iWETLAND: Managing Species at Risk Habitat through Wetland Water Level Citizen Science

Presented by Taylor North and the McMaster Ecohydrology Lab

iWetland is a citizen science wetland water level crowd sourcing research program operated by the McMaster Ecohydrology Lab in the Georgian Bay Biosphere Reserve for the last several years. iWetland water level stations are set up in popular hiking and camping areas within the GBBR and visitors can then text the water level of the wetland to a data base the collates the critical water level to better understand the hydroperiod of critical rattlesnake and turtle wetland habitat. In this webinar we will share the approach we have adopted in developing the citizen science project and discuss the research and knowledge mobilization advances we have made while also discussing some of the short comings of the program. We will also share some of our research on the importance of GBBR wetlands for overwintering habitat of species at risk reptiles.