Citizen scientists are needed to help “check the health” of England’s largest natural lake, by joining in with the first Big Windermere Survey.

Launched jointly by the Freshwater Biological Association (FBA) and Lancaster University, the ‘Love Your Lake: Big Windermere Survey’ will recruit a team of volunteer citizen scientists to help assess the environmental health of Windermere during Summer 2022.

The volunteers will be trained to collect water samples using academic research equipment from around 100 different locations in Windermere and in the becks and lakes that flow into it. The samples will be analysed for nutrient and bacterial levels within independent laboratories, producing the largest, one-day snapshot of conditions at Windermere ever conducted.

Windermere is a centerpiece of the UNESCO Lake District World Heritage site. Ecologically important, for example as a home to rare fish species including the Arctic charr, Windermere is also a major destination for tourists and an increasingly popular venue for watersports such as wild swimming, kayaking and sailing.

However, concerns have been raised about the health of the lake, in particular because of algal blooms and bacterial pollution, including Faecal Indicator Organisms, that can potentially harm wildlife and humans. The Big Windermere Survey will focus on the key nutrients and bacteria that lie behind these issues, contributing to scientific understanding of water quality at Windermere and supporting the development of future initiatives to improve the condition of the lake.

Dr Louise Lavictoire, Freshwater Biological Association, Head of Science said: “The Big Windermere Survey is an innovative community freshwater science initiative. Together, volunteers, professional scientists and catchment managers will take Citizen Science to the next level in terms of supporting evidence-led conservation action for Windermere.”

Dr Ben Surridge, Senior Lecturer at Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, said: “Windermere is one of the most iconic bodies of fresh water in the country. It is of huge importance for people who live locally and the millions of visitors it attracts each year.”

“The Love Your Lake: Big Windermere Survey is an exciting opportunity to combine the interest and knowledge of communities around the Lake District with independent and scientifically robust academic research. This will be a large-scale, intensive snapshot checking the health of Windermere, and we are really looking forward to helping deliver new understanding of the lake and its surrounding catchment.”

The project has received generous funding from Lancaster University’s Vice-Chancellor’s Prize for Participatory Research (2021-2022) and from United Utilities. The survey is also supported by the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Lake District National Park Authority, South Cumbria Rivers Trust, Brathay Trust, National Trust and the Environment Agency.

FBA has produced an Information Note ‘The State of Windermere’ to support the project. This explains the scientific basis and impacts of changes in water quality over time. Copies can be downloaded from the Association’s website www.fba.org.uk

Updates on the survey will be posted on Twitter @freshwaterbio and @LancsUniLEC and results will be made publically-available through a range of sources, including the FBA website www.fba.org.uk

Get involved: Volunteers who would like to take part in the survey are asked to contact the FBA via email to express their interest, using: windermere@fba.org.uk