Cleveland Water Alliance’s Lake Erie Volunteer Science Network (LEVSN) continues to demonstrate the power of community-driven water quality monitoring, marking another year of growth, innovation, and impact in protecting our Great Lake's ecosystem. Through standardized protocols, enhanced technology, and expanded partnerships, LEVSN has strengthened its role as a crucial bridge between community action and management of our most precious natural resources.

Here are the key success metrics and highlights from LEVSN's 2024 season:

• Supported water quality monitoring and data collection with 13 organizations across the Lake Erie Basin
• Increased volunteer hours by 40%, with over 500 volunteers contributing 4,500+ hours of service
• Collected and analyzed data from 10 new locations, totaling to 147 sites spanning 54 streams and rivers
• Welcomed first Canadian participants through Water Rangers' Lake Erie Guardians program
• Trained and equipped 6 new partner organizations for 2025, including 3 brand new monitoring programs, some of which are located in the same geographic areas (Defiance, Ohio and Canada)
  
• Upgraded Water Reporter data management platform with enhanced analysis capabilities and connections to national databases (Great Lakes DataStream and US EPA's Water Quality Exchange). These platforms make LEVSN data more accessible to researchers and decision makers without the need for individual requests.
  
• Engaged over 100 representatives from agencies, research institutions, and funders in developing a Great Lakes volunteer science framework for institutional investment in volunteer science across the Great Lakes with the International Joint Commission. This new effort aims to secure long-term funding and support, helping LEVSN groups become more self-sustaining and positioning participatory science as a critical part of regional water management.
  
• Empowered local volunteer science champions to take greater ownership of implementing the Lake Erie Baseline Assessment Framework (LEBAF)—including data collection, analysis, and reporting. As individual groups lead more of this work independently, the network becomes more sustainable and community-driven over time.
  

VIEW THE FULL REPORT HERE

A Year of Growth and Impact 

In 2024, LEVSN amplified its reach across the Lake Erie Basin, supporting local organizations in contributing to Cleveland Water Alliance’s vision of a Smart Lake Erie Watershed, connecting communities, agencies, industries, and researchers with data for greater collective impact. Local parks systems, conservation districts, and nonprofits actively used LEVSN reports to enable data-driven watershed management decisions in their communities, demonstrating the practical impact of volunteer science.

Expanding Horizons: International Collaboration 

This year marked a significant milestone as LEVSN welcomed its first Canadian participants through the Water Rangers' Lake Erie Guardians program and University of Windsor’s Real-Time Aquatic Ecosystem Observing Network.. Funding from a new Canadian Federal Government program focused on community-based water monitoring enabled these partners to buy equipment and get trained in preparation for collecting LEBAF data in 2025 alongside three new US participants. This international expansion reflects CWA's growing influence in fostering cross-border collaboration for Lake Erie's protection.

Technological Advancement and Data Accessibility 

Recognizing the importance of accessible, reliable data, LEVSN upgraded its Water Reporter platform to provide enhanced analysis support, streamlining the path from data collection to actionable insights for Lake Erie communities. A major achievement was the creation of standardized upload channels to two national platforms - Great Lakes DataStream in Canada and the US EPA's Water Quality Exchange. These improvements significantly expand the reach and credibility of volunteer-collected data, creating new opportunities for community science to inform Great Lakes research, policy, and decision-making.

Community Leadership and Institutional Impact 

The Lake Erie Baseline Assessment Framework (LEBAF) took on new dimensions in 2024 as local volunteer science champions stepped into leadership roles, managing the implementation of standardized data collection, analysis, and reporting systems. This shift toward a community-led approach not only strengthens the network’s ability to fill critical data gaps and tell a more complete story of watershed health—it also builds the local capacity needed to sustain this work long into the future and ensure that community-driven science continues to shape regional water management.

Building for the Future 

LEVSN's influence extended beyond direct monitoring activities, as the network led a series of interviews and an in-person workshop with over 100 representatives from agencies, research institutions, funding organizations, and watershed groups. This effort, the culmination of a second contract from the International Joint Commission, helped define a framework for institutional support of volunteer science across the Great Lakes, laying the groundwork for long-term investment, stronger partnerships, and greater impact of community-based monitoring throughout the region.

Transitions and New Opportunities 

The year also marked a significant transition as LEVSN bid farewell to its partnership with SUNY Fredonia, following Michael Jabot's appointment as Deputy Director for Education in NASA's Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Program. While this represents a change for LEVSN, it also exemplifies how the network participants’ commitment to volunteer science continues to influence environmental education and citizen science at an international scale, with GLOBE reaching youth in 127 countries.

Ways to Get Involved 

The Lake Erie Volunteer Science Network has made remarkable progress. From the beginning efforts of a small group of volunteers to a binational network of empowered advocates, the impact on our communities has been transformational. Involvement has fostered participation and a rewarding sense of shared stewardship among community members. Our neighbors are taking an active role in understanding and protecting the Lake Erie Basin in a practical way.

The network has already demonstrated the capacity of volunteer monitoring to generate powerful scientific and community impact, and we will continue to build momentum as our movement grows. LEVSN invites communities, organizations, and individuals to join us in pursuing better water quality and quality of life for all Lake Erie Basin communities by:

• Funding the Network - Direct contributions to the network enable us to retain and grow critical functions such as staff capacity, equipment upkeep, and data infrastructure.
• Funding a Local Hub - Direct contributions to your local volunteer science program enable their capacity to collect data, address local challenges, and participate in LEVSN.
• Participating in the Network - Bringing a new or existing volunteer program into LEBAF expands our capacity to collect data for impact and helps fill critical data gaps.
• Leadership - Participation in Working Groups or on our Steering Committee grows our organizational capacity to expand and evolve the network to address new challenges.
• Technical Resources - In-kind contributions of equipment, data tools, and technical support ensure that the network remains at the forefront of water data technology.
• Scientific Expertise - Collaborations with researchers, agency scientists, and water resource managers ensure that our movement remains scientifically rigorous.
• Data User Relationships - Leveraging our data helps the network build the partnerships and funding relationships needed to scale impact and ensure long-term sustainability.

If you are interested in supporting or partnering with LEVSN, please reach out to Max Herzog with Cleveland Water Alliance at mherzog@clewa.org. Together, we can ensure a healthier future for all Lake Erie Basin communities. With your help, the story has just begun.

‍