Emma Watson and Oliver Gatzke sit alongside a wooden dock that cordons off the end of a popular recreational lake near Skookumchuk, BC, a softshell black zippered bag opened between them. Emma grasps a tubular silver and black wand about the size of a curling iron while Oliver carefully reads the instructions found in the case.
“All the parameters are on there… nice!” he exclaims. He reads out loud: “Calibrate the sensor prior to taking measurements.”
There is a pause while they check with Sally Turnbull, program coordinator with Living Lakes Canada, on the exact steps to calibrate the machine. After some discussion and deliberation, the pair are ready. While Oliver clutches the instructions in one hand and the monitor in the other, Emma drops the corded wand into the sparkling blue waters of the lake just below the dock. She positions it carefully and the pair waits for the readings.
This is a YSI sensor; it’s one of four set up for Wildsight’s Youth Climate Corps (YCC) team. This particular device measures temperature, dissolved oxygen percentage and conductivity, all important for assessing lake health. Fellow crew members are positioned similarly along the dock, heads bowed to other tools of the water-monitoring trade.
“They told us yesterday this one’s the most expensive, but also the most technically advanced,” Emma explains as they work out the logistics of the machine.
After a few minutes, the pair record their findings before moving on to another station to continue their careful monitoring procession.
Data collection & use
Having reliable water data is an important first step in making long term plans for researchers, policy makers and citizens. As ecosystems change dramatically, long-term planning to protect our lakes, rivers, wetlands and watersheds is dependent on this data.
Living Lakes Canada plays an important role in these efforts. This non-profit organization leads science-driven, community-based programs to elevate water stewardship and empower Canadians to protect freshwater sources. One such program is the National Lake Blitz, which encourages people who love their local lake to use entry-level monitoring tools to gather data and build their own understanding of how climate and other impacts are affecting lake health and biodiversity.
Youth Climate Corps
Wildsight’s Youth Climate Corps exists to provide paid training and skills development to young adults interested in the environmental sector. Crews take on tangible climate action projects and work with experts in a variety of fields to gain a better understanding of career opportunities in climate-related fields.
This particular project allowed Wildsight’s West and East Kootenay teams to gather for two days with Living Lakes Canada to learn about water monitoring. Georgia Peck, Living Lakes Canada Program Manager, and Sally spent the first day going over the equipment, as well as an overview of water management in Canada.
“We started off with a crash course in limnology, which is the study of inland waters, really. We talked about lake systems, watersheds, aquatic ecosystems and lake biodiversity,” says Georgia.
“Not only that,” adds Sally, “We also covered pressures and impacts facing water, as well as opportunities [for careers] in the sector.”
The talk resonated with the nine crew members who are all on 4-6 month contracts with Wildsight; many are eyeing future job opportunities in the environmental sector.
“There was a focus on careers and where to go from there,” says East Kootenay crew member Erin Simpson. “I really liked that.”
Testing the waters
The following day, the crews spent the morning at Premier Lake putting their new skills into practice. The day started with a shoreline assessment where they looked for possible factors that could affect water quality and details that offer a more well-rounded water monitoring picture. This included elements such as shoreline types, dominant land use, recreational features and lake surface conditions. Sally and Georgia went over the assessment with crew members, lending an expert eye to what they were seeing, and how these factors might affect water quality.
For example, the bustling dock and boat ramp saw a steady flow of boat traffic either launching, tied up to the dock, or headed out on the lake during the survey time. Boats can increase turbidity, hydrocarbons, particulates and heavy metals. The vehicles transporting people and recreational equipment to the shoreline also brings further concerns for water quality, including conductivity spikes in the water from high risk sources like road salt (conductivity is often an indicator a pollutant may have entered a system); lake bottom scarring at boat launch locations, fuel leaks, and of course contaminants people themselves bring on a landscape (from garbage to personal pharmaceuticals to e-coli threats).
Following the shoreline assessment, it was time to start testing. Groups split their time between the YSI multi-probe sensor, Secchi disks to test for clarity and depth, several digital water monitoring meters that measure pH, temperature, dissolved oxygen and total dissolved solids, and ampules used to assess dissolved oxygen and pH.
At the end of the morning, they gathered on the beach to go over the data and any questions. Crew members were genuinely curious about their data and what picture the data was trying to tell. Living Lakes staff cautioned that one-off monitoring is not enough to give an accurate picture of the lake’s health. In fact, defensible data of value to decision-makers comes after consistent collection year after year — a good benchmark for water surveys is a decade or more. But that’s OK; today’s goal wasn’t really about data collection anyway.
Water connection
Living Lakes Canada has partnered with Wildsight multiple times to provide training to our Youth Climate Corps crews. In 2021, they spent two weeks with the East Kootenay crew conducting cottonwood and beaver surveys and more in the Columbia Wetlands. In 2022 they conducted a similar training session for this year’s course.
Living Lakes sees great value in this partnership.
“It’s fantastic to get youth involved and we’ve been able to do a pretty cool variety of work with them,” says Georgia. “This builds capacity and builds skills for youth.”
Living Lakes Canada has even recruited staff through this partnership. 2022 Youth Climate Corps alumni Katie Martin was hired by Living Lakes Canada shortly after her YCC season ended; first as an assistant for a few hours per week, quickly moving up to a full time coordinator. Another YCC alumni, Tracey Mitchell, now works part-time in communications at Living Lakes while attending the University of Victoria pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in biology.
Projects like this also allow Living Lakes Canada staff to hone and audit their training skills as they provide similar programs to organizations across Canada. The week following the YCC gathering, Sally and Georgia were headed to Whitehorse to work with Indigenous groups from several First Nations who are learning about conservation initiatives through a guardianship program.
“We firmly believe that impacts occur at the local level. That is why we try to promote and support community-based water monitoring as much as possible,” explains Georgia.
YCC reflection
For Emma, this opportunity was one more in a string of amazing projects so far in the YCC season.
“I’m really interested in this type of work, honestly. Even from doing the shoreline assessment and looking at what’s all around here, I can totally see next time I’m at a lake I’m going to be clocking all these different things,” says Emma.
Emma joined YCC as she wanted an interesting summer job that built on her background and interests (she has a degree in environmental science, and has also worked for a fisheries organization back home in Scotland). The season so far has “definitely exceeded what I thought it was going to be, and I thought it was going to be great,” says Emma, noting that the variety of projects and depth of knowledge gleaned from people the crew has connected with has been extraordinary. A highlight thus far was the Living Lakes Canada training.
“I really enjoyed this project,” she says, standing near the dock’s entrance at the end of the morning. “Really it was just the sheer breadth of factors and parameters that you consider, and what that picture all makes together — I just find it super interesting.”
For more information on water health and data in the Columbia Basin, visit the Columbia Basin Water Hub.
