Our technical training is designed for state, county, and municipal agencies, private corporations, citizen volunteers, neighborhood associations, environmental organizations, and teachers.

The training can be tailored to specific needs including the fulfillment of a public education, outreach, involvement, and participation requirement for MS4 communities.

Typical workshops are held over 3 to 5 days and with sufficient notice WAA can conduct training workshops in your region anywhere within the United States. Contact us to discuss your program needs.

Workshops generally focus on introductory and comprehensive stream monitoring methods or strictly on aquatic benthic macroinvertebrate identification.

Sessions include both class room instruction and hands-on fieldwork. All the necessary equipment and texts to conduct proper stream bioassessment and taxonomic work is provided for each participants use.

Key benefits of attending or sponsoring a training workshop:

• Learn how a stream-monitoring program provides a means to assess the effectiveness of a municipality's storm water management program (MS4)
• Discover ways a stream-monitoring program can address some of each of the six "minimum measures" required in the MS4 regulations
• Begin establishing your own stream-monitoring program
• Learn data collecting methods and how to analyze the data
• Perform taxonomic identification to family and genera
• Establish a reference collection of aquatic benthic macroinvertebrates
• Begin preparing for and/or take the North American Benthological Society Taxonomic Certification Exam
• Learn about biological indices that provide a biological profile and overall stream water quality assessment
• Build confidence in your understanding of stream ecology
• Learn how to protect local water resources and how to promote your data, work, and research

Additionally, WAA provides educational opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students through its Lotic Scene Investigation (LSI)™ program. An applied research program that provides:

• Basic instruction in stream and river ecology, the ecology of benthic invertebrates, and the practice of systematic benthic taxonomy.
  
• Advanced instruction in lotic (freshwater stream environment) biological monitoring methods and analysis, methods for performing an effective field study, and experience in applied research and residential fieldwork.
  
• An overview of current issues in water quality and applied methods of assessment.
  

For a list of upcoming workshops being organized and/or taught by WAA click here.

Reference Accounts

WAA has organized and conducted dozens of training workshops. To veiw a list of attendees click here.

Workshop materials link If you have attended a recent workshop this is the link to the materials I mentioned during the program. You will need the user name and pass word I provided you during the workshop.