Some of the volunteer 'samplers' at Imperial College Training Session
Teams of volunteers have been anxiously watching for rain during this dry period - not for the allotment or garden, but to get started on one on the biggest hands-on outdoor citizenship science projects of its kind.
The Brent River Run-off project is a partnership between CURB (Clean Up the River Brent), Brent Catchment Partnership (Thames 21) and Imperial College.
The project needs heavy rain to cause 'run-off' from roads and other pollution sources into the River Brent, Mutton Brook, Silk Stream, Wembley Brook, Wealdstone Brook and other tributaries. Volunteers will be positioned along the waters to dip buckets ino the water to take samples, preferably before, during and after the rains.
These will be transferred into bottles, labelled and taken to local freezers before being collected by Imperial College for analysis in their highly advanced labs.
At present it looks as if the rains may come at dawn tomorrow so look out for volunteers in high viz dangling buckets from bridges and footways as you go off to work or enjoy your breakfast.
Volunteers will be positioned all the way from Edgware to Brentford where the Brent joins the Thames.
