Assess Knowledge

Cyanobacteria, commonly called blue-green algae, are a major concern within freshwater environments in Canada and around the world, and community members play an important role in reporting the potential presence of harmful blooms in their local rivers and lakes. This free, online, self-paced certification provides an overview of cyanobacteria and a guide for community members to safely perform visual surveys.

This free, self-paced, online certification course is intended to provide staff and volunteers with the necessary training, skills and knowledge to conduct meaningful water quality monitoring.

The Water Quality Assessment, Analysis and Interpretation online course is a signature course delivered by the Canadian Rivers Institute’s Training and Professional Development programme. This course advances participants’ abilities to design water quality research and monitoring programs and analyze water quality conditions and trends.

Watercourse alteration certification, erosion control, and wetland delineation training workshops.

Wetland Ecosystem Services Protocol for Atlantic Canada (WESP-AC) is a standardised method for rapidly assessing wetland functions for all types of wetlands in Atlantic Canada. The course is available through Maritime College of Forest Technology.

Brought to you by Ducks Unlimited Canada, this module has been designed for professionals and community members whose work affects wetlands—whether this is through municipal planning processes, forestry practices, community stewardship efforts or other areas.

Indigenous Canada is a 12-lesson Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) from the Faculty of Native Studies that explores the different histories and contemporary perspectives of Indigenous peoples living in Canada.

The Fundamentals of OCAP®, is a unique online learning opportunity developed by FNIGC in collaboration with First Nations thought leaders, subject matter experts, and online education professionals.

An interactive and illuminative multimedia reconciliation course, designed to begin dismantling the colonial point of view taught in Canadian educational institutions, and start the long journey toward reconciliation.  Learn about the history and culture of Indigenous communities in Canada, the history of residential schools, and treaties around the country.

STREAM (Sequencing the Rivers for Environmental Assessment and Monitoring) is a community-based project that involves the collection of benthic macroinvertebrates from rivers across Canada to generate a better understanding of the health of river systems. DNA metabarcoding uses bulk-benthos samples collected via the CABIN methods and gene sequencing linked to DNA/RNA barcode libraries to allow for faster, more complete profile of biodiversity content from very small samples.

To use the Canadian Aquatic Biomonitoring Network (CABIN) and analysis tools, you must complete the required online module training and certification. The training program provides the knowledge and skills required to conduct a biomonitoring program to CABIN standards.

The Water Quality Assessment, Analysis and Interpretation online course is a signature course delivered by the Canadian Rivers Institute’s Training and Professional Development programme. This course advances participants’ abilities to design water quality research and monitoring programs and analyze water quality conditions and trends.

Training and support for community stewardship with the aquatic habitat

An interactive tool for children to learn and discover species that are traditionally significant to the Mi’gmaw, and their species at risk listing.

Since 2019, ACAP Saint John has been working with a collaborative group of watershed organizations, researchers, and government to advance our understanding of cyanobacteria within the Wolastoq watershed.

Our in-house experts designed the following resources to assist with and inspire others to complete coastal restoration and climate change adaptation projects in Nova Scotia and beyond.

IPCA Knowledge Basket, a digital space created to honour, celebrate, and catalyze Indigenous-led conservation pathways in Canada, including Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs).

DataStream's guide provides visuals and non-technical descriptions in this guide make learning about water quality easy and enjoyable for everyone – in the field, the classroom or anywhere! This guide helps bring water quality data together across sectors and jurisdictions in standardized formats that make it easy to discover and use.

Web tool with open data of aquatic barriers throughout Canada

Mapping and collecting data on precipitation. Run by a grassroots volunteer network of backyard weather observers

Web tool with open data of aquatic barriers throughout the Maritime Provinces

Online map and data of the watersheds within New Brunswick.

Access to New Brunswick's GIS data catolog of hydrographic, geological, forestry, fish and wildlife, crown land, and conservation data.

Online map of the provence of New Brunswick. Includes watershed attributes such as rivers, streams, water bodies, and wetlands.

Learn about salt marshes and why they are important for our coasts. Explore our infographics to see the differences between a natural, modified, and restored coast.

You can search the surface water quality results to find information about the quality of surface water in PEI including sampling locations, downloadable raw data, and graphs.

The New Brunswick Department of Environment and Local Government’s Water Quality Data Portals provide information on the quality of New Brunswick’s major lake and river systems.  

An open data portal for water quality data collected by the Government of Nova Scotia.

Browse the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador's water quality resources for lakes, rivers and ponds.

Atlantic DataStream is an open access platform for sharing information on freshwater health. It currently allows users to access, visualize, and download full water quality datasets collected by monitoring groups from Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia.

This gallery showcases the Nature Conservancy of Canada's (NCC) Freshwater Conservation Blueprint for the Northern Appalachian–Acadian Region of Canada. The Freshwater Conservation Blueprint is composed of five planning tools: (1) a stream and river ecosystem classification; (2) a watershed health assessment; (3) an aquatic connectivity tool; (4) an Active River Area delineation; (5) a freshwater resilience assessment.

This dataset contains the Watershed Health Assessment (WHA) for the Northern Appalachian–Acadian Region of Canada (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and eastern Quebec).

Overview of the role of the freshwater quality monitoring and surveillance division by Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC).

Swim Guide is a Swim Drink Fish initiative providing current, reliable, and accessible information on recreational water quality.

Water Rangers is a non-profit focused on inspiring the public to get involved by collecting water data around their local rivers and lakes. The data platform displays data collected by communities using Water Rangers test kits.

The Dynamic Environment & Ecosystem Health Research group at Saint Mary’s University have developed a comprehensive list of Nova Scotia and Atlantic Canada open datasets, mapping resources, online tools, and other resources.

The St. Lawrence Global Observatory (SLGO) is an open-access web platform, making available to all data, information and knowledge necessary to understand and effectively manage the ecosystem of the St. Lawrence, from the Great Lakes to the Gulf. SLGO support its members, from data management to their dissemination in specialized visualisation tools.

The Northumberland Strait Saltmarsh Atlas is a collection of information on tidal road crossings and salt marshes that have potentially been restricted from tidal flow.  To identify these restrictions, we used a combination of computer research with field research.

An interactive web map of L'nu (Mi'gmaw) place names in New Brunswick.

An interactive web map of Mi'kmaw place names in Nova Scotia.

This dataset contains the Watershed Health Assessment (WHA) for the Northern Appalachian–Acadian Region of Canada (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and eastern Quebec).

WWF Canada developed an assessment framework in consultation with leading freshwater scientists and used that framework to produce reports on Canadian rivers’ health and threats. This website presents the results in an interactive format designed to engage Canadians and raise awareness about the watershed they live in.

The Coastal Carbon Atlas is an interactive web application developed and maintained by the CCN to promote the exploration, query, and download of data from tidal wetlands around the world.

NB Department of Envrionment and Local Government 2024 progress and five-year review of their Water Strategy

Atlantic Water Network (AWN) is Atlantic Canada’s hub for community-based water monitoring. For nearly two decades, AWN has supported a growing network of over one-hundred community partner organizations throughout Atlantic Canada in all aspects of water quality monitoring, by creating shared learning opportunities, offering tailored technical supports, and promoting local water priorities at both regional and national scales.

Nova Scotia Salmon Association's Adopt A Stream provides funding and technical support to community groups to help improve the quality of aquatic habitat for fish and other wildlife in and around the waterways of Nova Scotia.

Explore the Networking Map, a platform fostering collaborations and knowledge sharing among individuals and organizations dedicated to adapting to climate change in Atlantic Canada. Join a growing network of community members driving action for a resilient future across the region.

The freshwater working group works on freshwater and estuarine data in Newfoundland and Labrador to identify knowledge, expertise, and needs to support management, research, and stewardship of freshwater and coastal ecosystems. The working group meets seasonally. Please email us to join the working group.

The Prince Edward Island Watershed Alliance (PEIWA) is non-profit cooperative association of watershed management groups on Prince Edward Island.  The overall goal of the PEIWA is to improve and protect the environmental quality of Prince Edward Island watersheds, for the benefit of all Island residents.

The New Brunswick Alliance of Lake Associations supports citizen based lake stewardship in New Brunswick. Our organization consists of fifteen lake associations and many volunteer groups devoted to the health of our lakes.

Representing almost 30 groups from across the province, the N.B. Watershed Caucus is a forum for watershed conservation organizations across New Brunswick to share experiences, information, and techniques. The objective is to foster sustainable partnerships and build capacity for watershed groups across New Brunswick through effective networking and communication.

A network of individuals and organizations that is interested in supporting water resource management within Nova Scotia through the sharing of expertise, experiences, knowledge and information, and resources.

Adopt a River is a citizen science-type educational program that immerses students and participating citizens in the protection of water.

Multiple sources of funding are available for climate adaptation projects across the region from federal, provincial, and non-government sources. Only those with some permanence or that recur annually are listed

A list of current funding opportunities for Indigenous climate projects.

Living Lakes Canada is an award-winning NGO that facilitates collaboration in monitoring, restoration, and policy development initiatives for the long-term protection of Canada’s lakes, rivers, wetlands and watersheds impacted by climate risk.

The Our Living Waters Network is for groups who work towards freshwater health and believe in the power of working together. OLW exists to amplify the influence and impact of the many, diverse organizations that make up the water community in Canada.

This virtual community is a centralized place for waterfront associations, individuals, academics, students, and other organizations to connect and work together to protect local freshwater and enhance shoreline resilience.