Community Science Institute has long been known for our environmental monitoring partnership programs. Our partnerships with groups of volunteers are at the core of our mission to empower citizens to monitor and protect water quality. However as CSI grows, our needs for volunteer engagement are increasing. We have developed new ways for community members to get involved! Please keep reading if you’re interested in lending a helping hand at the CSI lab, or out in the field!
VOLUNTEER DRONE OPERATORS:
If you have a drone and enjoy capturing aerial footage, you can play a unique role in community science! Aerial images of creeks, streams, and Cayuga Lake during high flow events, algal blooms, or other unusual conditions can provide valuable insights into water quality and environmental changes.
If you’re interested in being “on-call” for when our need for aerial imagery arises, please send us an email, or if you have drone footage already, Share it with us at outreach@communityscience.org! Your images help tell the stories of the watershed and protect local waterways.
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR BOTTLE WASHING/SAMPLE KIT ASSEMBLING:
We need help keeping up with the high demand of sample kit assembly and bottle washing! Both of these tasks are essential to keeping the daily CSI lab operations running smoothly, especially as we approach monitoring/sampling season beginning in March.
The tasks are simple but require attention to detail and willingness to spend time at the CSI lab (the perk is getting to hang out with CSI staff!). Ideally, both tasks would take place on Fridays, although we may be able to accommodate other days in the week on a case-by-case basis.
Bottle washing requires volunteers to:
-read, agree to, and sign our Standard Operating Procedure for bottle washing (this is the protocol for washing that ensures everyone follows the same steps),
-participate in a 1-1 training with a CSI staff member to learn the ropes,
-commit to coming more than once to maximize staff time dedicated to training.
Sample kit assembly includes learning the order of putting together a kit which includes:
-knowing which bottle is used for which kind of water test (there are only 3 to learn!),
-attaching the appropriate label to the appropriate bottle,
-folding the accompanying chain of custody form correctly,
-and rubber banding it to the bottle!
Once you’re trained and comfortable with the tasks, we ask you come for at least 1 hour at a time, but are welcome to stay longer. These are a flexible opportunities that are simple, yet very helpful tasks that free up staff to focus on other priorities.
If interested, please reach out to Alyssa at alyssa@communityscience.org.
VOLUNTEERS INTERESTED IN THE ITHACA FEST PARADE:
Wouldn’t it be amazing to have our local streams and lakes boldly and beautifully represented in this year’s Ithaca Festival Parade?
What could this look like? The possibilities are infinite!
One possibility could involve creating a vibrant stream that flows through the parade, created by lots of people wielding streaming blue fabric, cardboard fish, dancing mayfly and caddisfly costumes, scientists in lab coats carrying beakers, volunteers with water collection bottles and thermometers…etc. Or it could be something else entirely!
It wouldn’t need to take that much energy to create something really inspiring for this year’s parade to help everyone remember WATER as an essential part of our lives. But it WOULD take enthusiastic volunteers (of all ages!) to step forward in support of this general idea who are willing to help pull something together and recruit human bodies to bring it all to life on the day of the parade (Thursday, May 29th, 2025).
Any takers? If interested, please reach out to Adrianna ASAP! We could have a lot of fun with this! adrianna@communityscience.org
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