City of Coates issued the following announcement on April 2
Dakota County is seeking volunteers eager to pull on a pair of waders and jump into monitoring the health of community wetlands through the Wetland Health Evaluation Program (WHEP).
Volunteers will work with a community-based team to monitor and collect information — such as data on plants and macroinvertebrates — that is used to study trends in order to better manage wetlands and surrounding natural resource areas. Previous monitoring experience or a background in science is not necessary to take part.
Volunteers typically commit 10–20 hours of their time, which includes training, field work and lab analysis. The county provides the training, which may be conducted virtually to follow COVID-19 safety guidelines. The county also provides all equipment and leadership. Volunteer registration will be accepted through May 15.
WHEP volunteers receive training in field methods, macroinvertebrate (e.g. beetles, bugs, snails) collection and identification, and plant survey techniques and identification. Each team will take samples from 3–5 wetlands between June and August. Wetland monitoring teams will be formed in Apple Valley, Burnsville, Dakota County parks, Eagan, Farmington, Hastings, Lakeville, Mendota Heights, North Cannon River Watershed Management Organization, Rosemount, South St. Paul and West St. Paul.
To register, visit the Water Outreach page. To learn more, visit www.mnwhep.org.
Original source can be found here.
Alerts Sign-up