Big Windermere Survey Update
22 July, 2024
Over the past few weeks, we have been very busy trying to secure funding to allow the Summer Big Windermere Survey (BWS) to go ahead. To date (via our Crowdfunder appeal) we have raised (inc. Gift Aid) circa £8.5k. We are incredibly grateful to all the amazing donors who have supported this campaign and who obviously care deeply about Windermere, including some local businesses.
However, this falls significantly short of the £30k required to cover the costs of delivering the survey. As well as the significant staff time needed to not only run each survey but to manage the data, online platform and disseminate the results, the survey equipment and logistics includes laboratory analysis of the water chemistry and bacteriological samples, transport to set up and pack down the four hubs around Windermere and consumables used during the survey (sample bottles, filters, gloves etc. etc.). No mean feat for a survey which takes place quarterly!
During this period of fundraising, we have received some very positive feedback from stakeholders, regarding the value of BWS terms of:
Providing unrivalled (and open access) temporal and spatial data describing the water and bacteriological quality in Windermere and the Leven catchment in which it sits.
Creating a grassroots participatory research network that has the community at its heart. 400 volunteers have already taken part in our seasonal surveys.
Exchanging knowledge and dialogue (events, reports, explainers and summaries) with community and organisational audiences in mind.
Whilst this feedback has been encouraging, it does not help with the immediate challenge of resourcing the Summer BWS. Regardless of the immediate funding challenges however, FBA and Lancaster University have taken the decision to proceed with the summer 2024 survey. This is a decision that comes at a financial cost to FBA. We are a small charity and our work is funded via grants, donations or collaborative agreements. We do not have access to significant sources of core funding. To be financially sustainable, we need to be able recover the true cost of delivering projects, but at this time, we feel that the summer 2024 BWS survey is just too important not to do and so we’re investing in this fantastic project and in all of our wonderful citizen scientists who give their time freely to learn about the catchment they know and love so much.
Our hope that this decision will allow more time to develop and build on the positive feedback above to develop a sustainable funding platform to be able to plan and develop surveys over a multi-year period.
So we are very pleased to announce that the next survey will take place on Sunday 8th September. This is somewhat later than we would like and is due to the above uncertainties driven by the current survey-to-survey funding model. If you would like to volunteer, please contact BWS Co-ordinator, Emma Kelly at windermere@fba.org.uk. If you can support the summer 2024 survey financially then our Crowdfunder is still accepting donations. Thank you!
In summary, BWS matters.
It enables the continued use of trusted and independent science and data, adding to and addressing gaps in knowledge regarding the factors affecting freshwater ecology.
It has wide-ranging reach in terms of communicating awareness / understanding those factors and how residents, visitors and resource managers can play their part in helping to look after Windermere.
It is an exemplar of how professional and community scientists are collaborating to enable better and faster environmental outcomes on one of the world’s most iconic lakes.
We don’t want to lose the hard-won momentum we’ve gained with people who have demonstrated their commitment to play their part in efforts to better understand and rejuvenate Windermere.
However, this inspiring commitment now needs to be matched with long-term funding!
If your organisation has any available resources to help fund BWS on 8th September, or if you know of any other funding sources we may be eligible for, please let do lets us know ASAP.
The BWS Crowdfunder appeal also remains open.
Without significant financial backing, the Summer BWS may be our last.
