Are you currently out in the field looking to input streamflow attribute information? Input the info here using this google form!
What is Stream Tracker?
Stream Tracker is a stream monitoring organization based out of CSU Fort Collins, Colorado that seeks to obtain more information on non-perennial streams through crowd-sourcing. Stream Tracker is currently partnered with the Citizen Science organization to obtain data on when and where streamflow is occurring. The crowd-sourcing data collection occurs when members of the public input streamflow data for sites that have been previously established into the Citizen Science app (called CitSciMobile) or by submitting the information using the google form above. Currently, there are Stream Tracker sites in 24 states in the United States and Stream Tracker has even expanded to Japan! We have recently set up 12 more sites in the UC Santa Cruz Campus Natural Reserve, see below for more details!
Why is Stream Tracker important?
Most stream data that is currently available is from larger, perennial streams since they are more likely to have larger impacts on the environment, habitat, and human life. But smaller, nonperennial streams can have equally important impacts since they often are tributaries to these larger, perennial streams and are therefore vital to ecosystems and our water supply. Through projects like Stream Tracker we can help close this knowledge gap by learning more about what causes non-perennial streams to be intermittent, where they are most likely to exist, and how stream intermittence changes over time. By understanding these changes on the smaller scale, we can determine what will affect larger streams in terms of seasonal and climatic changes. Information and maps of non-perennial streams can also help the community by aiding in environmental issues such as land use planning and habitat assessments.
How is Stream Tracker benefiting the UCSC community?
By bringing this project to our campus, we as a community are contributing to a worldwide network of citizen scientists. This project makes the collecting of field data an opportunity that is accessible to those who may not normally be part of a scientific community through a smartphone application, and therefore makes being a scientist something that anyone can do. Not only does it allow for greater involvement in science on our campus, but it also encourages community members to get outside and explore the forest around us.
The information that we are collecting in the UCSC Campus Natural Reserve will not only help us understand the dynamics of non-perennial streams flowing through the reserve, it will also give the campus scientific community more information about the its ecology and environment. By gathering information on these streams throughout the variable seasons we experience on the Central Coast, we can use that data to inform future decisions about the Campus Natural Reserve.
How to get involved in Stream Tracker at UCSC:
Anyone can become a stream tracker and participate in Citizen Science! The best location to enter the forests of the Campus Natural Reserve to find the Stream Tracker sites is through the Red Hill Road Trailhead (can be found on Google Maps) that is located behind and to the east of the Department of Economics Building at the top of Science Hill. Most of the sites are located along the Seep Zone Interpretative Trail, so keep an eye out for signs that look like the one to the right!
To begin collecting streamflow information, follow the steps below or visit this google form to input information.
Stream Tracker sites at UCSC have been made possible by the 2018 Healthy Campus Network initiative.
Useful links:
https://www.streamtracker.org/get-involved
https://www.citsci.org/CWIS438/Websites/CitSci/Home.php?WebSiteID=7
https://healthycampus.ucsc.edu/about/index.html
Streamflow monitoring information upload google form: https://goo.gl/forms/tGzqeFTUkWBVK5772
What is Stream Tracker?
Stream Tracker is a stream monitoring organization based out of CSU Fort Collins, Colorado that seeks to obtain more information on non-perennial streams through crowd-sourcing. Stream Tracker is currently partnered with the Citizen Science organization to obtain data on when and where streamflow is occurring. The crowd-sourcing data collection occurs when members of the public input streamflow data for sites that have been previously established into the Citizen Science app (called CitSciMobile) or by submitting the information using the google form above. Currently, there are Stream Tracker sites in 24 states in the United States and Stream Tracker has even expanded to Japan! We have recently set up 12 more sites in the UC Santa Cruz Campus Natural Reserve, see below for more details!
Why is Stream Tracker important?
Most stream data that is currently available is from larger, perennial streams since they are more likely to have larger impacts on the environment, habitat, and human life. But smaller, nonperennial streams can have equally important impacts since they often are tributaries to these larger, perennial streams and are therefore vital to ecosystems and our water supply. Through projects like Stream Tracker we can help close this knowledge gap by learning more about what causes non-perennial streams to be intermittent, where they are most likely to exist, and how stream intermittence changes over time. By understanding these changes on the smaller scale, we can determine what will affect larger streams in terms of seasonal and climatic changes. Information and maps of non-perennial streams can also help the community by aiding in environmental issues such as land use planning and habitat assessments.
How is Stream Tracker benefiting the UCSC community?
By bringing this project to our campus, we as a community are contributing to a worldwide network of citizen scientists. This project makes the collecting of field data an opportunity that is accessible to those who may not normally be part of a scientific community through a smartphone application, and therefore makes being a scientist something that anyone can do. Not only does it allow for greater involvement in science on our campus, but it also encourages community members to get outside and explore the forest around us.
The information that we are collecting in the UCSC Campus Natural Reserve will not only help us understand the dynamics of non-perennial streams flowing through the reserve, it will also give the campus scientific community more information about the its ecology and environment. By gathering information on these streams throughout the variable seasons we experience on the Central Coast, we can use that data to inform future decisions about the Campus Natural Reserve.
How to get involved in Stream Tracker at UCSC:
Anyone can become a stream tracker and participate in Citizen Science! The best location to enter the forests of the Campus Natural Reserve to find the Stream Tracker sites is through the Red Hill Road Trailhead (can be found on Google Maps) that is located behind and to the east of the Department of Economics Building at the top of Science Hill. Most of the sites are located along the Seep Zone Interpretative Trail, so keep an eye out for signs that look like the one to the right!
To begin collecting streamflow information, follow the steps below or visit this google form to input information.
- Create a new user login at CitSci.org and join the Stream Tracker project
- Download the free CitSciMobile app onto your phone and login using your same login info from the CitSci website
- Find one of the UCSC sites in the Reserve
- Find the name of the site in the list provided on the app
- Select the streamflow attribute and enter the date by clicking next
- Upload your data!
Stream Tracker sites at UCSC have been made possible by the 2018 Healthy Campus Network initiative.
Useful links:
https://www.streamtracker.org/get-involved
https://www.citsci.org/CWIS438/Websites/CitSci/Home.php?WebSiteID=7
https://healthycampus.ucsc.edu/about/index.html
Streamflow monitoring information upload google form: https://goo.gl/forms/tGzqeFTUkWBVK5772
