COS 84-1 - Community Science Model for High Frequency Headwater Stream Monitoring in Southeastern Pennsylvania

Background/Question/Methods

Community based scientific monitoring is an increasingly important tool that can be used to understand the rapid onset of changes in freshwater ecosystems as a result of climate change and human activity. Willistown Conservation Trust (WCT), Darby Creek Valley Association and Stroud Water Research Center partnered to design a high frequency community monitoring project where residents of the Darby Creek watershed, a small tributary to the Delaware River in southeastern Pennsylvania, USA, were trained (via in-person events, easy-access written protocols, and video tutorials) on data collection including conductivity, pH, chloride, water temperature, detailed photos and water samples, analyzed by WCT for total suspended solids. Monitoring visits are conducted every four weeks to capture possible rapid fluctuation of conditions in small order streams. Training not only covered the scientific data and sample collection procedures, but connected residents to the stream as a resource and aimed to increase scientific literacy within the community. Monthly email updates provide continued education and discussion topics, as well as new opportunities for advocacy, engagement, and additional monitoring efforts.

Results/Conclusions

Data collection began in March 2021, and has been ongoing with new sites and volunteers being trained and added on a quarterly basis. Preliminary data suggest that the Darby Creek watershed is extensively impacted by overdevelopment. Elevated summer water temperatures, conductivity levels and winter chloride spikes are evident at all study monitoring sites. Importantly, volunteers develop a sense of pride for their watershed leading to an increase in observational visits to study sites. Volunteers have gone beyond the requirements of the program, recruiting other volunteers, attending further educational events and making long term changes to their properties that will benefit the health of the waterway (i.e. planting native plants, adjusting mowing regimes, etc). Although increasing our understanding of the health of Darby Creek through Community Science was the initial goal, training, and then trusting, the volunteers to do the work has resulted in empowered grassroots behavioral changes and improved community engagement in support of watershed health. Data collection methods and training approaches used in this project have improved our ability to gather accurate informative data on this watershed, but have also served as a template for other local organizations to use in building their own capacity to engage the community.