Environmental charity Thames21 has launched a brand new on-line dashboard that – for the primary time – brings collectively key datasets on river well being gathered by citizen scientists throughout London and the Thames Basin.
The ‘Citizen Science Dashboard’ at present holds greater than 6,000 water high quality samples and a pair of,000 riverfly surveys, making it, because the charity describes, probably the most full citizen science instruments within the UK. By centralising this info, stakeholders can simply entry important information and have a transparent understanding of river well being.
The launch of the dashboard platforms the work of a rising citizen science motion, empowering communities to watch and shield their native rivers. This places individuals on the centre of taking motion for the UK’s waterways, serving to establish and sort out air pollution from sewage, street run-off, and agriculture.
The dashboard collates water high quality and ecology surveys from eight catchments throughout London and the Thames Basin. This information is sourced from monitoring initiatives akin to Water Rangers and ‘The Riverfly Partnership’ workspace on Cartographer, the place citizen scientists skilled by Thames21 contribute their outcomes*.
A key characteristic of the software is its intuitive interface, which permits customers to analyse information in numerous spatial and time-series views. The dashboard additionally presents well being scorecards, an accessible snapshot of the general situation of a selected waterbody or catchment that additionally spotlights probably the most urgent air pollution points.
The group behind it hopes to translate neighborhood engagement into actual change. The info and data will make it simpler for the general public to be taught extra about river well being of their native space and supply a way of possession to citizen scientists. Most critically, the Citizen Science Dashboard goals to focus on problematic areas and stimulate discussions with water regulators and water corporations to speed up change, maintain them to account and enhance river well being.
Chris Coode, CEO at Thames21, stated: “We’re thrilled about this new software. The info collected by our citizen scientists are important to drive change in native catchments, and we need to thank our volunteers whose dedication makes this attainable. With this dashboard we’re growing the eyes and ears on our rivers so extra air pollution sources are recognized and finally stopped.
“Water air pollution is an ongoing risk to London’s rivers and the Thames Basin. Finally, the water high quality and general well being of our rivers should enhance. Reaching actual change requires a united effort from authorities our bodies, regulators, environmental organisations, buyers, and business leaders. This dashboard is a sensible step to assist us work collectively, clear up our water and safe a more healthy future for the River Thames.”
The dashboard was created via Thames21’s EMPOWER Rivers Programme, funded by the Lund Belief and supported by extra funding from SYMBIOREM.
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