West Island Beach in August, 2020.

There is a community of people who live on the Toronto Islands who are very connected to water. Julian Ganton is one of those people. He started his own business called Toronto Island SUP to help others connect to water. In his role he always got the question, "Is it safe to swim here?" When he realized he didn't have a good enough answer, he decided to get in touch with Swim Drink Fish to get a program going. He sees it as a duty to get people to enjoy the water and give them confidence that it is indeed safe to swim. Luckily, water quality on the Toronto Islands has proven to be good the majority of the time.  

“By intentionally observing the wildlife, status of the water quality, people recreating here, pollution etc, the closer I have become with it. I am learning to match my observations with the data and see the cause and effect that we, as humans, have. If we can make a difference for the worse by polluting our waters, we can make a difference for the better. It's this idea and the inspiration from our monitoring team that sparked one of the programs I run through my business at Toronto Island SUP called the Trash Dash. We get people on the water once or twice a year to pick up the litter in our waterways. To date we have removed over 750 lbs of trash and counting.” - Julian Ganton, Owner of Toronto Island SUP and Toronto Monitoring Hub Volunteer.

Julian Ganton dropping off samples in the Toronto Inner Harbour in August, 2020.

The final Water Leader I will introduce you to is Rohan Omrow, or Ro. Ro has been involved with Swim Drink Fish for 5 years. He monitors Humber Bay Park West, and is a leading member of the group, Friends Of Humber Bay Park, which has 1,300 members. He is an avid diver, and passionate about clean water. He’s a pro water sampler, and has helped to train other volunteers to monitor water quality at Humber Bay. We are so lucky to have Ro as part of the Toronto Hub. 

Rohan Omrow filling in water monitoring data in August, 2020.

Whether it's hearing about their early morning swims, or their passions for improving the state of our waters, it has been such a pleasure and so inspiring to work with these incredible people!

Alysse Mathalon, the Toronto Monitoring Hub Coordinator of 2020.

Thank you to all our volunteer citizen scientists this year:

Alex
Alice
Carol
Cat
Ele
Elizabeth
Georgia
Jackie
Jane
Julian
Kathleen
Korice
Leida
Maria
Paola
Ro
Sandy
Tais

Do you want to become a citizen scientist and water leader?

The monitoring season is finished at the end of September, sign up to volunteer in 2021!