Imagine starting your day out on a boat on Lake Windermere’s glassy blue surface… the wind in your hair…birds swooping by… and no one around to tell you to mow the lawn or wash the dishes.
You have the opportunity to have such a day this summer. Just call or write to the Lake Windermere Ambassadors and let them know you’d like to volunteer with their lake monitoring project.
As a volunteer, you’ll get to spend a morning out on Lake Windermere, travel to the south end of the lake where not many people get to go, enjoy a snack while sitting in the sunshine, and learn a little bit of lake science while you’re at it.
Lake Windermere Ambassadors staff will be onboard and able to answer any questions you might have about the lake. For example, maybe you’ve wondered:
*What kinds of fish are in this lake?
*Why is the lake so brown in June?
*What causes swimmer’s itch?
*Are the plants in the lake good or bad?
*What are some of the impacts of the all the houses around the lake?
*Where’s the best place to swim?
Guaranteed you will have these questions answered as well as any more you may have.
A volunteer from last summer said of her time on the lake: “I enjoyed participating in the lake monitoring and learned more about our lovely Lake Windermere.”
Another provided the anecdote: “The turbidity colours were interesting to observe, and a coyote taunting the dogs on the south end of the lake provided great shoreline entertainment.”
The Lake Windermere Ambassadors return year after year to look at water quality in the lake in order to better understand the lake ecosystem, and to check and see if anything is changing. We provide annual water quality reports to local government councils to help inform decision-making. By bringing community volunteers on board during each trip, we help produce “citizen scientists,” that is, people who understand how to measure what’s happening in the lake. The aim is that participants will eventually work together to figure out what we can all do to keep the lake in good health for the benefit of people swimming, fishing and recreating, and for the ecosystem as a whole.
Spots are available on Tuesday mornings, weekly, throughout the summer months. If that time doesn’t work for you, we can be flexible and find a time that works for you.
Book your spot today! Write or call: info@lakeambassadors.ca / (250) 341-6898
Thanks to the Columbia Valley Local Conservation Fund and District of Invermere for providing critical financial support for this program.