With financial support from the Town and the WHOI Sea Grant Program, the project was off to a start, but the issue of volunteers to conduct the sampling remained unanswered. The project organizers appealed to the citizens of Falmouth for help through newspaper articles, radio and television. Volunteers range in age from high school students to retirees. Because of the large number of volunteers, simultaneous sampling is conducted at 34 stations on each sampling date. This provides data collected under the same conditions of weather and tide, critical to making system to system or station to station comparisons.
Training is held each year, prior to the start of the sampling season.
At these sessions, volunteers are briefed on the ecology of the ponds and potential changes they might see, issued sampling kits, and told of the goals of the sampling program. Additional water samples are collected and taken to the laboratory for more in-depth testing. Physical measurements such as water color, total depth at sampling site, temperature, and light penetration are also taken. In addition to the summer sampling schedule, year-round rain gauge data, bird census, and general observations are conducted by the volunteers. The effectiveness of the Pond Watchers Program lies both in the enthusiasm and dedication of the Pond Watchers and the unique partnership developed between the citizens, local government, and scientists, whereby information gained from the research can be swiftly and directly applied toward effective management decisions for these fragile environments.