VLMP

• What is VLMP?
• Program Objectives
• Program History and Timeline
• Tiered Approach
• Monitoring Methods
• Who should Volunteer?
• I want to Join the VLMP!
• Training
• How long do the trainings take?
• What does my data mean?
• Newsletters
• Lake Notes
• Training Manual
• Training DVD
• Online Lakes Database (Enter and Retrieve data, charts, graphs and reports here.)
• The Great North American Secchi Dip-In
• World Water Monitoring Day
• Contact Us
• Illinois Boating Safety Laws
• Illinois Online Boating Safety and Certification

Online Lakes Database

An Online Database is available for volunteers to conveniently enter and retrieve their data in real time. This site will allow volunteers to view and print their data in the form of graphs, charts and reports.

Currently, volunteers are asked to enter their Secchi monitoring data online as well as continue to send in their Secchi monitoring forms to their local coordinator. This is a quality control step to ensure that typos and omissions are minimized.

The Great North American Secchi Dip-In

In addition to the duties and responsibilities of the VLMP, many of our volunteers take part in global monitoring activities, such as the Great North American Secchi Dip-In and World Water Monitoring Day .

The Illinois Volunteer Lake Monitoring Program has been a participant in the Secchi Dip-In since 1994, the first year of this event. This global event is a great way to become involved with environmental monitoring and to see your efforts reach beyond your back yard.

What is the Dip-In ?
The goal of the Dip-In is to mobilize volunteer monitors to take a Secchi transparency reading one time during the weeks between Canada Day and the 4th of July. This one-time Secchi transparency reading represents a snapshot in time of water clarity which can give a national and global perspective of water quality.

How can I participate?
To participate, volunteers are asked to go to the Secchi Dip-In website and enter the Secchi transparency information they collect on their regularly scheduled VLMP monitoring trip for the first part of July. It takes only a few minutes of the volunteer’s time to make a global impact.

The Dip-In website is an extremely useful educational resource to learn about the creator of the Secchi disk, the significance of Secchi transparency readings and to better understand other water quality parameters and lake processes.

World Water Monitoring Day

In addition to the duties and responsibilities of the VLMP, many of our volunteers take part in global monitoring activities, such as the Great North American Secchi Dip-In and World Water Monitoring Day .
Like the Secchi Dip-In ,World Water Monitoring Day, or WWMD, is designed to engage citizens in environmental monitoring. It is an international education and outreach program which encourages the public to perform basic monitoring on their local waterbodies.