All-Things Water Reporter Training Event at Après
We are thrilled to announce that our brand new, Friends of Casco Bay-designed-and-branded, Water Reporter app is here and ready to use! We are offering a training event to help Water Reporters navigate the new app and train new volunteers on all-things Water Reporters.
When: Thursday, June 27, from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Where: Après, 140 Anderson St, Portland, ME 04101-2546
What: Learn all about the Water Reporter program, including how to sign up, our observation priorities (eelgrass, algal blooms, and more), and how to navigate the app. This event is open to everyone, whether you are interested in learning more about Water Reporter or need a refresher.
Note that this event will summarize the information from the online training we provided on 6/13/24.
Après is ADA Compliant.
After the training event, join Friends of Casco Bay in the main room at Après for Bubbles for Casco Bay to raise a glass to celebrate the launch of the new Water Reporter app, our 35th Anniversary, and all-things Friends of Casco Bay.
We Built a New Water Reporter App just for Friends of Casco Bay
Over the past five years, Water Reporter volunteers have used an app on their smartphones to help us keep an eye on the health of the Bay. Since 2018, dedicated volunteers have posted more than 2,500 observations of Casco Bay from Phippsburg to Cape Elizabeth. Friends of Casco Bay uses this observation data to keep track of changing issues over time.
Last fall, we found out that the app we were using, which was developed for Waterkeeper Alliance organizations world-wide, was going to be discontinued. Once we found out the old app was going away, we set a goal of making a Friends of Casco Bay-branded app that was specifically designed for our volunteers. A priority of ours was to make it easy to use.
Interested in becoming a Water Reporters? Sign up!
As we launch our new app, we are looking for new Water Reporter volunteers. If you are interested in becoming a part of the Water Reporter community, now is an excellent time to join our flagship volunteer program. To sign up to become a Water Reporter, start by filling out an updated volunteer waiver form.
By photographing evidence of algal blooms, sea level rise, pollution, eelgrass, wildlife sightings, and other notable observations on your smartphone, you can help us understand and advocate for the health of the Bay. To learn about how one Water Reporter is making a difference, read A Friend to Eelgrass: A Water Reporter Helps Look After a Vital Ecosystem in Peril.
Here’s how to get started with as a new Water Reporter:
Please sign up and complete a volunteer waiver here. This ensures you will receive Water Reporter notices and invitations to events.
Watch our new Water Reporter Tutorial playlist on YouTube and follow along with your own device. The first four-minute video shows you how to download the app.* This is best for those who can set up their primary Water Reporter device (phone or tablet) while watching on a second device. This will get you started on your new Water Reporter journey.
If you need more help or don’t have a second device, review this PDF. It covers set up and user instructions. Note that at the time of this email, our videos have more thorough information than the PDF.
Reach out to Sara with questions (email: sfreshley@cascobay.org or 207-807-0785)!
Sign up for our online training on June 13, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. or our in-person training at Après on June 27 from 5 to 6 p.m. Both training sessions will cover the basics of downloading and using the app to help us track the health of Casco Bay.
*You cannot download the app from your phone’s app store — you have to access it from your phone’s native web browser.
Thank you so much to our supporters who made it possible for us to launch this new app: all of our Friends of Casco Bay members and donors, The Commons, Allagash Brewing Company, L.L. Bean, Morton-Kelly Charitable Trust, WEX, and Sprague Energy.
