Citizen Science - Our Hubs

The water quality at various locations around Zwolle is measured by Charlotte and Antoinette from the VechtIJsseldelta Hub for the past years. Both are incredibly enthusiastic and determined and would like to see the Vecht drinkable by 2030. In the meantime, they enjoy introducing new interested parties to the measurements of the water quality and to work with them to make and implement the annual measurement plan.

Ingrid has worked in the educational team of the Provincial Nature Centre Limburg in Belgium for the last seven years. Various education programs are offered to schools. She encourages kids to really use their senses when they are outside. When Drinkable Rivers came across Ingrid’s path, she got excited immediately. Ingrid believes it is important that we start to see our rivers and treat them according to their value. Ingrid teaches teachers how to use the Drinkable Rivers measuring kit and the teachers then apply this in their lessons with their students. In addition, Ingrid makes children aware of how everything is interconnected, and teaches for example, the cycle of water. Before working as an educator, Ingrid worked as a kindergarten teacher for 28 years.

Cathrine measures the water quality of the Yuvarlakçay river in Turkey four times a year at three different locations. She lives on a farm with her husband and their three sons. She runs Nourish Life, an initiative that includes a functional forest and a marketplace. Their purpose is to nourish life so that all life can be nourished. When Cathrine does the measurements, she also clears the area of litter. To new hubs, she would like to pass along the message that it is a good idea to take the first few measurements on your own, before involving a group, to get to know how to use the content of the measurement kit.

“If you’ve got beavers in your area, recruit them to your Drinkable Rivers project – they’re the original water stewards, after all. And if you don’t have them, ask yourself why.” That’s Audrey Taub, Executive Director of SLO Beaver Brigade. We sat down with her last week to hear how she is bridging her passions for water, wildlife, and community to establish an intersectional environmentalist Drinkable Rivers program on the banks of the Salinas River in Central California.