EcoHabit - Robert Howe's Projects Services Tools

Our River Is Changing. We Need All Eyes on the Water.

Welcome to Eco Habit-BETA, a Bard College capstone project grounded in Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR), where local knowledge and science work together to understand, identify, and monitor Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) on the Wallkill River.

Thank You for Participating in This Research!
By following the steps in this exercise, your feedback will help us design the best possible community-friendly HABs website interface.

flag Your Mission (~10 Minutes)

👁️ Identify

Learn to tell harmless algae from suspicious surface scum.

📊 Analyze

Use real river data:, flow,temperature, conductivity — to co-interpret local risk (sources on last page).

🔬 Act

Put your skills to the test, then support shared community reporting and response.

What's Happening to the Wallkill?

Hot, dry summers bring more cyanobacteria blooms (HABs) to the Wallkill.
Why it matters: bloom toxins like microcystin can sicken people and be fatal to dogs.
Main drivers: warm water, slow flow, and nutrient runoff fuel blooms.
Why you're needed: sensors and satellites miss details; community observations provide essential local context.

satellite_alt DEC HABs

Wallkill River Watershed · 2019–2025 DEC HAB Reports · UAV Imagery
Use the square boxes in the top‑right layer panel to toggle pop‑ups on or off.

🛸 40+ Flights

Drone Flight (popup)

2025 HAB Report

HAB Report 2019–2024

UAV Tile Overlay (toggle in panel →)

visibility_lock Participation & Privacy

Voluntary & Anonymous

Your participation is completely voluntary. We do not collect names, emails, or IP addresses. You may stop at any time.

Contact

If you have questions about this study, please contact researcher Robert Howe BH7406@bard.edu or Faculty Advisor Jennifer Phillips Phillips@bard.edu.

Ready to begin? To prove you're human, drag the slider all the way to the right. 👉

💧 🌊

Slide the 💧 all the way to the 🌊 to unlock the consent checkbox.

I understand this is an educational research tool from Bard College Center for Environmental Policy. My participation is anonymous and voluntary, and I am over 18.

Step 2: About You

Complete each field below, then click Continue. This gives context for your responses in the next steps.

Age Range

Primary River Activity

How often do you visit the Wallkill?

Have you joined a citizen science project before?

Yes No Not sure

Place Attachment (Likert Scale 1-5)

How connected do you feel to the Wallkill River?

Perceived HAB Risk (Likert Scale 1-5)

How much risk do you think HABs pose to people and pets?

Self-Rated Knowledge (Pre-Test) (Likert Scale 1-5)

How well can you identify a harmful algal bloom by sight right now?

Step 3: Spot the Bloom

Your task: Browse the images, choose the one that most looks like a harmful algal bloom, then review the map and continue to the data step.

Quick Visual Guide:

⚠️

Suspicious scum: paint-like film on the surface

🌿

Filamentous algae: usually attached to rocks or logs in stringy clumps

🍃

Vegetation/duckweed: many tiny floating leaves

💧

Clear water: may look tea-colored from natural tannins

swipe Swipe to browse all images arrow_forward

🤔 Not sure? Open the Reference Guide for help identifying each type.

Your Selection from Step 3:

The sensor data below corresponds to conditions at this site.

Step 4: Read the Data

Read each gauge (flow, temperature, conductivity) click Next: Answer Contextual Questions to submit your interpretation.

This data reflects monitoring conditions at the time and location of the image you selected in Step 3.

Flow Rate 🌊

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Temperature 🌡️

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Conductivity⚡

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🌊 Flow Rate < 150 CFS (Risky Conditions)

Low-flow conditions (stagnation) are the primary physical constraint for bloom formation; they increase residence time, allowing for the thermal stratification and buoyancy-driven surface accumulation necessary for cyanobacteria to dominate (Ignatius et al., 2022).

🌡️ Temperature > 25°C

Once flow is restricted, water temperature acts as the metabolic gatekeeper; Microcystis reach optimal growth efficiency only when temperatures exceed 25°C, outcompeting benign algae (Chorus & Welker, 2021).

⚡ Conductivity > 600 µS/cm

In the Lower Wallkill, elevated specific conductivity serves as a watershed-specific proxy for concentrated, nutrient-rich groundwater baseflow emerging from the Black Dirt Region (Allan & Castillo, 2007). These elevated nutrient levels create risky conditions for HAB formation.

💡 Remember: HAB risk is determined by the combination of all three factors — no single metric tells the whole story.

Low Water Flow (The Foundation): This is the most important part. When the river moves slowly or stands still, it gives the algae a stable place to sit and grow without being washed away.
High Heat (The Switch): Warm water acts like a "power switch" for the algae. When it gets hot, it tells the algae it is time to start growing fast.
High Conductivity (The Fuel): Conductivity shows us how many minerals and nutrients are in the water. High levels mean there is enough "food" (like nitrogen and phosphorus) to build a large, thick bloom.

bar_chart

Deep Dive: Charts & Data Guide Click to view trends and risk cutoffs

expand_more

These charts show river conditions leading up to the date associated with the image you selected. Look for trends that could explain the conditions you saw.

info Metric Thresholds

Metric	Safe / Low Risk	High HAB Risk
Temperature	< 20°C	> 25°C
Flow Rate	> 300 CFS	< 150 CFS (Stagnant)
Conductivity	< 500 µS/cm	> 600 µS/cm

Discharge Trend (USGS) — CFS

Temperature Trend — °C

Of the metrics you reviewed above, which concern you for HAB risk? (Select all that apply)

Temperature (high heat) Conductivity (possible nutrient inputs) Low flow / stagnation None — data looks safe

psychology_alt Data Verification (Second Chance)

Now compare your photo choice with the data. Does the data support HAB risk at this site?

Yes, Data confirms Risk No, Data suggests Safety

Step 5: Make Your Call

Answer all six prompts using both visual evidence and sensor data, then click Submit Analysis.

-- °C -- µS/cm -- CFS

1. Based on the dashboard, which condition mix do you see?

2. Briefly explain your reasoning for risk or no risk in this scenario.

3. Which visual clues may indicate a harmful algal bloom (HAB)? (Select all that apply)

Clear or brown water Small floating leaves (Duckweed) Long, stringy green hair (Filamentous) "Spilled paint" or "pea soup" surface scum Not sure

4. How confident are you in your diagnosis?

Not confident (1)Very confident (10)

1 10 5

5. What would help you feel confident about identifying a harmful algal bloom in the future?

Step 6: Test Your Skills

Use the new sensor readings to pick the best matching image, add a short explanation, and continue.

New scenario: Here's a fresh set of sensor readings. Which image best matches these conditions?

info New Scenario Data

Temp:
--°C

Cond:
-- µS/cm

Flow:
-- CFS

Review these conditions carefully. Based on what you've learned, which image best matches?

Condition A: Clear Water

Condition B: Vegetation

Condition C: Filamentous Algae

Condition D: Suspicious Scum

Why did you choose this image?

If you saw these high-risk conditions in real life, how would you prioritize your actions?

Rank these actions in priority order (1st, 2nd, 3rd).

1st Action

2nd Action

3rd Action

Step 7: Community Knowledge Recap (CBPR)

Review the recap, reflect on what was most challenging, then choose how you want to contribute in the next step.

visibility Step 3 — Spot the Bloom

Harmful algal blooms (HABs) often appear as bright green, blue-green, or brownish films on the water surface.
Not every green patch is a HAB — duckweed, pollen, and reflections can look similar.
Visual identification is a first line of defense for community observers and citizen scientists.

monitoring Step 4 — Read the Data

Flow Rate (Primary Constraint): Low-flow conditions (stagnation) are the primary physical constraint for bloom formation; they increase residence time, allowing for the thermal stratification and buoyancy-driven surface accumulation necessary for cyanobacteria to dominate (Ignatius et al., 2022).
Temperature: Once flow is restricted, water temperature acts as the metabolic gatekeeper; Microcystis reach optimal growth efficiency only when temperatures exceed 25°C, outcompeting benign algae (Chorus & Welker, 2021).
Conductivity: In the Lower Wallkill, elevated specific conductivity serves as a watershed-specific proxy for concentrated, nutrient-rich groundwater baseflow emerging from the Black Dirt Region (Allan & Castillo, 2007).

assessment Step 5 — Make Your Call

Combining visual cues with sensor data gives you a much stronger assessment.
High temp + low flow + high conductivity = elevated HAB risk.
Your judgment matters — even experts weigh multiple indicators before deciding.

quiz Step 6 — Test Your Skills

Applying what you learned to a new scenario reinforces pattern recognition.
Matching sensor readings to visual conditions builds real-world monitoring confidence.
Practice makes permanent — the more scenarios you evaluate, the sharper your instincts.

psychology Which part of the learning experience was found to be most challenging?

Distinguishing HABs from look-alikes (Step 3) Interpreting sensor data — temperature, flow, conductivity (Step 4) Combining visual and data evidence to assess risk (Step 5) Applying knowledge to a new scenario (Step 6) None — nothing was particularly challenging

At this point, you can complete the exercise or continue to the advanced remote sensing module. Click a card below to choose your path:

Choose Your Path

How would you like to contribute to HAB awareness and response?

🚣

Recreator

I use the river for recreation and want to make safer, informed decisions for myself and others.

🔬

Steward / Scientist

I want to learn how to use remote sensing data and community observations to monitor HABs.

Step 8: Remote Sensing / Monitoring

Compare satellite views with field observations, upload a screenshot of peak bloom intensity, and add notes to help ground-truth what satellites detect.

help How to Use This Tool

Check date: Note when the satellite image was captured.
Find location: Locate Sturgeon Pool on the left side of the frame.
Use the timeline: Use the date slider at the bottom to step through recent satellite passes.
Read the legend: Red and orange indicate higher risk.
Check for clouds: ⚠️ White or gray blobs are clouds, not blooms.
Zoom in: Click "Open Fullscreen" for more detail.

compare_arrows What You're Comparing

The Mapbox map below shows drone orthomosaic imagery of Sturgeon Pool. Using the date checkboxes on the right side of the map, toggle the dates on and off to see layers captured during the peak of the bloom season last summer. Zoom in to see just how extensive the bloom was in late September 2025.

This imagery was captured on September 27, 2025, during the most intense bloom event of the season — the green you see in the water is real cyanobacteria.

The Copernicus satellite view below shows the same area from space using imagery a few weeks before the peak of the bloom. Your task: Compare the two — does the satellite pick up the same bloom patterns you can see in the drone imagery? Where do they agree, and where do they miss? This is exactly how researchers ground-truth remote sensing data.

Mapbox — Sturgeon Pool 9/27/25 Open Fullscreen open_in_new

Copernicus Browser (Live Feed) Open Fullscreen open_in_new

Map Legend: Phycocyanin Index (PCI) — μg/L

0 μg/L 10 20 50 100 200 300 500 μg/L

Low Moderate High (Bloom)

📸 Capture the Bloom at Its Worst

If you can, take a screenshot showing where the bloom appears most intense — this helps us understand how satellite imagery compares to what you saw on the ground.

Date of screenshot

Location observed

Step 9: Final Reflection

Almost done! Take a moment to reflect on the exercise before answering these final questions. Complete these fields, then click Complete Exercise to finish and export your results.

After this educational exercise, how informed do you feel about identifying HABs? (Post-test)

CluelessExpert

How likely are you to report a suspected HAB in the future?

Very unlikelyVery likely

Overall, how would you rate this learning tool?

What was most helpful in this tool?

What should we improve?

🎉

Thank You!

Your time is deeply appreciated. By participating in this exercise and learning about Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs), you've contributed to a shared, community-centered effort to protect the Wallkill River.

Thank you for being the eyes and ears of the Wallkill River. Together, we're building a more resilient watershed.

🚨 Remember: If the water looks like spilled green paint — when in doubt, stay out! Keep pets on a leash, take a photo from a safe distance, and report it.

What's Next?

Your anonymous responses help co-create stronger HAB education and monitoring for the Wallkill community.
To report suspected HABs on the Wallkill River:
- NYS DEC: HABs Reporting Portal
Follow the Wallkill River Watershed Alliance (WRWA) website for water quality updates.

Best regards,

Robert Howe

Bard College Graduate Center for Environmental Policy

Want to explore more open‑source aerial imagery of the Wallkill River during the 2025 HAB season?

📚 Data Sources & Works Cited

All environmental datasets embedded in this exercise are listed below for transparency and reproducibility.

Data Source	Type	Geographic Scope	Temporal Coverage	Embedded Where
USGS Stream Gauge 01371500 WALLKILL RIVER AT GARDINER NY	Flow rate (CFS)	Wallkill River at New Paltz	Summer–Fall 2025	Step 4 Discharge Trend chart + gauge
Temperature Sensor Wallkill River 32 Bridge (WKR32BRDG)	Water temperature (°C)	Wallkill River at New Paltz	Summer–Fall 2025	Step 4 Temperature Trend chart + gauge
Conductivity Sensor Wallkill River 32 Bridge (WKR32BRDG)	Conductivity (µS/cm)	Wallkill River at New Paltz	Summer–Fall 2025	Step 4 Conductivity gauge
Drone Orthomosaic	RGB aerial imagery (3.1 cm/pixel)	Sturgeon Pool, Wallkill River	September 2025 (multiple dates incl. Sept. 27 peak)	Steps 3, 7 (Mapbox map)
Copernicus Satellite	Phycocyanin Index (PCI, µg/L)	Sturgeon Pool / Lower Wallkill area	Summer–Fall 2025	Step 8
Field Photographs	Ground-level HAB imagery	Multiple Wallkill River sites	Summer 2025	Step 3 image gallery
OpenAerialMap	Drone imagery / orthophotos	Wallkill River watershed (approx.)	various dates	Step 3 / drone reference

You may now close this window.

Step 2: About You

Step 3: Spot the Bloom

satellite_alt See It From Above