An appeal for "volunteer citizen scientists" has been made to help gather the largest one-day snapshot of water conditions at Windermere ever assembled.
Launched jointly by the Freshwater Biological Association (FBA) and Lancaster University (LU), the 'Love Your Lake: Big Windermere Survey' will take place in summer 2002, and volunteers will be trained to collect water samples using academic research equipment from around 100 different locations in Windermere and in the becks and lakes that flow into it.
A joint LU and FBA statement said:
"Windermere is a centerpiece of the UNESCO Lake District World Heritage site. It is ecologically important, for example as a home to rare fish species including the Arctic charr.
"However, concerns have been raised about the health of the lake, in particular because of algal blooms and bacterial pollution, including Faecal Indicator Organisms, that can potentially harm wildlife and humans. The Big Windermere Survey will focus on the key nutrients and bacteria that lie behind these issues."
To express your interest in volunteering, contact: windermere@fba.org.uk
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