Data platform
What you observed with your testkit doesn’t end at the water. Once you’ve completed your field tests, it’s essential that you care for and share your test results.
Your observations help us fill information gaps on water bodies that are under monitored, and they help us see trends and understand water health over time. Your observations can also help inform decisions and solutions needed to restore and protect our waters. Your observations can’t do all these incredible things if they aren’t properly managed and shared. Water monitoring isn’t complete until your observations make it into the Water Rangers data platform. Data becomes knowledge when it’s accessible, usable, and used. Your data must have followed all testing protocol to be appropriate to share with the public and decision makers.
Using the platform with your class
We encourage you to go through the data platform with your class or your group of students after your testing excursion. There are lots of ways to use the platform after adding observations. These could include:
- Tracking observations of a location over time
- Looking at who is testing in your area, when and where
- Searching for areas that are not being tested
- Understanding watersheds and systems of water
Sharing as a group
We encourage everyone using our data platform to either create or join a group to share their data. When you decide to share your data, we encourage you to make only one account for the whole class. Your account name can be yours, or the name of your school. You can then share the data under that account name. We’ve also created an education group you can join to easily share your data to.
Uploading your data
- Using Water Rangers’ field app. Using the app ensures your observations are immediately managed and shared on Water Rangers’ data platform. Our app is available for iOS – simply search for “Water Rangers”.
- Using our data platform on your computer. Manage your observations and your group at app.waterrangers.ca