Message from Board Chair

We're off to a great start with sampler training! 
Many of you have already completed the online modules and are registered to participate in an in-person training session. Additionally, many of you have already completed both and have received your invitation to log into the new data portal!

We are gearing up for the first stream sampling of the year in May.  People who have completed at least some portion of the new online and in-person training requirements will have received an email invitation to submit your 2025 sampling plans and needs via a Google Form. This information should be submitted by Tuesday, April 22nd. In the future, we hope to use the Profile page of the data portal to collect this information.

Sampling kits and R-card supplies will be available for checkout at the Support Hubs. Be sure to seek out your nearest Hub for access to these sampling resources and reach out to them to confirm their readiness to help you.

Hopefully, those of you who have been given access to the data portal by now have been able to navigate through its features and successfully enter your 2024 sampling results. We are continuing to add more features that you will want to check out, including a calendar for noting your sampling plans for 2024 and a way to connect with other samplers. More info about these features can be found below.

Thanks for your interest and involvement!

Tricia Coakley, KWW Chair
 

Simplified R-Card for 2025

KWW will be using a version of Roth Bioscience's R-card that ONLY DISPLAYS E. COLI COLONIES. This product will make reading results easier than the version used in 2024, which showed blue colonies for E. coli and pink colonies for total coliform. Now, our volunteers will only need to count the blue dots, representing E. coli, for their results. 

More information about the R-card product can be found here. KWW will be purchasing a limited supply for our samplers, but volunteers are welcome to order cards for their use if they want to sample more frequently. NOTE that the cards should be kept in a freezer to preserve their effectiveness for up to one year.

IMPORTANT DETAILS about Support Hub Use

Beginning in 2024, local Support Hubs began serving as critical partners in Kentucky Watershed Watch’s mission to provide opportunities for residents to engage with Kentucky's abundant network of streams. 

The Hub role is being fulfilled by a range of local partners, including nature centers, city offices, Cooperative Extension offices, and individual samplers.

An updated listing of KWW Support Hubs can be found on the website (here) and in the data portal.

Please review these IMPORTANT Best Practices for Utilizing Hub Services:

• Reach out to your nearest Hub contact before visiting to confirm that someone will be available to help you and ensure that supplies are ready.
   
• Return loaned equipment in a timely manner and in good (clean) condition, preferably within 2-3 days so that others can use it. This is especially important for borrowed incubators!
   
• Find out who else is sharing your Support Hub and consider collaborating on sampling, data discussion, and water quality improvement efforts.
   
• Thank your Hub for agreeing to support KWW with its sampling program!

Watershed Watch relies on donations to maintain its programming and reach additional samplers.

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