Armed with water tests, South African students tackle eco-anxiety

JOHANNESBURG - A short walk from their university classes, four South African students traded textbooks for gumboots as they collected and analysed water samples from the Wilgespruit river in Johannesburg.

They are part of a growing movement of citizen scientists collecting water samples across the country to monitor pollution and brainstorm about what can be done about it.

"A lot of people say what's the point, but it's not true," said Zeenat Ramdharie, 19, an environmental science, geography and development studies student at the Independent Institute of Education, or IIE MSA, a private university where the testing initiative was launched.

"When more people come together to locate these (environmental) issues ... things can be done," she said as she stood on the banks of the Wilgespruit river, a tributary to a transboundary river shared by South Africa, Botswana and Mozambique.

IIE MSA launched the Water Quality Monitoring Initiative in late May to equip students around South Africa with water testing kits and skills to monitor freshwater ecosystems.

South Africa's waterways are under threat from pollution linked to mining, agriculture, industries and failing wastewater management - all of which harms biodiversity, IIE researchers said.

About one-third of rivers in Africa, Latin America and Asia suffer from severe pollution, threatening human health, food security and ecosystems, according to the United Nations.

Climate change also affects water quality through floods, droughts and rising temperatures, which heat water bodies and boost growth of harmful algae, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The IIE MSA water-monitoring initiative, which will run for three months, is encouraging university students to collect data and analyse how to improve or maintain water quality levels in order to win a cash prize.

"We are interested in how citizen science can lead to action or advocacy," said Vanessa Stippel, a lecturer in environmental sciences at IIE MSA.

"When people are invested, they are more likely to want to educate others," she said at the department's offices before the team made their way to the river.

Fighting eco-angst

Low-cost monitoring tools can help citizen scientists collect data, particularly when government monitoring is lacking, according to a policy brief by the environmental charity Earthwatch Europe.

Kyle Kumst, who is studying environmental science, geography and development studies at IIE MSA, said the water testing helps him "connect with nature again".

Stippel has seen how citizen science can help fight growing levels of climate anxiety or apathy among her students.

"Climate change is such a big concept, you feel powerless. We don't know how to address it, so we don't start," she said.

More than two-thirds of youth around the world said they are concerned about how climate change could affect their future, a May report by consulting company Capgemini and the U.N. children's agency UNICEF found.

"Any time you are getting out and about in nature, problems become more granular, you can do something about them," said Stippel.

A study published in the journal Frontiers in Environmental Science in February found that 48% of participants in environmental citizen science projects reported lower stress and anxiety levels compared to before they took part.

Accountability 

Linda Downsborough, head of environmental science at IIE MSA, slowly waded up the Wilgespruit river with a big net in hand before she found shallow water, turned her back to the river flow and stomped her gumboots.

"Whatever you kick up from stomping, you want it to flow into the net," said Downsborough.

After two minutes, Downsborough peered into her net.

"Start observing the invertebrates living here ... Look at all the life on the rocks," she said, pointing out small slug-like creatures.

After wading back to the river bank, Downsborough poured her findings into a container to identify the different macroinvertebrates with the help of her students.

Each organism was given a unique score under the mini stream assessment scoring system (miniSASS) to help determine the water quality. The final results will be uploaded to an online map to identify polluted sites.

Downsborough and her team also encourage citizen scientists to try out other water testing kits, such as Freshwater Watch and WaterCAN, which test for a range of pollutants, like excessive nitrates and phosphates.

Findings can be uploaded online to be used by activists to rally for government action.

In April, WaterCAN, alongside other civil society organisations, launched a report on Durban's Umbilo River that revealed pollution, including high levels of E. coli bacteria.

They called for urgent infrastructure repairs based on their findings.

"Civil society must continue to push for accountability, create awareness in communities and build action through citizen science," the report said.

Durban's eThekwini municipal Water and Sanitation department acknowledged receipt of questions regarding the report, but did not respond to a request for comment by time of publication.

GroundTruth, an environmental consulting company that helped develop the miniSASS kit, trains citizen scientists including more than 1,000 youth in the KwaZulu-Natal province.

Downsborough and Stippel presented their research on public participation at the Citizen Science for Water Quality Conference in the Netherlands in early June. Next year, the IIE MSA water monitoring initiative will be expanded more widely across campuses and schools.

"Writing papers is one way to have impact, but bringing students outdoors to the river ... bringing our office out to the river ... is very rewarding," Downsborough said.

(Reporting by Kim Harrisberg. Editing by Ayla Jean Yackley.)