Thames21

Become an AquaTracker: Water Quality Monitoring Course (Deptford Creek)
2026-08-08 10:00 - 16:30 (Europe/London) | Creekside Discovery Centre, 14 Creekside, Deptford , London, SE8 4SA, United Kingdom
Join us at Creekside Discovery Centre on Saturday 8th August 2026 for our Citizen Science Water Quality Monitoring Training Course developed through the EMPOWER Rivers Project.
This is a 1-day course, approximately starting at 10.00 am and finishing at 4.30pm. The course consists of a morning session, followed by a lunch break, a practical session where you will get to practise using some of the water quality monitoring kit, and then a final session back inside.

Topics covered will include:

The multiple pressures impacting London’s rivers
The different types of pollution
The importance of citizen science in monitoring water quality
The various water quality monitoring methodologies available and their purposes
The kit we offer and how to use it
Health and safety protocols
Where and how to upload your data
What the impact from your data will be

Before signing up, please note that water quality monitoring kit will be given to you at the end of the day for you to then carry out regular monitoring at a location near you in the Ravensbourne Catchment (to find out if your area of interest is in this catchment, please click here). This monitoring will be expected to be carried out at least once a month – if you can’t stick to this then we may request that you return the equipment to us so we can give it to someone else as we get a lot of requests from people!
More information, including finalised timings, will be sent out to you closer to the date.

If this all sounds good to you, please sign up here as soon as possible as places are limited!

If you don’t manage to get a space on the course, we will be running more sessions so keep an eye out on our Events webpage.
Please note you must be 18+ to attend this course.
Please do email us at citizenscience@thames21.org.uk if you have any questions!

Urban Riverfly Training on the River Brent
2026-08-18 09:30 - 16:30 | Hanwell Methodist Church, 16 Church Road, W7 1DJ
Thank you for your interest in becoming an Urban Riverfly Monitor! For more information about the Urban Riverfly scheme, which was developed by the Riverfly Partnership, please click here.
Date: Tuesday 18th August 2026
Venue: Hanwell Methodist Church – The Middle Hall, 16 Church Rd, London W7 1DJ, London
Timings: 09:30 – 16:30
(more details are in the table below).
Please note, timings are slightly flexible, so we may finish slightly earlier or later than 16:30.
Please book your space here.
Structure of the day:
09:30 – Arrivals, registration and refreshments
09:45 – Introductions, health & safety and biosecurity
10:15 – Introduction to Riverfly monitoring (RMI)
10:45 – Break (tea/coffee)
11:00 – Target groups: identification, life history & ecology
11:45 – RMI fieldwork – theory
12:15 – Lunch break
12:45 – RMI fieldwork – practical session in the River Brent
15:15 – Clean equipment and kit
15:45 – ID quiz (back inside the pavilion)
16:00 – Online database and RMI in practice
16:15 – Questions and feedback
16:30 – Finish

Lunch: Please bring your own lunch with you.

Clothing: Please dress appropriately for the weather: If there is rain in the forecast, bring a raincoat. In general for riverfly monitoring, please wear long trousers and wear or bring a long-sleeved top/fleece/jumper to protect yourself from nettles or giant hogweed. Please also wear sturdy shoes for the walk to the site for the practical session.

Waders: Please fill in the waders section in the sign-up form, so I know your shoe size and can make sure I bring enough waders to fit everyone. I won’t be able to let you keep these waders, unfortunately – they will just be loaned to you for the training day. Also, please let us know if you are going to bring your own waders.

Equipment: All equipment for the RMI practical fieldwork will be provided on the day – I will give you/the person representing your group your monitoring kit to take home with you. This kit includes: a large net (approximately 1.5m tall so I would advise not cycling if you are the designated person in your group who is taking the net home), a 16 litre bucket, a large white tray, a nine-section divided tray, a large pipette, a couple of small pipettes, a couple of plastic spoons, a magnifying glass and a paintbrush.
Under 18s: Please note, if you are under the age of 18, you must be accompanied by a legal parent or guardian in order to attend.
More information, including finalised timings, will be sent out to you closer to the date.
Let me know if you have any questions send us an email at citizenscience@thames21.org.uk
