By Jera Dills
In early May, Mona, Sergio, and Jera, accompanied by Jonathan Kelly with Wild Alabama, drove up to the Oakmulgee National Forest to meet with a diverse group interested in becoming bacteria and water chemistry monitors! Each attendee offered an interesting perspective on their journey to wanting to become volunteer water monitors exemplifying how watershed stewardship is an all-encompassing effort.
This training was part of the US Forest Service and Wild Alabama sponsored project to support monitoring on the National Forests of Alabama (NFALs). The workshop was held at the Payne Lake Recreational Area in the Oakmulgee District of the Talladega National Forest. The pavilion had a beautiful view of the lake, and we were pleasantly visited by wildlife of various species throughout the day! We first spotted a flock of red-winged blackbirds followed by a very curious plain-bellied water snake, multiple great blue herons, and even a large hawk flying in the distance!
Being lakeside offered easy access to the shore to practice monitoring methods. We first began with practicing bacteria testing. Sergio and Jonathan led the group through every step from taking the air temperature to practicing pipetting on a *perfectly* balanced surface.
Workshop attendees then had the opportunity to count coliforms on R-cards collected the previous week, which simulated the last steps involved in bacteria testing following incubation.
Then after a lunch break, we headed back to the shore to begin practicing water chemistry testing methods. Sergio entertained everyone with many stories!
Once everyone had successfully collected their samples for pH, hardness, and alkalinity testing, we headed back to the pavilion to get started practicing using the chemistry kits!
This was a great workshop all around! Great weather, amazing new water monitors, and a beautiful location. This training concluded our spring training season as we gear up for our annual meeting in June! We hope to see everyone there!