The importance of citizen science for river conservation

Water quality and river health in the UK have remained high on the news agenda for months, if not years.

Thames21 has long stressed that water companies must urgently invest in sewage infrastructure to prevent sewage entering our rivers, and that regulators must hold them accountable.

One of our main goals at Thames21 is partnering with local communities to reconnect people with their rivers, boosting well-being, increasing biodiversity, and enhancing resilience to climate change. Having said that, volunteers are at the heart of what we do. Their role goes well beyond river clean-ups and vegetation management tasks – which are crucial to improving river health. Volunteers can also become citizen scientists through research and monitoring duties.

Citizen science involves engaging the public in a scientific project producing reliable data and information that can be used by scientists, decision-makers or the public and that’s open to the same system of peer review that’s applied to conventional science. Citizen science is widely used in conservation and environmental projects and is a key part of our work at Thames21. It’s a great opportunity to educate and engage people about local issues, facilitate change, and also increase the reach and scope of a project cost-effectively. In addition to this, citizen scientists help us to hold water companies and regulators to account and helps us to collectively push for action.

Anyone at almost any age willing to dedicate their time to a cause can become a citizen scientist. There are three main categories of citizen science: contributory, in which citizens are involved in data collection; collaborative, where members of the public contribute by gathering data and supporting project design; and co-created, when citizen scientists are involved in all stages of a project alongside project managers.

Citizen science can take many forms: sampling water, photographing wildlife, collecting data on litter, monitoring aquatic invertebrates, and more. There’s usually training involved before the start of the activities. We offer a range of free training courses for volunteers interested in becoming citizen scientists in our projects. We have trained members of the community to monitor riverflies, collect water samples, gather data on plastic pollution, assess river barriers, participate in outfall safaris, and others. EMPOWER Rivers, Thames River Watch, and Thames Catchment Community Eels Project are examples of Thames21’s projects in which citizen science has played – or still does – a central role.

Earlier this year, Thames21 launched Thames21 Citizen Science Dashboard, providing access to over 7,000 water quality samples and 2,000 riverfly surveys – making it one of the most comprehensive citizen science tools in the UK. The dashboard aggregates data from open-source platforms such as Water Rangers and the Riverfly Partnership workspace on Cartographer. By analysing and presenting this data in a user-friendly way, the dashboard allows both communities and stakeholders to understand river health, prioritise pollution issues, and design targeted interventions.

We constantly update our events and training calendar, so if you’re looking for an opportunity to get involved, learn more about the environment, give back to your community and make a positive impact, keep an eye out on our social media and the website.