Help Monitor Pennsylvania Ponds - Participate in a Community Science Study

Do you own or manage a pond in Pennsylvania? Ponds are integral parts of the landscape. They support wildlife and community recreational activities while contributing to the overall health of Pennsylvania's watersheds. However, privately owned ponds are often excluded from research and monitoring efforts.

The Penn State Extension Water Resources team is recruiting private pond owners or managers to participate in a six-month pond monitoring study. This project brings together Penn State researchers, Extension educators, and pond owners to document how pond water quality conditions and aquatic life characteristics vary across the state.

What does participation involve?

Participating pond owners or managers will be:

• Trained to conduct simple pond water quality measurements and visual assessments
• Observing plants and aquatic life in their ponds
• Submitting observations twice per month using an easy-to-use online reporting tool or paper survey

No prior experience is needed. Participants will go through live interactive online training sessions and be provided with all monitoring tools and protocols designed for non-experts. Additionally, all participants will receive a free pond water kit for laboratory testing.

Why participate?

By joining the study, pond owners will:

• Learn more about their own pond’s water quality conditions, aquatic life characteristics, and how both vary over time
• Receive free tools and Extension resources that they can use to monitor their ponds over time
• Receive personalized reports at the end of the study that help them gain practical knowledge to support long‑term pond health
• Contribute data that will help researchers and Extension professionals develop better pond management guidance
• Be part of a statewide network of engaged pond stewards

Who can participate?

You may be eligible if you:

• Own or manage a private pond in Pennsylvania
• Have safe and regular access to the pond
• Are willing to use the provided tools and resources to monitor the pond for approximately 30 minutes per visit, twice per month for six months, and submit results to the project team

Interested in participating?

In addition to your time commitment, there is no cost to participate in the study. To express interest, complete this short study recruitment survey. The survey helps us understand your pond and determine whether it’s a good fit for the study. Because space is limited, submissions from interested pond owners or managers will be reviewed on a rolling basis to ensure they meet the study's eligibility criteria.

Visit Penn State Extension Pond Management website for a variety of educational resources, including upcoming webinars, articles, online courses and more.