Students of the National University of Samoa wade through the river to take samples

Reading the river - Vaisigano river project

Using data collection, the Übersee-Museum Bremen together with the National University of Samoa have co-created the citizen science project. The aim of the project is to strengthen Samoans relationship with its rivers and freshwater systems. The Vaisigano river system streams over a thousand square kilometres of the Samoan Island. As part of the project volunteer students from the environmental sciences took a field visit to the Vaisgano river.

A group of smiling students in a bus — Excited for the first field day, the participants head to the Vaisigano river. The team of volunteers mostly consisted of first year students of the environmental sciences.

CC BY-SA 4.0 Übersee-Museum Bremen, photo: Gese Gese

Students sit on the ground under a tree and paint — The first day was less about dry facts than emotions and the indvidual relationship with the river. The participants were therefore asked to explore a part of the river and decode it by drawing their own perspectives of it.

CC BY-SA 4.0 Übersee-Museum Bremen, photo: Gese Gese

A girl holds her painting and talks about it — The participants later share their paintings and explain their emotions behind it. This girl has included rubbish from the river bank in her painting to shed light on the pollution of the river.

CC BY-SA 4.0 Übersee-Museum Bremen, photo: Gese Gese

A river surrounded by tropical forest — On the second field day, the team visited another part of the Vaisigano river system further upstream with less impact from the city.

CC BY-SA 4.0 Übersee-Museum Bremen, photo: Gese Gese

The group gathers in the river — The participants head into the water to collect data on the health of this part of the river. The scientists from the NUS and the Übersee-Museum explain the individual tasks.

CC BY-SA 4.0 Übersee-Museum Bremen, photo: Gese Gese

Participants stand in the river holding a tape measure — The participants measure different parameters in the river stretch, like the speed of the current. The tools needed for this are a tape measure, a floating object and a stop watch.

CC BY-SA 4.0 Übersee-Museum Bremen, photo: Gese Gese

A toolkit for water chemistry with colour codes for different phosphate levels. — Invisible pollution in the water can be detected with ready to use toolkits.

CC BY-SA 4.0 Übersee-Museum Bremen, photo: Gese Gese

A man using a net in the water — The team takes samples with a hand net to assess the biodiversity in the river.

CC BY-SA 4.0 Übersee-Museum Bremen, photo: Gese Gese

Participants lean over a tray with samples — In the laboratory the samples from the river are checked for animals and sorted into new containers.

CC BY-SA 4.0 Übersee-Museum Bremen, photo: Kush Sethi

A freshwater shrimp — Among tiny snails and insect larvae there were also some impressive specimen, like this freshwater shrimp.

CC BY-SA 4.0 Übersee-Museum Bremen, photo: Michael Stiller

A girl holds a laboratory tube with samples of small shrimp inside. — The specimen were conserved in ethanol and labeled to be stored in the collection of the NUS for future research.

CC BY-SA 4.0 Übersee-Museum Bremen, photo: Kush Sethi

Team members laughing while processing samples — While learning about their environment and gathering valuable data for river research, the team didn't forget to have some fun, too.

CC BY-SA 4.0 Übersee-Museum Bremen, photo: Kush Sethi

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