Join the LAKEWATCH Team
Florida LAKEWATCH is a citizen volunteer lake monitoring program that facilitates "hands-on" citizen participation in the management of Florida lakes, rivers, and coastal sites through monthly monitoring activities. Join us in monitoring Florida's aquatic ecosystems and contribute to the science that manages them.
Requirements for volunteers:
- Have access to a lake and a boat (power, kayak, canoe, etc.)
- Sample one day per month at three open-water locations (1–2 hours)
- Commit to at least one year of sampling
- Attend a 1–2 hour training session (we come to you)
- Collect and freeze water samples for analysis (phosphorus, nitrogen, chlorophyll, clarity, color, conductivity)
- Deliver samples to a local collection center
- Follow UF’s volunteer policy and pass a background check. For more information, please refer to the volunteer policy, section 4.8a. Note: Foreign nationals should consult their visa sponsor, the UF International Center, or our departmental HR (sfrc-hr@ifas.ufl.edu) before volunteering.
- Subscribe to the LAKEWATCH listserv for newsletters, updates, and meeting invitations
In return for participating in the Florida LAKEWATCH Program, volunteers receive:
- A free quarterly newsletter subscription via email
- Free sampling supplies and the use of provided sampling equipment
- Free training in lake monitoring procedures
- Annual water quality report for your waterbody
- Access to experts in lake management who can help with questions
- Invitations to free Florida LAKEWATCH volunteer appreciation meetings
“Long-term data sets such as LAKEWATCH’s database are invaluable for understanding how Florida’s lakes are changing over time as our state populations grow and urbanize.” —Michael Andreu, Ph.D., associate professor and extension coordinator, UF School of Forest, Fisheries, and Geomatics Sciences