Jean Pillo, TLGV’s Volunteer Water Quality Monitoring Coordinator, will be leading two training sessions for volunteers interested in learning about the “Riffle Bioassessment for Volunteers (RBV)” program. You only need to attend one session:

Friday, September 14, 2018, 9 AM – noon, Norwich USDA Service Center Conference Room, 238 West Town Street, Norwich, CT or

Saturday, September 15, 2018, 9 AM – noon, Connecticut Audubon Society Grassland Bird Conservation Center, 218 Day Road, Pomfret, CT

Riffle Bioassessments are a means to document high quality streams.  Using a underwater bugs that are pollution sensitive as our water quality indicator, volunteers are trained how to collect, sort, identify and process a voucher specimen, which will be sent to the Connecticut DEEP for verification. This method is like a treasure hunt, looking for the best quality streams, which are mostly in the most beautiful locations.  On average, it takes about 2 hours to collect and process a sample.

After training, teams will be set up based on geographic location and availability. Experienced team leaders will organize monitoring teams including new volunteers. I will be able to assist teams with monitoring in starting October, including one or two Saturday events. The monitoring season lasts through November.

Annual training is mandatory, even for experienced volunteers.

Last year, our volunteers documented 7 streams in The Last Green Valley that met the healthy aquatic habitat requirements based on finding 4 or more pollution sensitive bugs per site. With your help, we can document even more high quality streams in the Last Green Valley this year. To learn more about this program, click this link. https://www.ct.gov/deep/cwp/view.asp?a=2719&q=325606&deepNav_GID=1654

Please RSVP if you plan to attend either training event by Wednesday, September 12, 2018. Children 14 and older are okay to participate. Younger children may assist with their parents supervision only. As part of the training, we will be practicing collecting and sorting samples, so come prepared to wade in the brook.

Please feel free to share this information with anyone you think may be interested in becoming involved with this program.