VIU Students and Regional Citizens Take Course to Become LakeKeepers

VIU geography student Ryan Frederickson works with a water quality monitoring instrument called a Sonde on Nanaimo’s Long Lake with MABRRI research coordinator Graham Sakaki (left) and MABRRI assistant coordinator Sarah Lumley (right).

May 19, 2016 - 12:15pm

MABRRI hosts LakeKeepers course to promote lake stewardship and monitoring


After a tough year at university most students look forward to a summer free of exams and assignments. But for six Vancouver Island University (VIU) student researchers, rest and relaxation will have to wait. Together with VIU geography professor Dr. Matt Bowes and support from VIU’s Mount Arrowsmith Biosphere Region Research Institute (MABRRI), they are launching a lake monitoring program this summer to determine the health of two lakes within the Regional District of Nanaimo.


To prepare the team for the project, MABRRI staff arranged for a special workshop to be held in Nanaimo. Called LakeKeepers, the course is run by the non-profit organization BC Lake Stewardship Society (BCLSS). It included classroom instruction and field work out on Nanaimo’s Long Lake.


VIU geography student Ryan Frederickson is the summer lake monitoring program team leader. He was also one of the students who completed the LakeKeepers course.


“The course was perfect because we got hands on experience with the equipment we will be using this summer. Things like a benthic grab used to take samples from the bottom of the lake, a Secchi disk to determine water clarity, temperature PH and dissolved oxygen, and much more,” said Frederickson.


“The classroom component really helped us to understand how to set up an effective lake stewardship and monitoring project. I really enjoyed learning how to use the equipment and getting out on Long Lake with people from the community.”


One of the goals of LakeKeepers is to train citizens to monitor lakes in their areas. Retired University of Victoria adjunct professor Rick Nordin is a lake chemistry and biology expert. He is also the LakeKeepers instructor.


“The idea behind LakeKeepers and the BCLSS began 20 years ago when we encountered a number of individuals and lakeshore owners who wanted assistance from government to monitor lakes,” said Nordin. “Resources were limited so the question was posed to the local citizens about the possibility of their doing the sampling themselves – with training and support from either government or an independent non-governmental organization.”


Nordin says the BCLSS was formed to facilitate citizens conducting lake sampling in order to answer questions they had about lake quality, deterioration or concerns about contamination. Over the past eight years they have conducted four LakeKeeper workshops a year and trained more than 300 people to monitor BC lakes. As for Long Lake, samples collected by the class show it’s in pretty good shape.


“The field trip to Long Lake showed that the lake had excellent water quality and biological indicators,” said Nordin. “But there is a concern about the lake because of watershed development and heavy use so it does need more sampling throughout the summer to arrive at a more definitive diagnosis.”


MABRRI’s mandate is to strengthen connections with community members who live within the biosphere and promote citizen-science. For that reason, the LakeKeepers class was open to members of the public.


Citizen-scientist Catherine Watson is a retired biologist who jumped at the chance to participate. She is on two Regional District of Nanaimo committees that look at agricultural, parks and open space land use. She says taking the course has made her more aware of what questions she should be asking to protect land and water resources.


“I learned a lot about watershed assessment and the importance of looking at the big picture,” said Watson. “I really liked the review the instructor did of how precious our freshwater is on this planet. We really have to take stock of the lakes we have to notice changes that take place in the future.”


The MABRRI summer lake monitoring program will get underway next month and was made possible thanks to a grant provided through the VIU Research Awards Committee.  For more information about LakeKeepers, please visit BCLSS.


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MEDIA CONTACT: 


Dane Gibson, Communications Officer, Vancouver Island University


P: 250.740.6288 | E: Communications@viu.ca T: #viunews



Tags: Research


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