Latest news
Results for Pacific and All topics
Pacific DataStream is live! Launching at the Environmental Flows Conference in Kelowna, our latest regional hub already holds millions of water quality data points from across British Columbia and the Yukon, all open and available for anyone to explore and download.
Read storyThe recent GLOBE Forum in Vancouver brought together innovators and changemakers from across the country who are accelerating the clean economy. Any discussion about the social, economic, and environmental challenges of our time must include water, so DataStream’s Carolyn DuBois was delighted to be part of the Ensuring Water Security session.
Read storyNikki Kroetsch is a big believer in the power of community-based creek monitoring. Governments don’t have the capacity to monitor every little waterway, she says, which has led to many stewardship groups doing the work.
Read storyThis World Wetlands Day, we are featuring three organizations that are monitoring and protecting Canada’s wetlands.
Read storyCharlotte has a background in biology with research experience in biogeography. She is passionate about data science, open data and environmental education. Here is a short Q&A to introduce Charlotte
Read storyWe got a lot done in 2023! Thank you to our partners, collaborators, and everyone monitoring their waters and sharing data!
Read storyIn 2019, the Nation developed a restoration plan for the Skutik watershed. “We are looking to restore as closely as now possible to how the Peskotomuhkati lived in the territory pre-contact,” explains Meyer.
Read storyDataStream.org is designed to support the DataStream community and celebrate our collective impact. Whether you want to see who we are and what we do, are interested in sharing or using data, or want to learn about water monitoring, DataStream.org has everything you need.
Read storyTo paint a clearer picture, he partnered with researchers from 13 different universities, launching the NSERC Canadian LakePulse Network in 2016. Over the next three summers, teams of grad students and post-doctoral fellows headed out to monitor lakes from Newfoundland to the Yukon.
Read storyMeghan joined us after finishing her master's degree at the University of Waterloo. Meghan will be contributing to the continued development of DataStream by working with data contributors and users across the Great Lakes region and beyond.
Read storyIn May, the DataStream team gathered in Toronto for the 66th Annual Conference on Great Lakes Research, hosted by the International Association for Great Lakes Research (IAGLR).
Read storyAs part of our ongoing staff feature series, we are thrilled to profile DataStream’s Operations Coordinator, Lilian Tran!
Read storyIn 2021, Living Lakes Canada launched the National Lake Blitz. The water stewardship organization had two goals: to help track the impact of climate change on Canada’s lakes and to make it easy for everyone to get involved in water monitoring, no matter their age or experience.
Read storyIsotope data can be complex, and formatting isotope data can be a daunting task. That’s why we are so excited to release our new DataStream Guide: Best Practices for Reporting Isotope Data. The goal of the document is to support a consistent approach when handling isotope data.
Read storyIn watersheds across Canada, temperatures are rising, rainfall patterns are shifting, and storms are hitting harder and more frequently. We’re seeing more droughts, floods, runoff and algal blooms. And the pace of climate change just keeps accelerating.
Read storyDataStream’s open access platform provides a place to share and access water quality data collected by diverse organizations across the country.
Read storyThe DataStream team continues to grow and we are thrilled to welcome Aislin Livingstone, Program Manager.
Read storyWe got a lot done in 2022! Thank you to our partners, collaborators, and everyone monitoring their waters and sharing data!
Read storyPacific DataStream is ready to accept data for upload and publishing!
Read storyWe’re thrilled to be bringing DataStream to the pacific region. While work is still underway to fully develop Pacific DataStream, we now have a space to welcome monitoring groups and share information on DataStream’s newest regional hub!
Read storyThe DataStream team continues to grow and we are thrilled to welcome Nell Libera, Data Specialist.
Read storyFunding isn’t flowing: ending dry spell for freshwater action, is an op-ed published by the Hill Times by water monitoring leaders including Carolyn DuBois of DataStream.
Read storyto Lindsay Day, DataStream’s Program Manager, receives the Water’s Next Award in the Non-Government Leader category as part of the 13th annual Canadian Water Summit.
Read storyGroundwater is a vitally important resource, one that is often overlooked in freshwater management. Despite its importance, in Canada we know relatively little about how groundwater behaves, its quality, or how the quality and quantity have changed over time. This is why groundwater quality is the next data type that DataStream is actively working on adding to our open data platform.
Read storyCarolyn DuBois, DataStream’s Executive Director, has been awarded a 2022 Report on Business magazine Changemakers award.
Read storyWe got a lot done in 2021! Thank you to our partners, collaborators, and everyone monitoring their waters and sharing data!
Read storyDataStream is excited to announce the beta version release of our new Custom Download tool! As the amount of data being shared on DataStream continues to grow, so too have requests for the ability to access specific subsets of data (e.g., all arsenic data in a given region) across multiple datasets. This tool is designed to do just that.
Read storyWe are delighted to announce that we are partnering with RBC through Tech for Nature, to help drive the expansion of DataStream. DataStream, an open access platform for sharing water data, currently operates in three regions--the Mackenzie basin, Atlantic Canada, and the Lake Winnipeg basin. The RBC Tech for Nature donation from the RBC Foundation is a multi-year commitment that will allow DataStream to expand across the country. Beginning in the Great Lakes, our proven model will grow to support a nationwide, innovation ecosystem. This is the latest stage in a long-term, highly productive partnership between DataStream and RBC. RBC Foundation has played an integral role in DataStream’s growth by contributing to the design and development of the blockchain technology that is integrated with the platform. Blockchain technology enables DataStream to bring a new level of data security and transparency to water monitoring data in Canada. DataStream’s use of blockchain technology provides a way for people to verify that the data they are accessing on the platform is the same data that was originally uploaded and that it hasn’t been altered or tampered with. Blockchain diagram from here: https://lakewinnipegdatastream.ca/en/article/blockchain-and-datastream RBC Tech for Nature supports new ideas, technologies, and partnerships to solve pressing environmental challenges. Learn more at rbc.com/techfornature.
Read storyAs a water researcher at the University of Waterloo, Dr. Nandita Basu creates models to help answer big questions. How well do wetlands protect against algal blooms? Where are the biggest hotspots for agricultural runoff? How is climate change affecting water quality? DataStream promises to make life easier for Basu and her colleagues. In fall 2021, the release of the latest regional hub, Great Lakes DataStream, will bring together water quality datasets throughout the Great Lakes and Saint Lawrence Basin in a standardized format.
Read storyDataStream’s Dive into Data webinar series is back for 2021! Following the success of last year’s sessions, the Dive into Data webinars will provide an opportunity to brush up on your data management skills, while connecting with other water data users.
Read storyWhat happens to water data after it has been collected by community monitoring groups? That is the driving question behind a Nova Scotia-focused research project that brought together academic, community and government voices. Led by Alice Cohen out of Acadia University in collaboration with Coastal Action and the Atlantic Water Network, and supported by the Change Lab Action Research Initiative (https://actionresearch.ca/), the research project included a workshop, interviews and online webinar, with a recent report summarizing the key findings.
Read storyDataStream’s new how-to video series provides guidance on using the open-access platform to publish and explore water monitoring data. The first four videos walk data stewards through various steps of the process, beginning with how to upload and update datasets:
Read storyA new online tool helps explain how water quality is measured and why it matters. The illustrated guide provides an introduction to some of the most important and commonly monitored aspects of water quality, including: physical properties, such as water clarity, pH and temperature chemical substances, like nutrients, metals, minerals and pollutants from human activity, and; biological characteristics, including coliform bacteria and chlorophyll
Read storyRecommendations that address how the federal government can strategically support community-based water monitoring (CBWM) efforts across Canada are now available in English and French. The Elevating Community-Based Water Monitoring in Canada documents were produced by The Gordon Foundation (who lead DataStream at the national level), Living Lakes Canada, and WWF-Canada, following a collaborative dialogue convened by the three organizations.
Read story2020 was a big year for us. Thanks to all who continued monitoring waters and getting the data out there!
Read storyWith continued DataStream growth and expansion into the Lake Winnipeg watershed, our team continues to grow too! We are thrilled to have Mary Kruk join us as the new Water Data Specialist based out of Calgary, Alberta.
Read storyThe recently released WWF Canada 2020 Watershed Reports provide a national assessment of Canada’s freshwater. WWF Canada was able to efficiently draw on community based water monitoring (CBWM) data thanks to DataStream. Although the report shows the health of 60% of watersheds is unknown, there has been significant progress since the last assessment in 2017, with ten additional watersheds receiving a score. DataStream is designed to support communities driving the data-to-policy cycle so it is exciting to see that DataStream is playing a role in improving data access and putting community generated data on the map, so that it can be used in regional and national scale assessments and ultimately support decision-making.
Read storyDataStream’s visualization tool enables users to apply national water quality guidelines to datasets. Some key guidelines used by DataStream include the Canadian Water Quality Guidelines for the Protection of Aquatic Life which serve as national standards set by the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME). These guidelines provide recommended ranges for some of the physical, chemical and biological characteristics that are commonly monitored in rivers, lakes, and oceans.
Read story“Be the water bottle”. That’s the message from DataStream Data Specialist Patrick LeClair in this practical demonstration of what good data management looks like, taken from the recent Data Management Best Practices webinar. Wondering what he could possibly mean? Patrick uses two vastly different water samples, a cloudy concoction and a transparent liquid, to depict data while their containers - a hard to access box and an easily opened water bottle respectively - represent databases.
Read storyTechnology has helped facilitate the growth of data sharing and the rise of open data – a movement that DataStream is proud to be part of. In this post we take a look at two important and complementary sets of guiding principles that underpin best practices when it comes to data stewardship and access.
Read storyThe creation of a Canada Water Agency, mandated by the federal government last year, is a unique opportunity to improve freshwater stewardship in this country. DataStream's Carolyn DuBois and Mathew McCandless of IISD Experimental Lakes Area contribute to ongoing discussions about the role of the agency.
Read storyEnsuring that water quality data on DataStream is easy to find, access, use and reuse is at the centre of our mission. For this reason, we have dedicated a lot of time exploring ways to integrate permanent identifiers into your datasets.
Read storyOn November 27-28, a national discussion focused on identifying potential government supports for community-based water monitoring (CBWM) initiatives took place in Ottawa. More than 60 attendees, from across Canada, took part.
Read story