WEN Stream Monitoring Training

Come learn about WEN's monitoring protocols down at the river. This training will prepare you to be able to volunteer with WEN's school programs and weekend citizen science Stream Team group.

All volunteers working with WEN’s School Programs or Stream Team must attend a volunteer training. These trainings orient volunteers to WEN’s monitoring protocols as well as cover school program learning objectives and tips for working with students.

School Programs: Every fall and spring, WEN leads K-12 classes to gather physical, biological, and chemical data at local creeks and rivers. Measurements are based on Montana Volunteer Water Monitoring Project protocols and include temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, as well as other stream health indicators such as turbidity, nutrients, and aquatic life. Each field trip is introduced and followed up by classroom discussions of basic watershed science. Volunteers are needed for 2.5-3.5 hours during school hours.

Stream Team: Stream Team is a citizen based monitoring program built modeling how WEN got its start back in 1996. This group of individuals heads out every Sunday during the fall and spring seasons to monitor streams and rivers in local watersheds. Stream Team follows Montana Volunteer Water Monitoring Project protocols while in the field. Volunteering with this program you can gain experience monitoring CFS, bank full, bedload assessments, pH, DO, conductivity, riparian plant assessment, and macro invertebrate assessment.

All volunteers are also strongly encouraged to attend the Volunteer Orientation February 23 from 7-8:30pm. Orientations occur at the beginning of the fall and spring season at the WEN office. Volunteers get a formal introduction to WEN’s mission and programming as well as an opportunity to meet other volunteers.