It’s a sunny cool morning at New Hope Bottomlands Trail in Durham in early November. A diverse group of about 20 volunteers ranging from a retired couple to a Ph.D. student at UNC Chapel Hill meets in a parking lot next to a soccer field.
They’re greeted by Kaitlyn Elliot, the water quality program manager at the Haw River Assembly, an environmental non-profit based in Chatham County.
These volunteers are here to attend a training that will allow them to join the Haw River Watch Program and to learn how to monitor the health of local waterways. For more than two decades, the program has collected over 2,300 data points across almost 285 sites in the area. This information is available online and is also submitted to the state.
Once everyone arrives, the group sets off down a trail. It’s a brisk, 10 minute walk to a quiet section of New Hope Creek. Elliot gives everyone a survey sheet to fill out. She explains all the different information River Watchers need to gather, including date and location, air temperature, and the PH level of the water…