Estate Living Digital Publication Issue 6 June 2015 | Page 47

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TECH SAVVY

MiniSASS is easy to apply and only
requires a fine mesh net, a simple
container and a water invertebrate
identification guide, which can be
downloaded from www.minisass.org.
Participants simply collect a sample
of invertebrates (small animals) from
the water and then identify them via
the help of the chart. Once identified,
the scores are calculated using a
downloadable simple reference sheet
and uploaded via the website on
Google Earth as live data, which can
then be accessed internationally. The
results of the test give an indication of
WATER WELL-BEING
With research support from WRC, WESSA river health.
worked with KZN-based environmental
consulting company, GroundTruth, in The Citizen Science projects are run
2013 to develop the interactive Google throughout the country and are a
Earth map and database designed to fantastic way for everyone, young and
old, in cities and rural areas and from all
support miniSASS users.
walks of life to get involved and better
In order to get people to actively understand the health of rivers and
understand the issues related to the lack streams around them.
of fresh water, they need to be engaged
and interested. The miniSASS approach We all need clean water, and this is a
allows users of all ages to explore a great way to start appreciating what we
specific catchment, find their river and already have and be better prepared for
then upload their miniSASS results. In the future.
this way, a public-access, interactive
map of river health across Southern For more information, please visit:
Africa is developing whilst creating a www.wessa.org.za
fun and interesting exercise. The fact www.minisass.org.
that the results are visible for the rest
of the world to see gives it a sense of
heightened importance.
to just creating awareness. Advocates
of Citizen Science hold that it takes
awareness to the next level and provides
ordinary people with an opportunity to
engage more deeply with conservation
issues on a practical level, and then
to make wise choices accordingly.
Examples of Citizen Science include
miniSASS, which is a simplified Streams
Assessment Scoring System designed to
help with river health monitoring. Other
examples of Citizen Science projects
include the mapping of bird and frogs.