Any person taking on River Watch Training must complete the required training as covered on this web page.
Citizen Science
Training Resources Relevent to All River Watchers
Training resource 1.
Stay safe – a guide for river watchers.
Please ensure you read this document before you carry out any monitoring activities.
Training resource 2.
Understanding ‘catchments’ and ‘natural flood management’
What do we mean by the term ‘catchment’?
(click video to view larger version)
‘Community Involvement in UK Catchment Management‘ – a booklet on how communities fit into the wider picture.
Natural flood management: leaky dams in action (see video here)
Red Burn Catchment Elevation Map.
Red Burn catchment jigsaw puzzle – piece together your local catchment!
Visit Magic Maps to obtain further maps of your area.
Training Resource 3.
Weather and Floods, Forecasts and Warnings.
Be prepared, know when to expect severe weather events and find out whether there are any weather or flood warnings in place affecting your local catchment.
- Met Office weather warning guide (for rain, hail. snow, wind and fog)
- Met Office weather forecast for Acomb
- Met Office rainfall radar map
- Environment Agency flood warning guide
- Live (interactive) gauge map of Environment Agency river levels by Shoothill – River North Tyne at Reaverhill
- Rain alarm app (for Apple devices) (for Android devices) (for desktops / web browsers)
- OpenStreetMap – maps for watercourses and footpaths
| Training cards to support community-based monitoring activities |
Training Resource 4.
Manually observe daily rainfall using a plastic rain gauge in your garden.
- Acomb Training Card RainfallAcomb Training Card Rainfall v0.1
- Met Office rain infographic.
Training Resource 5.
Visually observe the river level gauge boards along the Birkey Burn and Red Burn.
Training Resource 6.
Flooding and extreme weather impacts
Observe changes in the water environment before, during and after a severe weather event (e.g. heavy rainfall which causes flooding).
Training Resource 7.
Water quality
Acomb Training Card Water Quality. (Overview)
Acomb Water Quality Flash Cards. (Individual Tests)
Red Burn Training Card OPALometer. (Water Clarity Tests)
Training Resource 8.
Shared Red Burn Dropbox folder
Please contact Action 4 Acomb or email redburnacomb@hotmail.com if you would like to join the shared ‘Red Burn Dropbox‘ folder. By joining the folder you will be able to drop your own observations into the folder and also view observations made by the wider community. This is our preferred option if you intend to observe the water environment on a regular or ongoing basis.
Training Resource 9.
Web submission form
Use our web form to submit your observations if you do not yet have access to the shared Dropbox folder.
Training Resource 10.
Training Resource 11.
Community river and weather app
An Android app which will allow you to submit your river levels, river observations and weather descriptions.
Click here to download the app.
Click here to view all observations submitted using the app across the Tyne catchment.