In 2014, the Miistakis Institute hosted a Citizen Science Conference, exploring this diverse field with sessions on program design, evaluation, policy implications, technology and applications in parks and protected areas. This links to the website that chronicled that event.
DataStream: advancing data-sharing for collaborative water stewardship
Community-based and government supported water monitoring initiatives are generating valuable information to track the health, changes and impacts on freshwater.
Yet barriers to data sharing and reusability remain chronic issues that hamper the ability to leverage this information to its full potential.
DataStream is designed to address this challenge by providing an open access, independent platform for sharing water quality data. DataStream is free to use and is designed to make it easy for monitoring groups to share, quality control, visualize and download data. With a searchable database, contributors and other data users can access monitoring data collected by others across watersheds in a common data format that is based on internationally recognized standards.
DataStream is led nationally by The Gordon Foundation and delivered in collaboration with regional monitoring networks. DataStream was first piloted in the Mackenzie River Basin where it was built in collaboration with the Government of the Northwest Territories. Following its success in the Mackenzie Basin, DataStream is now being scaled up and is expanding into other regions including Atlantic Canada and the Lake Winnipeg Watershed.
As we face increasingly complex environmental changes, solid, transparent and open data infrastructure will be foundational to support informed decision-making and sustain healthy freshwater ecosystems. This poster presentation will explore how DataStream is helping to advance citizen science and leverage monitoring efforts by providing an open-access hub for sharing water data.
Speaker Bio: Lindsay Day is the DataStream Coordinator at The Gordon Foundation. In this role she works with communities and other collaborators to continually grow and improve DataStream, an online, open-access platform for sharing water quality data. Lindsay holds a Masters of Science in Epidemiology and has a background in health and science communications. She is passionate about working with others to improve how we live with, and care for, water in Canada.