As part of the DANUBE4All project, we plan an ambitious suite of citizen science (CS) measures aimed promoting, implementing, and empowering long-lasting citizen science activities related to freshwater ecosystem restoration.
During this year’s General Assembly in Belgrade, two of these important citizen science activities were demonstrated to all DANUBE4All partners during the delegate boat trip along the Danube in Belgrade. These were the Drinkable Rivers Citizen Science (CS) Programme and the Water Sport Clean Up (WSCU) monitoring activity.
The Drinkable Rivers CS Program aids in the establishment of water quality monitoring initiatives while the WSCU aims to identify “hotspots” of litter and categorize both macro and microplastics within these hotspots. Both methods will be integrated in the activity under the DANUBE4All project at a later stage.
Drinkable Rivers Citizen Science Programme
Under the Drinkable Rivers CS Programme, citizen scientists are provided with a monitoring kit containing tools such as nitrate strips and electroconductivity gauges, so they can take regular measurements of their local river and upload them to a global Drinkable Rivers database. The full set of measurements and observations is shown below.
The results of the measurements are submitted on the Drinkable Rivers platform. During the boat trip, we engaged the partners in taking a measurement on the Danube River. The results of the measurement are presented below.
Water Sport Clean Ups
While the methodology for the WSCUs is still under development, we tested and showcased both micro- and macro-plastic monitoring methods to partners.
To monitor the macro-plastics, rubbish found by citizen scientists in litter hotspots is collected (if possible), photographed and then submitted as a data point in an online survey. An example of such a hotspot encountered during the boat trip can be found on the right and the information on the data point below. To monitor micro-plastics, a trawl will be used to take samples in the water and analyze material found between 1-5mm. The tools and principles will be implemented with different organizations all over the Danube basin.
Images courtesy of Pulsaqua
We are currently finalizing these initiatives for the DANUBE4All Project, so stay tuned for updates and opportunities to participate with your network or community!
