Ocean Research & Conservation Association hosted the eighth annual “A Day in the Life of the Indian River Lagoon,” a citizen science event Oct. 9 meant to unite students, teachers, community volunteers, and environmental experts while gathering data about the waterway.
Participants spread out across more than 40 waterfront locations in Martin, St. Lucie, Indian River, Palm Beach, Brevard, and Volusia counties along the 156-mile estuary to collect hands-on data that helps build a clearer picture of lagoon health.
This year, about 2,000 students from 37 schools joined with dozens of environmental organizations to contribute meaningful data to the project, acording to Missy Weiss, ORCA’s director of citizen science.
Students in grades 4 to 12 measured water quality parameters — temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, pH, and nutrient concentrations such as nitrite and phosphate — while conducting biological inventories of local species.
In Martin County, students from Redeemer Lutheran School went to Sandsprit Park and learned about the lagoon’s biodiversity.
The fieldwork “is an opportunity for students to become scientists, to see how their local waters are connected to the health of the entire Indian River Lagoon, and to realize that they can be part of the solution,” Weiss said.
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Crystal Vander Weit is a visual journalist for TCPalm and Treasure Coast Newspapers. You can reach her at crystal.vanderweit@tcpalm.com and can view some of her recent work here.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Treasure Coast students, volunteers help collect data about Indian River Lagoon
Reporting by Crystal Vander Weit, Treasure Coast Newspapers / Treasure Coast Newspapers
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