FLOW

Active

from 01/07/2019

FLOW is a citizen science project for the ecological monitoring of small streams. The project’s aim is to analyse and evaluate the ecological status of small streams together with interested citizens. We want to answer the following questions:

- To which extent does the hydromorphology (i.e., habitat quality) of the sample sites correspond to near-natural status? To analyse this, we assess all parameters required under the European Water Framework Directive (WFD) including the watercourse, bank structure, stream bed, flow regime, surrounding land use).

- Are the threshold values for nutrient concentrations (e.g. nitrite, nitrate, phosphate) and oxygen content exceeded in the streams analysed?

- Which benthic invertebrates (e.g., larvae of caddisflies, mayflies, stoneflies, dragonflies, gammarids and water snails) are present in the stream and in what abundance? How can the pesticide contamination of the stream be assessed against this background?

The stream data collected with the participants are incorporated into ecological studies. Based on this evidence, we plan to identify and prioritize measures for freshwater protection and implement them at the local scale with citizen scientists and relevant stakeholders.
Aim
Scientific goals:
- Collect standardised, spatio-temporally comprehensive data on the ecological status of small streams across Germany to assess the status and development trends of stream health and complement official freshwater monitoring
- Develop a user-friendly citizen science data management system (web application)

Educational goals:
- In cooperation with educational institutions and environmental and angling associations: strengthen social awareness of the importance, condition and protection of rivers and streams
- Promote knowledge and skills for stream monitoring through appealing learning materials, practical training and exchange of experience between participants, scientists and experts

Freshwater protection goals (future perspective):
- Collaboration with local and federal environmental agencies and water authorities and the Federal Environment Agency (Umweltbundesamt) to use citizen science data for regulatory studies and reporting
- Joint planning and implementation of local, low-threshold measures for stream restoration together with local citizen science groups, associations, authorities and land managers
Participation & Audience

Target group: Anyone interested is invited to take part. Schools, anglers, nature conservation NGOs, interested citizens are taking part.

Number of participants: 1500 cumulatively counted

Duration of involvement: Data collection occurs during one day per year

How to participate
To prepare for the upcoming field season, we host online information sessions about conducting a FLOW monitoring survey in January:

During these sessions we:

- introduce the FLOW project and the field season
- answer open questions
- share practical tips
- prepare the participants for the fieldwork
- These trainings are mainly intended for new and experienced group coordinators, but anyone interested in learning more about the project is welcome.

Further preparation
Following the online sessions, participants are able to register for the FLOW project and for our full-day in-person training courses on macroinvertebrate identification.

These courses are primarily intended for FLOW macrozoobenthos experts and group coordinators. They take place between mid-February and April in several cities in Germany.

From each new group, one to two people should participate in an in-person training session. Individual participants from experienced groups may also attend depending on capacity.

Once participants have followed the online and presence trainings, they receive the material for the sampling and should select the stream they will sample. Once we confirmed the selection (and they received the authorisation to sample), they are ready to go. Participants then enter all the collected data as well as pictures on the WebApp.

Interested citizens can subscribe to our newsletter at www.flow-projekt.de to receive further updates.

For any questions, feel free to contact us via email: info@flow-projekt.de
Community impact types: Awareness-raising
About funding

Funding bodies: National Monitoring Center for Biodiversity (NMZB) and Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN) Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt (DBU)

FLOW Go to Project Access Dataset
Water type
Surface water
Keywords
Monitoring Stream
Science Topics
Water
Tags
Suitable for children Teaching materials available
Difficulty Level
Medium
Participation tasks
Annotation Classification or tagging Data Entry Identification Learning Measurement Observation Sample analysis Site selection and/or description Specimen/sample collection
Location
National
Contact
E-mail
0 0 26
Created April 23, 2026, 3:34 p.m.
Updated April 24, 2026, 8:47 a.m.

Similar projects

See all projects
x
This website is using cookies. More info. That's Fine