Help monitor the health of the Damariscotta River Estuary
If you are a returning estuary monitoring volunteer, please sign up for the training for returning volunteers here.
Enjoy an opportunity to get out on the water while taking part in an important water quality initiative. Water quality monitors collect data that help us understand changing estuary water quality and habitat conditions. Volunteers test for transparency, dissolved oxygen, salinity, temperature and total nitrogen.
Monitoring takes place twice a month from May through October, at seven different locations between Great Salt Bay and Walpole. The monitoring schedule is tide-dependent and each monitoring session takes about two to three hours. There are rotating teams of volunteers, so you need not commit to every excursion. Sampling is done from Coastal Rivers’ launch (volunteer captains provided). All are welcome; children under 15 must be accompanied by an adult.
The training for new volunteers will take place at the the Denny Conservation and Education Center at Coastal Rivers’ Round Top Farm immediately following the training for experienced volunteers. At the training, you will have the opportunity to sign-up for monitoring dates based on your own availability throughout the spring, summer and fall.
This class is taught collaboratively by Coastal Rivers’ Community Science Director Sarah Gladu and Kathleen Thornton of the University of Maine Darling Marine Center.
Photo by Kris Christine
