WEBINAR: Lake Erie Volunteer Science Network Intro

[00:00:00] Max Herzog: I think we can go ahead and get started here today. Thanks so much everyone for taking the time to join us, to have a little bit of a conversation. An update on the Lake Erie Volunteer Science Network. I'm Max Herzog, Deputy Director of Programs and Partnerships with Cleveland Water Alliance, and I'm here with my colleague and collaborator Kat Kiefer from Partners for Clean Streams.

[00:00:41] We're just going to walk through a little bit of background about the program, sort of where we came from, why this exists, and then a bit also about what we're doing now, what it means to participate. I'll say up front, we are currently looking for additional collaborators to come and join the network.

[00:01:01] So if that's something that you're interested in doing, hopefully we'll lay out here a couple of ways that you can do that. And our goal is to have, you know, at least. 10-15 minutes or so for Q&A, at the end, but if you have questions that come throughout. Feel free to drop them in the Q&A, sort of spot here.

[00:01:26] It is distinct from the chat. So, if you go into your bottom toolbar, there is a Q and a, specific. A little option, if you do drop it in the chat, we'll, we can look at those as well, but we'll go to the Q and a, 1st. To oops, to look at those questions. So, if you want to get yours answered 1st, if we get a bunch, we'll go to the Q and a 1st.

[00:01:51] Okay, with that, we'll go ahead and dive in. And just to set the scene a little bit, I'm sure a lot of folks on the call here are based in the Lake Erie watershed and know this information, but in case anyone sort of outside of the region here, the Lake Erie watershed is the shallowest and warmest of all the Great Lakes.

[00:02:10] this makes it both the most biodiverse and bioproductive. but also the most impacted by human activities, further exacerbated by the impacts of climate change. So, really, in the Lake region, we have kind of the full range of water quality issues. as well as some water quantity issues as well, everything from rising temperatures and

[00:02:35]  E. coli harmful algal blooms. and then, you know, significant. Infrastructure challenges as well with drinking wastewater and stormwater infrastructure. And so, you know, the bottom line here is that we've got, you know, some, some serious issues across our communities and our ecosystems and left. Unmanaged these impacts will really be measured in the billions of dollars as well as obviously kind of.

[00:03:01] Immeasurable impacts on human life and ecosystems as well, and felt for generations. So this means, you know, really, our water quality is threatened. and while we are really fortunate in the Lake Erie Basin to have, you know, some really robust, agency and academic monitoring, programs, there is still a limited capacity to the scope of our institutions.

[00:03:31] Water quality monitoring programming, and they leave data gaps across the basin. And this means we don't have all the information that we want, to have to enable early warning and event detection for different. Water quality and quantity issues, prioritization of investments in, ecosystem improvements, other water quality projects, as well as, you know, difficulty collecting data on the returns on those investments.

[00:03:58] and really also drilling down to locally, actual information, things that are individual communities need to act effectively on their water resource challenges. So, I'll pause for just a 2nd, to give you a sense of sort of where I'm coming to from how I'm approaching this conversation. as representative of Cleveland water alliance, we are a non profits, innovation and economic development group based out of Northeast Ohio.

[00:04:28] We work across the lake Erie basin as well as some in central Ohio, and our work is really focused on leveraging. Water technology innovation as a tool for positive impact in our region. from an ecological perspective from a human impacts perspective, and also from an economic development perspective, we're really interested in how can we support.

[00:04:53] Innovators developing the next generation of water technologies to deliver their solutions here with our utilities, municipalities, agencies, communities, and research institutions. but also in how they can sort of start up their companies here and grow for economic impact. So coming at this sort of Lake Erie issues from a technology lens, we at Cleveland Waterlines tend to think about our role.

[00:05:21] In this, this ecosystem of solution providers as as advancing the cause of a smart Lake Erie watershed on really seeing the need for a 21st century infrastructure to safeguard our future. And at its sort of most basic level, this is like an application of kind of the core technologies and philosophies.

[00:05:40] Of the smart cities movement, things like low cost distributed, sensing and data collection, big data analytics and applying those, technologies for public benefits. but sort of translating that into the context from the context of things like, you know, grid management in a city traffic management air quality to the context of Great Lakes management.

[00:06:07] And so what that really means at a basic level for us is is collection of more data across the, um. Lake Erie itself and its watersheds across kind of that whole basin, to provide insights on contributing conditions and systemic impacts as well as working to build the decision support tools needed to enable folks that are really in position to take action to address these issues in a data informed way with sort of those decision support tools.

[00:06:36] so that's sort of the lens from which we've approached this work for. 6, 7 years now, and a lot of what that's looked like for us is building out deployed sensor networks across the lake Erie basin. So we have smart buoys out in the lakes themselves in the lake itself. often deployed in partnership with research institutions or drinking water utilities to monitor source water quality for cities.

[00:07:04] we also have shoreline and harbor stations deployed with marinas and agencies and cities, you know, looking at things like storm surges, weather, and these other sort of coastal impacts, as well as stations deployed up in the watershed, looking at water quality, you know, potentially from polluters, from construction, etc, as well as, storm and flooding impacts in that space.

[00:07:30] And we're always trying to explore other possibilities, things like monitoring, drinking water at the tap, applying, remote sensing technologies to add another layer to all these applications, and these sorts of things. So, this is some of what a smart lake looks like. For us and what it has looked like. 

[00:07:49] but through this process, we've really been trying to explore what other assets exist. You know, we have a lot of these really excellent research, and agency monitoring systems. We have these new smart systems, but what else can we tap into as the Lake Erie Basin to work to fill some of these critical data gaps.

[00:08:08] particularly at the local level and what we really came to, as sort of an answer for the, to this question is that people are really ready to take action. You know, residents across the Lake Erie basin, really across the Great Lakes. and beyond are really feel a strong connection to their local water resources, whether it's because they grew up, you know, boating or fishing on the lake or on the rivers.

[00:08:35] or just, you know, seeing these resources as a backdrop to their lives, folks are really willing to spend some of their precious free time to help, you know, protect, and and support these resources. and so there's really a wealth of these. Volunteer driven water quality monitoring programs, generally focused on monitoring streams and rivers running into Lake Erie, sometimes on beaches as well.

[00:09:03] as an effort to support data driven, water resource management in their communities. and this is an area of work that's increasingly getting, more consideration as a credible, approach to collecting water quality data. The International Institute for Sustainable Development talks about it as a cost effective.

[00:09:27] and rigorous method to collect medium and long term water quality data at the watershed scale. So there really is a niche that these groups fill. that's. you know, has the potential to really start to address some of these challenges. And so, as the Cleveland water lines thinking about this, it's sort of the regional level, the regional data collection and integration level.

[00:09:52] The question that we asked is, you know, can we unlock the potential of volunteer monitoring to address regional gaps in information while strengthening the local impact that's fundamental to their mission. You know, often these groups are friends of groups, water keepers, soil water conservation districts, local government, that created these groups to respond to their specific local water resource challenges.

[00:10:18] But is there a way to bring the work of these groups together to sort of bring in that regional element and amplify their work at home. And this is where we were really fortunate to partner with a network of funders through the Great Lakes. one water partnership. this was a project taken on by community foundations across the Great Lakes basin.

[00:10:42] and ended up sort of partitioning off into teams on a lake by lake basis. And so the Lake Erie team, made up of some of the institutions you see here. as well as coordinated at different times by the council of Michigan foundations and the Great Lakes protection fund, decided to go all in with us on volunteer water quality monitoring.

[00:11:08] as sort of the project that they wanted to tackle, bringing together these sort of local community foundation scopes with a regional impact mission.

[00:11:18] And the result is the Lake Erie Volunteer Science Network. We started with partnering with groups in the individual communities you see on the map, but it's grown over time. I think we now have about 18 different participating organizations, most of which I believe you can see here. On the screen, there's a huge diversity of the types of organizations involved.

[00:11:43] And the common theme really is mobilizing local residents to monitor water quality. So, what did it what has it meant for us to engage with these local groups in a regional network and create the conditions for collective impact for them to work together to create outcomes that are greater than the sum of their individual parts.

[00:12:10] This is sort of made up of 3 key components for us. You know, the 1st was funding. It was really transformational for us to be able to bring funding from glow to the table to say to each of these individual groups. Hey, we will pay you to come to the table and have these conversations about what it would mean to collaborate together.

[00:12:30] this funding enable us to pilot a couple of different modes of engagement over the 1st, couple of years of of the network, you know, piloting different water quality monitoring technologies, standing up a shared data platform. Developing educational curriculum for high school students. And throughout this process of sort of testing out these different modes of collaboration, whether it's advancing technical innovation or education, we continue to have conversations as sort of a community of practice about.

[00:13:04] What sort of elements were really exciting the local groups? Where did they want to go with this? And listening to those voices really by I'd say, halfway through year 2 towards the end of year 2. We heard a consensus really around where folks wanted to go, which is this idea of standardizing their methods for increased credibility of the data as well as the capacity to align for greater collective impact.

[00:13:31] So thinking about what it means to adopt the same data collection. Management analysis and reporting practices across the network, both so that documentation exists to show that the data is highly credible. and so that the data from individual groups is comparable. And sort of, more importantly, integratable, being able to be brought together into a single data set across Lake Erie Basin.

[00:14:02] And so, you know, in pursuing this sort of goal, we were very fortunate to work together with the Water Data Collaborative, a national nonprofit that brings together agency folks, researchers and volunteer water quality monitoring experts to advance sort of this goal of credible, volunteer, community driven data.

[00:14:23] And we worked with them through this sort of study design process to identify what are the shared goals of these individual groups? What monitoring purposes are they pursuing? What are the intended data uses, data users, and desired outcomes that they are seeking? And by working through this process on individual basis with each participating group, we were able to see where is there overlap between our participating groups and from that actually develop a shared study design that we call the Lake Erie baseline assessment framework.

[00:14:57] Or we have a pretty extensive set of standard operating procedures around this, but it is most basic. The protocol brings together groups around the shared purpose of screening baseline conditions and trends in the health of Lake Erie watersheds. And the intended outcomes and impacts of this are really to support participants in addressing their own local water quality concerns with highly credible water quality data to provide a regional assessment of Lake Erie streams over time by bringing together data from all these different groups into 1 analysis.

[00:15:35] to identify potential problem areas for future investigation, looking at where, you know, these sorts of trends and baseline conditions seem to be continually impacted. in terms of water quality, and then really, the last goal is to demonstrate the network's capacity to fill regional data gaps and show that these groups together really can build a regional monitoring network.

[00:15:58] So just to give you a sense of kind of the core activities that participants engage in on an annual basis with the program. data collection is obviously a huge part of it. Our field season runs from April to October, and groups are expected to collect at least 1 standardized water quality sample.

[00:16:20] At 1 station every month throughout the monitoring season, we do have a couple of groups. I think maybe just 1 right now. That does that sort of bare minim but that participation scales directly. So we have groups that are monitoring as many as 40 or 50 sites using this baseline. We have a couple of groups that are monitoring more than once a month.

[00:16:41] as Kat will speak to in a moment about the work in Toledo. but this is sort of the baseline that we want to make sure is accessible to groups with a variety of capacities. Then we have sort of a required protocol for data entry. All of our groups use the water reporter data platform provided by a nonprofit data shop, the commons out of the East Coast.

[00:17:05] this platform is really great because it enables us to have our standardized inputs programmed in. It allows our groups to very easily create maps and visualizations of their data to be embedded in their websites. And the Commons has also worked with us to build a custom data analysis widget that allows our groups to not just visualize, but analyze their data in a standardized way.

[00:17:33] We also ask groups to engage in standardized QAQC and data validation practices, both at the moment of collection, and, at the end of the field season, when all of the data is being cleaned in preparation for analysis. And then program engagement, we expect groups to engage with us throughout the year.

[00:17:56] in monthly calls that vary from, you know, the most rigorous and intensive of actually working through the analysis of the data. To the more, sort of softer benefits of convening a community of practice, having conversations about, you know, best practices for recruiting volunteers for sharing data with the public, for engaging more diverse groups in the movement, etc

[00:18:23] So, just to give, you know, potential participants a sense of what you get out of participating in in the network, and specifically in our standardized monitoring protocol, a bath. access to tools I mentioned. water reporter, so access to data management analysis and visualization services through them.

[00:18:42] We also have a repository of YSI multiparameter sonde s  that form the basis of our standardized monitoring. approach, and we loan those units out to groups on an annual long term basis based on their participation in the program. We also have a written SOP and a bunch of supporting documentation that provides sort of the written backbone of our study design.

[00:19:09] We also provide technical support, so trainings on all the tools that we just mentioned, a facilitated annual process that walks groups through everything from sample collection to data analysis and reporting, and then also as needed technical and program support, both through our technology vendors. but also through the network, we have groups involved in this, the network that have been doing this work for over 20 years have really deep experience.

[00:19:38] and so it's been really excellent to be able to tap into their experience for some of our newer groups, to get that support that they need to to be successful. And then finally, the actual results of the monitoring, you know, we think is a really big value for our participating groups having validated data analysis, messaging and outreach products that are ready at the end of every year to either make local decisions or communicate to local stakeholders.

[00:20:07] connection to a network of peers and collaborators for other opportunities for collaboration as well as again, that sharing of best practices. And finally, a contribution to a regional movement for greater collective impact. We've really found this to be a great motivator for participants as well as their volunteers.

[00:20:27] And it's sort of this generating of momentum around this work at the regional level. that's starting to unlock some of these, larger scale opportunities that we'll speak about in a moment here. So, just to give you a sense of what this looks like on an annual basis, we have our field season, as I mentioned, April to October, when folks are doing standardized data collection.

[00:20:50] Then we have our analysis and reporting phase from October to March, where we have individual groups complete analyses of their data. We do then do a collective analysis of the data at the Lake Erie Basin level, and then actually compile a standardized, report, and then a more summarized sort of overview document that we release in March.

[00:21:14] We also engage then in a program evolution process where, in the late winter, early spring, we have groups evaluate the program. And then throughout the field season, we work to evolve those standards and our practices to better meet their needs and continue to improve the project and that sort of then field feeds back into the field season

[00:21:34] So just to summarize, you know, what have we built at the regional level? we have now a network of 18 local groups that are committed to this standardized approach. We have technical support, everything from data infrastructure and sampling tools, to actual support with analysis and reporting.

[00:21:58] We actually have 3 working groups, our standards working group, our steering committee and our equity and justice working group that engage both our participants as well as external partners, agencies, municipalities, researchers, etc In taking on sort of additional responsibility to lead and advance the development of the network.

[00:22:18] And then we've actually transitioned to post glow operations with minimal disruption. We now have these participant groups. engaging on a volunteer basis, because of the technical and program support that they get and the value they get out of participating in the program. As well as the time that that we at Cleveland Waterlines are still investing to coordinate the network.

[00:22:42] So that's a bit about, you know, the volunteer science network and the bath at the regional level. and I'd really like to hand it over now to cat from partners for clean streams to drill down a little bit into the. Local picture in Toledo to give you a sense of what implementation and participation looks like, for a participating community.

[00:23:05] Kat Kieffer: Hi, everyone. I'm Kat with Partners for Clean Streams, as Max said. So this is kind of like a case study you can think about, and then we'll get even more in depth with some data for you to see also. But what's really neat about, as Max already said, about the Lake Erie Volunteer Science Network in Le Baffe is that it provides this really robust framework.

[00:23:25] That you can plug your local groups into. So we at Partners for Clean Streams, our mission is really centered around clean, clear and safe water. And a huge part of that is in our name, Partners for Clean Streams. We try to harness, the groups and the people who are already active. Again, the idea of, the power that's available just in different community members who are willing to plug in and get involved and help out with this stuff.

[00:23:54] So that's what we've kind of done in Toledo with our group CWAT, which is Community Water Action in Toledo. You can see we have a bunch of different partners involved. So at PCS, we're sort of at the center of that coordinating this collective. Basically, we're mirroring the structure of the Lake Erie Volunteer Science Network, but at a local level, so we're serving as that sort of center group that's pulling together these resources and these, existing groups who already had all of this amazing, people, power, and programs in the past, lots of folks who are really interested in volunteering and passionate about water quality, but we're bringing it together in that collective way so that we can have greater impact.

[00:24:40] So we work with, Toledo Metropolitan, metropolitan Area Council of Governments, tema. We work with the Toledo Zoo Metro Parks, Toledo, obviously Cleveland Water Alliance, and then our, our funding through the Greater Toledo Community Foundation. Yeah, so program overview. This work, sort of really kicked off in 2022, where we focused a lot on building a framework.

[00:25:05] And I think that's really key for any groups who are wanting to get involved here. As Max mentioned, a really neat part of this program is that there is this existing network with folks who have been doing this work for a long time, and they can serve as mentors and really jump in and help out. And we were really thankful to have that support as we built our program.

[00:25:28] but a piece of a key piece of what we did is focus a lot on getting to know our local partners. So all those groups that I just mentioned. And trying to figure out what they really need it. so not just coming in and saying, all right, we need to implement this. Framework from Lake Erie Volunteer Science Network, but starting out to say, like, what are we already doing?

[00:25:51] What does your particular community group focus on? So at Metro Parks Toledo, one example would be they do a lot of restoration work. So a key use for the data for them would be we want to see what stream quality looks like before we start a restoration project and after we start a restoration project.

[00:26:11] Or maybe upstream of that site and downstream of that site. So we could really tailor what our program was doing, not only to the Lake Erie Volunteer Science Network and those larger regional goals, but also to our local goals. So that was a huge piece of what we did laying the foundation to start with in 2022.

[00:26:30] Last year in 2023, we had our first field season. We had over 164 different sampling events. We had 18 sites. And during that field season. So again, the bare minimum is one location sampling one once a month for that April through October time, but you really can again adjust this and, work with what you have in your capacity.

[00:26:55] And that's another huge strength of this program is that it really is. Adjustable to what you have going on. So with all of the partnerships that we had, we were able to have 18 locations and that was on three different local waterways. So we were looking at three different rivers and streams. part of that, as Max also mentioned, is we did the station level, so each of those sites we call a station and water reporter, and then a river level analysis, where again, we were looking at those three streams, so in the Toledo area, we're looking at the Maumee River, the Ottawa River, and Swan Creek, and really dug into the data and produced reports that then also went into that larger regional report as well for the entire Lake Erie base then.

[00:27:43] and then again, really mirroring that framework with the bath in our own group in Toledo with see what we also went and looked at our data together and said, Okay, what do we need to adjust? What can we change for the next sampling season? what do we want to do to really dig in here and use this data?

[00:28:03] Even though it was only 1 year's worth of data, we still. Got some insights to make adjustments to our program and also to add some extension goals. So we're in the middle of our second formal field season right now. We added sites on Swan Creek to look at urban influence because we realized that was a gap in our data and we needed more information.

[00:28:24] We added a whole other, watershed with the Portage River. and then we have plans to incorporate macroinvertebrate sampling based again on that data that we already have. And I'll talk a little bit more about that in a second. So again, monitoring at the local level, when you really break it down, if you're thinking about this for your group, you're going to be monitoring in a particular watershed.

[00:28:49] So these are the three that I mentioned, the Lower Maumee includes both our Maumee River and Swan Creek, sites. Ottawa Stoney is for our Ottawa River watershed and then our extension goal was for the Cedar Portage watershed and we have successfully established a monitoring route on that waterway.

[00:29:08] So really drilling down, you're picking, again it can just be one stream, but it's these streams that contribute to Lake Erie.

[00:29:20] And then these are our site locations for 2024. So breaking that down even further, you can see we have our Maumee sites, which are in blue, Swan Creek is in yellow, the Ottawa River sites are in purple, and the Portage River sites are over in red. And again, when you're picking these things, you really can tailor your site selection to your volunteers, your programs, your capacity.

[00:29:44] It could just be one site. When we were choosing our sites, we really wanted to think about getting that geographical coverage so that we had really, again, good, robust, credible data so we can say what's happening upstream, downstream, and thinking about land use even, again, making sure we have sites in both the urban and rural areas.

[00:30:06] Also, those local impact needs, as I already mentioned, it could be something like where you know there is an outflow or there is a pollution issue. Maybe you have a really heavily industrial area and want to see what's going on there. Or if you are a park district and you are doing restoration work and you want to look at that, you really can choose based on your own local needs.

[00:30:28] And then volunteer accessibility is huge. We're trying as a network as a whole and also at our local level in Toledo to make sure we are inclusive and accessible with our volunteers. Community science is awesome for that. It's not just about the data, it's about pulling in community members and really mobilizing everyone to be involved in this work.

[00:30:49] So that's also a piece of what we try to think about here. And then these are some of our volunteers. So this is sort of like the what we're doing. You can see we have all different ages. This year we launched an open call for volunteers and we have preschoolers with their families up to retirees who are participating, college students, young professionals.

[00:31:14] In the lower corner, we have our awesome zoo teams from the Toledo Zoo who are just like super passionate, really motivated. teenage volunteers who absolutely love this program. it's, it's a pretty easy process. So our monitoring kit is in the lower corner. I'm really bad at writing left, but you can see where, where the monitoring kit is.

[00:31:36] and so we have this just pre made. This is another thing that we developed through our program, again with guidance from other more knowledgeable partners, in the network who helped us really pull together a volunteer program that was accessible and easy to use for our volunteers. And it's awesome for them to get out on the water.

[00:31:56] Not only are they collecting data, but they're getting really familiar with their local waterways, which is another mission for partners for clean streams and also all of our local partners.

[00:32:11] So, Getting into the data like this is great. you're motivating volunteers. You're getting community members involved. But what about that data piece of it? Right. The credible, useful using this to actually do something. So this is a little case study on just that first year of data that we have and how we used it locally.

[00:32:35] To adjust the program and to think through some of what we have going on. So I picked one station. It's our first station, up on the Ottawa River. it was monitored in the past by one of our programs that we work with called Student Watershed Watch. These are, elementary through high school students who go out one, once or twice a year, collect data.

[00:32:58] they compile everything. They have a big summit to present their research. It's a really neat program, but it's pretty limited, right? So, we're limited in how often they go out to collect that data and then in the protocols that they use. So tying in, that existing program framework that we already have with LEBAF  to bring in these more robust, scientific standards and the tools that we have access to through Cleveland Water Alliance and this program, we were able to monitor 11 times during our field season using those protocols.

[00:33:32] So we've increased the frequency of monitoring and the data collection during that time. And on the next slide, we actually have the results of that monitoring. So I pulled out one of the parameters that we measure, and that's conductivity. we have four different ones, and this is all in the SOP. If you're interested, we can dig into some of this in the Q& A. 

[00:33:56] but conductivity is just a measure, essentially, of what is dissolved in the water that can conduct electricity. So this is a really good proxy for things like nutrients, which we know contribute to harmful algal blooms. Any kind of pollution could be salt pollution from road runoff, all sorts of different things, but it gives us an idea of if we should be concerned, especially about what can live in the water.

[00:34:21] So, in the standards, we have this conductivity, bio condition and the implications for the macro invertebrate community, the little bugs that can live in the water and are the base of food web. In a functioning, healthy stream. Just looking at this chart, you can see that we had an exceedance above the healthy level the entire time.

[00:34:43] Some were higher than others, but we did not have any that fell below into that actual healthy functioning standard. So this is very concerning for us, and this was actually an issue throughout our water, watersheds, but especially in the Ottawa River. so looking at this again, one year of data, but we can already say, all right, we have concerns about the implications here for the health of the, the communities that are living in our streams and kind of have this question of is, could this be related to road salts and chlorides?

[00:35:18] so all of that led us to say, like, obviously we need to continue monitoring. We only have one year of data and there are limitations. But another strength of this program through the Lake Erie Volunteer Science Network is that it is set up to be sustainable and we can hope to generate much longer term data sets so that we really can track these trends over time and get an idea of what's going on in our water.

[00:35:43] And then we think we want to add biological monitoring. There are implications here  for what's living in the water. Let's go out and see what's there. Let's see if that tracks with the data that we're seeing. And then also, we are building partnerships with researchers who are already looking at salinity and chlorides and other pollution issues in these same waterways.

[00:36:05] So it can lead us to make connections with academics or government agencies or folks who are already doing this work so that we can collaborate and get a better picture of what's going on, which is exactly the point of the whole network is to take these bigger picture things and really drill down to the local level so that we can make a difference right where we're at.

[00:36:31] So just summarizing that again, LEBAF for us has been a jumping off point. So we're meeting those basic standards, but really extending beyond them to look at local questions and address our local concerns in the Toledo area. And again, harnessing what we already have, we have so many people who are really passionate about water quality, really concerned, especially in the Toledo area, we have a history of the drinking water crisis due to the harmful algal blooms.

[00:37:01] We all know how important this is. and this gives folks a really accessible and, and, powerful way to get involved in this community science and feel like they're contributing and making a difference. So just that one year of data, we already added another watershed, we already extended our partnerships, engaged more volunteers.

[00:37:23] started to make connections with these other researchers and, governmental groups, and we're adding on more things that we're looking at with macroinvertebrates and chlorides. That's just after one year. We're really excited to see where it goes from here with this support from, the Lake Erie Volunteer Science Network.

[00:37:46] Max Herzog: Thanks so much Kat. I think that the work that partners were clean streams and and cat have really been leading up with these collaborators and Toledo is a great example of what the network is really intended t o do. and to sort of bring it back to these sort of broader impacts in a more abstract way.

[00:38:05] I think their work shows how. the network can enable communities to build local resilience to be able to collect high quality data and, you know, make that transition between getting insights from those data and building local collaborations and programs on the ground to try and address water quality challenges.

[00:38:26] it also shows how, the network can work to fill regional data gaps. All of those stations that Kat showed or many of them were not monitored. Well, none of them were monitored to the frequency that they are now, and many of them were not at all monitored before. And these local groups really do have the capacity to both expand the geographic coverage.

[00:38:49] Of data collection in their locality and really expand the granularity of of data collection as well. additionally, this network is building social capital, helping these groups. like partners for clean streams and see what connect with their local stakeholders to engage and build partnerships, but also to connect with their peers across the region.

[00:39:12] and really start to build out that community of practice and then this focus on both standardization and program evolution allows the network to continue to innovate and grow as a network. So thinking about how can we continue to improve our own practices and in terms of enabling the work of the individual organizations and participants you saw.

[00:39:34] you know, how see what is already working to expand geographically in terms of parameters and collaborations as a result of participation in the network. So, what we really think about this as is, is building a hub of people service and data across the region, engaging local partners, who are doing the work on the ground as well as collaborating more institutional partners, often.

[00:40:04] Researchers,  Municipalities, utilities, agencies who can benefit from the data or who can contribute expertise to help improve the relevance of the work that volunteer science groups are doing. I mean, all of this feeds into our community of practice that helps build connectivity and best management across the network.

[00:40:25] our standardization, the Lake Erie baseline assessment framework, that's really become sort of the flagship. Of the network, are working groups that continue to push the envelope, by getting both local hubs and sort of those collaborating partners to take on that next level of responsibility over the network beyond their own programs.

[00:40:45] And then to continue to test and pilot new opportunities for collaboration and something that we're really excited about at Cleveland Waterlines and across the network is how this work is starting to inspire action and conversations at the Great Lakes regional level. we are actually now in our 2nd phase of contracted work.

[00:41:09] With the international joint commission to really start to flesh out what it could mean for great lakes, institutional players to invest in Community science, we really found, through a couple of years of study that. There's tremendous potential for these local groups to fill Great Lakes watershed data gaps, not just in Lake Erie, but across the region, but that there's a need for regional coordination to enable this.

[00:41:38] We've seen this here in Lake Erie with the role that CWA has taken on, but that this is something that could really be taken on at the Great Lakes level. And at the scale of other Great Lakes as well, to enable these effective collaborations and so something we're pushing now through this project is the idea of community science resource hubs that deliver some of the tools for collective impact that we're building right now with the volunteer science network, but also really go above and beyond that.

[00:42:04] And so we're hoping that. You know, the momentum that we're building here in Lake Erie can really inspire, a new level of collaboration between community groups, institutional partners, that advances our work, but also works to, you know, take some of the lessons learned and build on them and take them to the next level, across the Great Lakes.

[00:42:27] So, just to bring this back, you know, as we're wrapping up here to this idea of a Smart Lake Erie, Cleveland Water Alliance Pictures, again, volunteer water quality monitoring is one of many different sources of data that feeds, you know, different insights on a whole host of different water quality, water use, water quantity issues.

[00:42:50] That then support those folks that can take action. And, you know, this slide is really focused on those institutional stakeholders. but I think what we've seen through engaging with the volunteer science network is that communities themselves are really a key player in this as well. and so that, you know, I think hopefully gives folks a sense for how communities can really integrate into this idea of a smart Lake Erie watershed and play a critical role in it.

[00:43:18] and particularly that role is, you know, enabling greater collective impact across all of these stakeholders. So, with that, you know, I'll thank everyone for taking the time to be here with us today. I hope this was a helpful overview of the volunteer science network, a deep dive on what the programs look like on the ground in Toledo.

[00:43:39] as well, as some of our broader goals, feel free to reach out to Kat or I, for any questions, we'll drop our contact information in the chat as well. But I think now. I'll stop sharing and bring our faces back up and we can dive into. questions that folks have. As I mentioned at the beginning, we ask that folks please drop their questions into the chat or sorry, the Q&A, as, you know, in webinar format, you won't be able to speak out loud and we'll just kind of respond to these questions as they come in.

[00:44:13] I see that we have 1 not question, but comment from Caitlin, saying that she really enjoyed this and look forward to connecting in the future. Thanks, Caitlin. We really look forward to exploring collaboration as well. I know I just touched base with with Aaron from University of Windsor and Ray on a couple last week, I think.

[00:44:33] And it sounds like y'all have some really interesting opportunities around community science and more broadly sort of smart lake kind of collaborations. And so really looking forward to exploring those with you.

[00:44:47] Any other questions, comments. Folks have at this point, we are wide open.

[00:45:04] Okay. Well, while we're waiting to see if folks do have any other questions, maybe I'll pose a question to Kat. I'm curious Kat. Like, what the experience has been like for you, particularly bringing together. A variety of different groups involved in this collaboration. A lot of our different hubs across the region are really just 1 group.

[00:45:26] That sort of spearheads things sometimes in collaboration with a few others, but you brought together a couple of different organizations, all with different. Levels of experience with with volunteer monitoring. Some of them had been participating in the network since 2020, but hadn't been doing water quality.

[00:45:43] Some of them had only done infrequent sampling. Some of them had never done it before. I wonder if you could speak a little bit to what that experience has been like for you.

[00:45:52] Kat Kieffer: Yeah, I think, again, it gets to the heart of, collaborative work and how There's so much potential and power in that. There are some unique challenges too, right?

[00:46:05] Like, it does require a lot of coordination. It can require more time to take the time to get to know what everyone needs and where they're starting from. You really have to take the time to get to know the individual programs, and where people are coming from. So in some ways, It's easier to do a top down kind of like, nope, this is how we're doing it, but you're not harnessing, again, what's already there, and I think that can lead to duplication, in the space where multiple groups are doing the same thing instead of working together.

[00:46:38] we know that's an issue in the non profit world, and just in general, so part of, again, the strength of this Lake Erie Volunteer Science Network, and then we've done the same thing at the local level is to take that time to actually work collaboratively together like no one is above anyone else.

[00:46:59] We're genuinely working at the same level to set our goals to take the time to work through our data together, and to meet together to see what's working and what's not working. And having the flexibility to allow different groups to run the pieces that they want to run. So like Metro Parks takes care of all their volunteers.

[00:47:18] We take care of our own volunteers at PCS, the zoo teams schedule their volunteers, but we're all working within the same framework and making sure we're sharing the same procedures, the same protocols, and checking in super regularly to make sure we're on the same page. So it's a good amount of collaboration, but also allowing folks to have, their own programs and to do what works for them.

[00:47:45] Max Herzog: Yeah, absolutely. It's so interesting to hear. I mean, I think in a number of points in your presentation, you pointed out how sort of the process in Toledo is mirrored the process of the, the base and level. But I hear so many themes that resonate with me. You know, we were so fortunate to have sort of this glow funding at the beginning to really be able to spend that time with folks and figure out.

[00:48:06] how they wanted to focus and so I think. That's definitely a call out there to institutional stakeholders and funders and I think huge shout out also to the, um. greater Toledo community foundation for supporting enabling that that ramp on the local level. Um. It can really take time for these deep collaborations, particularly with communities to ramp up and produce sort of tangible results.

[00:48:30] I think in this case, we did it comparatively fast, but it's still on the scale of at least a year to 2 years. but then, you know, those fruits really do start to come in and the impacts are huge. We have a couple other comments here, from from Chris. Awesome job. Glad to see this both continue to be embedded locally and continue to grow.

[00:48:52] Thanks so much. Chris. Really appreciate. You know, your engagement and leadership with partners for clean streams hope to continue to collaborate now that you're at the Lake Erie commission. Thanks so much for joining us today.

[00:49:07] Another person chimed in here, you know, that we touched on Lake Erie in specific, but was curious about what are the connections to the other great lakes if there are any. you know, right now, I would say that the biggest connection is this work that we're exploring with the IJC, and this is something that's a little bit more of a Cleveland water alliance and water data collaborative.

[00:49:27] Project, then the network itself is advancing, although we're learning a lot and getting input from the folks across the network throughout and it's really about thinking about how can this. Framework be translated, but also expanded, you know, how can the work that we're doing here in Lake Erie be deepened and broadened and also then, you know, brought to other Great Lakes.

[00:49:48] I think we found through our experience that working as a network across the scope of a Great Lake. Is big enough that there are these like common, incentives and goals that folks have, this sense of being able to contribute to an analysis of a great lake basin. and at least at the level of support and capacity we have right now that that's probably our ceiling for this program.

[00:50:17] that could change, you know, if we see significant investment and buy in from folks across the other lakes, but I think right now, at least as I think about it, it's about how can we empower stakeholders. In other great lakes to stand up, you know, similar collaborations or collaborations that are more relevant to them.

[00:50:34] You know, 1 thing I think that's worth calling out is that we saw our groups have this sort of common goal of, you know, baseline and trend analysis and streams and rivers. You know, it may look different in another lake. Perhaps there are folks that are more. More folks doing something like what team has done in the past of just engaging students and and, you know, doing that sort of environmental stem kind of component.

[00:50:56] Maybe there are a bunch of groups that are really more focused on that regulatory use. and so I think designing the study design and the collaboration based on what local interests are is really important.

[00:51:10] Any other questions comments folks have before we wrap up here today.

[00:51:19] We keep showing me that they're up because I'm not not resolving them. Kayla asked. Is there a plan once you have a strong data set for what you plan to use the data for? Is it mostly for public education or something at a higher scale? Really great question, Kayla. And I think we could have hit on this a little deeper.

[00:51:37] I think right now, the most material use of the data that we've seen has been used at the local level. so Kat spoke to that a bit and, you know, maybe I'll tag you in in a moment, Kat, to speak to it a little more what that's looked like. But our goal as the network is to really build. The momentum and the trust needed to get institutional stakeholders to leverage these data.

[00:52:00] I think the work with the IJC  is a big part of that engaging some agency folks in our steering committee and in our standards working group is part of that as well. But we still have not broken through that barrier to say, you know, a state agency has a pipeline to be leveraging our data. you know, a research.

[00:52:21] A researcher is specifically leveraging our data for a study that they're doing at the base and level. what I will say, the steps we are taking are to build ongoing integrations into other data platforms that are used by more institutional stakeholders. So right now we're in the process of integrating Water Reporter.

[00:52:41] With Great Lakes data stream, which is a platform that's used heavily on the Canadian side as well as increasingly on the U. S. side as well as with EPA water quality exchange. And we think that 1 of the paths to engagement with other stakeholders outside of communities is to really have the data be where they look for data.

[00:53:00] and so that's sort of 1 step that we're taking right now, but I think this is a. A huge growth area for the future and something we hope to continue to build momentum around. Anything you'd want to add to that Kat. 

[00:53:11] Kat Kieffer: Yeah, I just think it's Again, it's a strength that this is something that's been thought about and proven for from the beginning, like, obviously, the goal of standard, standardizing and creating this credible data, as a shared network, the idea was for it to be usable in more ways than just at the local level long term, right?

[00:53:32] Like that, that would make sense, but it does take time and and you're going to want to see a data set for a longer period of time. So some of this is just time related. But as Max said, it's I love that this was thought about from the beginning and this is built into that iterative work also where we're constantly trying to think and adjust as the network about what's next and reassessing what we're doing.

[00:53:54] So yeah, definitely all of that is a goal and at the local level in Toledo, that is also a goal. We are, we are working with some researchers right now to try to figure out if we can use our data collaboratively with them for scientific research, which is awesome.

[00:54:12] Max Herzog: Yeah, and I'll say that, you know, as we're working to develop those partnerships with institutional stakeholders, we have seen some real impactful uses of the data from our local partners.

[00:54:22] You know, I think Kat talked about how, you know, particular areas of concern have already been identified, which is a real incentive to develop some of these partnerships. We also have groups that actually have. You know, direct water quality project management and installation in their scope, and they've used these data to help inform.

[00:54:40] Restoration projects, or engage with land managers to talk about best management practices. We have a story from 1 of our participants of just how volunteers being out in the field. Helped identify a challenge they, you know, bring home and out of your water conservation district talks about how her volunteers went out to a stream 1 time and said, this stream just smells like.

[00:55:04] Poop, and they came back and said, this seems messed up. You know, the solar conservation district opened up those samples and found that they were extremely high and E. coli and it turned out a farmer, a nearby farmers Cattle had made their way or cows had made their way into the creek, and they were able to rapidly respond, get the cows out of there, clean up the stream before an oncoming storm event, which would have washed all that bacteria into the water and potentially triggered a fish kill.

[00:55:32] So, you know, collecting these data and even just having eyes on the water is already having impacts locally.

[00:55:41] Kat Kieffer: I was thinking of that story, too. I love that story.

[00:55:45] Max Herzog: It's such a good one. It's just, it's so concrete. And, you know, it really, I think also underscores the, the value of having local residents and community members engaged in this, because they develop Context and understanding of what is their site supposed to look like they show up and they know it does not usually smell like this out here.

[00:56:06] Something's going on or, you know, flow is usually not this high. This is a concern or it's not always this turbid. You know, these sorts of things are our context really that local folks bring to understanding their local waterways. I think that's a pretty good place to wrap up here. I know we're getting towards the end of our time.

[00:56:25] I just want to thank folks again for taking the time to be here with us today. I hope it was helpful. please do feel free to reach out to Kat or I with any questions, or any follow ups you want to have, have, you know, further conversation on these topics. but with that, I'll thank K  at again for being here with me today and I hope you all have a great rest of your day.

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