The CyanoMobile is coming! What is the CyanoMobile? It is the USEPA Northeast Regional Laboratory mobile lab that will be traveling around the New England states this summer teaching citizens about the new Northeast Cyanobacteria Monitoring Program. It’s coming to Lovell Lake on Wednesday, July 27, from 9 am to noon to inspire volunteers to take action.
Join us in welcoming the CyanoMobile for an exciting morning learning how to become a citizen monitor or just to learn more about the health of our lakes. The Northeast Cyanobacteria Monitoring Program is coordinating three monitoring projects to locate and understand harmful cyanobacteria in lakes in the northeast states.
Under the right conditions cyanobacteria can spread quickly, forming dense “blooms” on a waterbody’s surface. These blooms are a big problem because many cyanobacteria species produce toxins that are dangerous to humans and wildlife. Cyanobacteria and their toxins can be found in water as well as in the air nearby.
During this hands-on program, cyanobacteria experts Hilary Snook of the USEPA Northeast Regional Laboratory and Dr. Jim Haney of the UNH Center for Freshwater Biology will teach you how to sample for and identify cyanobacteria species. No experience is necessary and you can choose to learn the very simple “Bloomwatch” program or get more involved with the “CyanoScope” project or “CyanoMonitoring.”
In the morning we will go out in a boat to collect samples, then conduct shore side sampling, concentrate the samples, prep slides and learn to use the Cyano Apps and Dirty Dozen key. There is plenty of bench space in the lab and there will be a large monitor for viewing the samples.
We are thrilled to be able to participate in this exciting new project and look forward to building our local team to gather information about the state of our lakes. For more information or to register contact Linda Schier at AWWA – (603) 473-2500 orlindaschier@AWwatersheds.org. To learn more about these projects please visit cyanos.org.