BCLSS Training Programs
Courses and Add-On Training Modules
Your Gateway to Understanding and Protecting Our Waters.
BCLSS offers a variety of training opportunities, from a 1 hour basic monitoring and lake overview to an intensive 3 day lake ecology and monitoring certification course. We have flexible training options in both stream and lake water quality for all skill levels and budgets!
Reach out to the BCLSS office at info@bclss.org to learn more or set up a course in your community.
1.5 Day LakeKeeper Workshop
Learn to protect your local lake with this 1.5 day workshop on lake health and stewardship training.
2 Day Stream and Lake Water Quality Monitoring
Field Skills Certification
This course covers stream and lake sampling techniques, safety procedures, site selection and interpretation of monitoring results in the context of water chemistry, fish habitat and human impacts on watersheds.
3 Day Lake Ecology & Monitoring Course
The BCLSS Lake Ecology and Monitoring Course is a 3 day course designed to give professionals in environment related fields a thorough grounding in the fundamentals of lake ecology and monitoring to prepare them for work in consulting firms, government agencies, and other organizations engaged in the monitoring and assessment of lakes.
Add on Training Modules
Learn how to evaluate specific aspects of lake and watershed health by selecting from a variety of add on training modules.
LakeKeepers
1.5 Day LakeKeepers Workshop
Since 2009, the BCLSS has offered LakeKeepers workshops to provide training and support for lake stewardship with an emphasis on lake water quality monitoring. Workshops are held throughout the province thanks to our generous partners and funders: Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation, Real Estate Foundation of BC, Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy, and the Ministry of Municipal Affairs.
The BCLSS LakeKeepers 1.5 day training course provides participants with a greater understanding of lake ecology and health. Human impacts to watersheds and lakes are also covered. This knowledge increases the ability of citizens to steward their lakes, as they are equipped with a better understanding of the watershed and potential land-use impacts. Regionally based LakeKeepers courses also create peer-to-peer learning opportunities through networking and can address issues and concerns specific to the location. Optional modules, such as Watershed Assessment and Aquatic Plant Surveying are available and can selected by course participants.
The workshop consists of one day in class that includes hands on training to use lake monitoring equipment, followed by one – half day at a lake where participants apply a variety of lake ecology and water quality monitoring techniques
Topics covered in the course may include:
- How to form a stewardship group
- How to become a society and get charitable status
- Funding sources
- Water fundamentals
- Physical characteristics of lakes
- Nutrient dynamics and biological production
- Human impacts on watersheds
- The impacts of climate change on lakes
- How to develop a lake sampling program
- Water quality parameters
- Reporting monitoring program results
- And more!
2 Day Stream and Lake Water Quality Monitoring Field Skills Certification
The goal of this two day training course is to provide an understanding of the fundamental principles of stream and lake water quality monitoring programs and how these programs provide the data needed for watershed assessment. Participants will learn how to design and implement scientifically credible water quality monitoring programs and gain hands-on experience using field instruments to measure parameters such as dissolved oxygen, temperature, turbidity, pH, and conductivity.
The course will also cover sampling techniques and safety procedures, site selection, and interpretation of monitoring results in the context of fish habitat, nutrient dynamics, and trophic status. Through examples from real BC lakes and streams, participants will explore how natural processes, human impacts, and climate change influence water quality and how these impacts need to be considered for proper watershed management.
By the end of the training, participants should be prepared to carry out credible water quality monitoring activities and the techniques covered will help prepare attendees for employment in the environmental monitoring field. The course will also help attendees understand when to engage professional consultants for more complex watershed management issues.
All participants receive a colour copy of our LakeKeepers manual which covers the fundamentals of lake ecology and water quality monitoring programs.
3 Day Lake Ecology & Monitoring Course
The BCLSS Lake Ecology and Monitoring Course is a 3 day course designed to give professionals in environment related fields a thorough grounding in the fundamentals of lake ecology and monitoring to prepare them for work in consulting firms, government agencies, and other organizations engaged in the monitoring and assessment of lakes. BCLSS has developed this course through the expertise in limnology of our staff and Board of Directors. Students will gain proficiency in a variety of lake related field monitoring techniques through field sessions at a lake comprising approximately 30% of the course.
All Participants receive a colour copy of our LakeKeepers manual which covers the fundamentals of lake ecology and water quality monitoring programs.
Learning Outcomes
- Understanding of the fundamentals of limnology
- Understanding of the basics of lake water quality monitoring design
- Proficiency in the use of lake water quality monitoring equipment
- Understanding of assessment of, and reporting on lake water quality monitoring data
Key Elements
PowerPoint presentation of course material- Study questions (60 questions) will be based primarily on the LakeKeepers Manual and any supplemental material provided. These will cover all aspects of the material presented and there will be some in class time to work on them in groups. Otherwise, students will be expected to do these as homework and they will be gone over in the class each morning.
- Field Program – there will be hands on use of field equipment in class and field sessions at a lake comprising approximately 30% of the course. The fundamentals of lake monitoring and use of equipment will be taught.
- Final Quiz – there will be a final quiz with questions similar to the study questions
- Grading:1/3 completion of study guide questions and participation in class (students will all have to demonstrate completion of homework and answer their share of study guide questions in class,1/3 hands on and field sessions – hands on and field sessions will be done in groups and then each student will have to demonstrate proficiency with all of the equipment and techniques, 1/3 final exam.
Course Content
- An Introduction to Lakes
- Water Fundamentals
- Physical Characteristics of Lakes
- Lake Nutrient Dynamics and Biological Production
- Human Impacts on Watersheds
- Developing a Lake Sampling Program
- Design Basics
- Quality Control and Quality Assurance
- Lake Sampling
- Reporting the Results
- Water Quality Parameters
- Water Clarity
- Temperature
- Dissolved Oxygen
- Phosphorus
- pH
- Nitrogen
- Chlorophyll a
- Fecal Coliform Bacteria
- Metals
- Emerging contaminants e.g., microplastics
- Climate Change Impacts on Lakes
- Lake Stewardship and Volunteer Programs (covered briefly in the course but not part of study questions or quiz)
Add on Modules
NEW! Watershed Monitoring and Assessment Module
BCLSS is pleased to announce a great addition to the training courses we offer. We have developed a module to supplement our training courses that covers the basics of initiating a watershed monitoring program, with the additional goal of conducting a watershed assessment. The course content is particularly applicable to understanding the effects of nonpoint (diffuse) sources of pollution on water quality. This information is essential for the development of a watershed management plan.
This training is a one half day compliment to the LakeKeepers training intended to provide participants with guidance for watershed monitoring and assessment.
However, it can serve as a compliment to any of the training BCLSS offers. It also has sufficient scope to be presented as a stand alone 1 day course for those wanting more in depth training in this aspect of environmental assessment.
This project was undertaken with the financial support of the Government of Canada provided through the federal Canada Water Agency.
Coming Soon – Watershed Planning
Coming Soon – Aquatic Plant Surveying
Meet Our Instructors
Norm Zirnhelt (R.P.Bio)
Norm is a Registered Professional Biologist with over 35 years experience in water and air quality. Norm was head of the BC Ministry of Environment’s Air/Water Quality Monitoring and Impact Assessment Section for the Cariboo Region from 1989-2010. Norm has been Principal Consultant at his consulting firm, Cariboo Environmental Quality Consulting Ltd. (CEQC) since 2010. CEQC has completed projects on lakeshore protection in sensitive areas, aquatic benthic biology, fish tissue & water chemistry assessment in the mining sector, analysis of aquatic benthic data from a range of sites for the Ministry of Environment, and has developed & conducted training courses for impact assessment biologists for the MOE, as well as Ducks Unlimited staff. Norm currently instructs a course for Vancouver Island University on Water Quality Monitoring and Design.
Rick Nordin (PhD)
Rick has a B.Sc in Biology (1970), a M.Sc (1971) in fisheries / limnology both from the University of North Dakota and a PhD from the University of British Columbia (phycology / limnology) in 1974. Rick worked for the BC Ministry of Environment from 1974 to 2002 as the provincial specialist in limnology and water quality – job title for most of this period was Provincial Limnologist. He was involved with projects in all areas of BC with particular emphasis on eutrophication and drinking water protection. He taught part time at the University of Victoria from 1989 to 2016 and had an appointment as an adjunct professor in the biology department and taught a number of courses, carried out research programs, and supervised graduate students. From 2002 to 2008, he worked as senior research scientist in the Environmental Management of Drinking Water Program at UVic. Rick has been a board member of BCLSS since it was formed (1997) and has also served on the board of directors for the North American Lake Management Society.