Monitor a Stream with Illinois RiverWatch this Fall

Hannah Griffis teaches RiverWatch volunteers how to collect stream-quality data. Photo by Mike Quirin

EAST ALTON - The National Great Rivers Research and Education Center (NGRREC℠) is encouraging community members to attend an Illinois RiverWatch Mentoring Event this fall and help collect stream-quality data from sites across Illinois.

The Illinois RiverWatch Network is hosting a number of these events across the state in September and October, including two in Lewis and Clark Community College's district.

These events are intended to help new RiverWatch volunteers get involved without first attending a training workshop and to help current volunteers get more comfortable with the monitoring methods.

"Our mentoring events are a great way for volunteers to participate in stream monitoring for the first time," said RiverWatch Volunteer Coordinator Hannah Griffis. "Volunteers can learn about stream health and RiverWatch monitoring or spend the day looking for bugs in a creek."

Volunteers who participate in the Mentoring Events will collect macroinvertebrates (water bugs) and describe the physical condition of the stream habitat to help determine the stream's health.

"No previous knowledge or experience is required to attend RiverWatch Mentoring Events," Griffis said. "The events are designed for everyone, whether they have a biology degree or simply want to understand the stream in their backyards better."

RiverWatch is a community science program coordinated by NGRREC℠ at Lewis and Clark Community College.

Local Mentoring Events

• 9/25 - St. Clair County - Waterloo
• 9/26 - Madison County - Bethalto
• 10/13 - Madison County - Glen Carbon

Additional Mentoring Events

• 9/18 - Cook County - Westchester
• 9/21 - DuPage County - Itasca
• 9/25 - Cook County - La Grange Park
• 10/5 - Cook County - Oak Forest
• 10/9 - Cook County - Elk Grove
• 10/12 - Coles County - Charleston
• 10/26 - Champaign County - Urbana

Each event has a limited number of spots. Register at https://bit.ly/FallMentoring24.

For more information, visit www.ngrrec.org/Riverwatch or contact Griffis at [email protected] or (618) 468-2781.

About National Great Rivers Research and Education Center (NGRREC℠)

NGRREC is dedicated to the study of great river systems and the communities that use them, facilitating the efficient implementation of science into policy and practice. Founded in 2002 as a collaborative partnership between the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Lewis and Clark Community College, the center aspires to be a leader in scholarly research, education, and outreach related to the interconnectedness of large rivers, their floodplains, watersheds, and their associated communities.

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