Innovative DkIT-developed Catchment Crew app features in new national citizen science guidance
DkIT’s Centre for Freshwater and Environmental Studies (CFES) is celebrating the inclusion of its innovative educational Catchment Crew app in new River Basin Management Service citizen science guidance, launched by the River Basin Management Service.
The new guidance aims to support communities and citizen scientists to become more actively involved in understanding and monitoring the health of their local rivers and streams, including through the Citizen Science Stream Index (CSSI).
Catchment Crew was developed by DkIT researchers Dr Suzanne Linnane and Dr Caroline Gilleran Stephens in collaboration with the Oriel River Catchment and Coastal Association (ORCCA), Limnos Consultancy (LC), Atlantic Salmon Trust (AST), National Federation of Group Water Schemes (NFGWS) and the River Basin Management Service. A particular acknowledgement goes to Prof Mary Kelly Quinn (UCD), Ken Whelan (AST), Martin McGarrigle (LC) and Simon Harrison (UCC) who originally developed some of the scientific indices incorporated into Catchment Crew and generously allowed the CFES to use them. Their research provided an important scientific foundation on which the team were able to build.
Catchment Crew provides an accessible digital platform that enables people to explore freshwater ecology and undertake water quality monitoring in their local catchments. While Catchment Crew supports the CSSI approach featured in the new guidance, the app has a much broader scope. It incorporates five different testing modes, designed to support users with varying levels of experience and different monitoring needs.
The app caters for a diverse range of users, from citizen scientists and community groups to schools and professional ecologists, providing different pathways for people to engage with freshwater science. A dedicated schools mode supports hands-on freshwater education and water literacy, while the app’s Community Superheroes mode encourages communities to explore their local waterways and become actively involved in understanding and protecting their freshwater environment.
Central to Catchment Crew is the use of freshwater macroinvertebrates, small animals without backbones that live in rivers and streams, as indicators of ecological health. By identifying the organisms found in a waterbody, users can gain insights into water quality while learning about the diversity and importance of freshwater ecosystems.
The app brings together freshwater science, environmental education and digital technology, helping to make water quality monitoring accessible while also providing options suitable for those with more advanced ecological expertise.
Dr Suzanne Linnane, Director of the Centre for Freshwater and Environmental Studies at DkIT, said:
“The inclusion of Catchment Crew in this new citizen science guidance is an important recognition of the collaborative work being undertaken by CFES at DkIT to connect freshwater research with communities and support greater public participation in understanding and protecting our water environment.
“Citizen science has enormous potential to strengthen the connection between people and their local rivers and streams. By providing communities with scientifically robust but accessible tools, we can build knowledge, encourage meaningful engagement and empower people to play an active role in the stewardship of their local catchments.”
Dr Caroline Gilleran Stephens, Research Theme Lead in Environmental Education at DkIT’s Centre for Freshwater and Environmental Studies, said:
“Catchment Crew was developed around a simple idea: freshwater science should be accessible to everyone. Whether you are a professional ecologist, a citizen scientist, a teacher, a pupil or part of a community group, there should be a way for you to explore your local waterbody at a level that is appropriate and meaningful to you.
“That is why Catchment Crew goes beyond any single monitoring method. It incorporates five testing modes and has been designed for different users and levels of expertise, including dedicated experiences for schools, citizen scientists, professional ecologists and our Community Superheroes.
Dr Gilleran Stephens also acknowledged the important technical contribution behind the development of Catchment Crew:
“A special thank you must go to Michael Rooney who developed the Catchment Crew app. Bringing together the science, educational content and different monitoring approaches within one accessible digital platform was no small task. Michael worked closely with us to translate our ideas and research into the app, and his technical expertise and commitment have been fundamental to Catchment Crew’s development.”
Catchment Crew forms part of the Centre for Freshwater and Environmental Studies’ wider commitment to connecting freshwater research, education and community engagement.
Researchers at CFES work with schools, communities and partner organisations to improve water literacy, encourage engagement with freshwater environments and translate scientific research into practical resources that can be used outside the academic setting.
The inclusion of Catchment Crew in the River Basin Management Service’s citizen science guidance represents an important milestone for the app and demonstrates the potential for research and innovation developed at DkIT to support citizen science and community engagement with Ireland’s freshwater environment.
Ultimately, Catchment Crew aims to help people move from simply seeing a river or stream in their community to understanding what lives within it, what those organisms can tell us about its health, and the role everyone can play in protecting their local catchment.
