Amy Lovegrove
PIPS Host Organisation: Iracambi Research Centre
Project Title: Abiotic Water Assessments and Freshwater Invertebrate Surveys Demonstrate Effectiveness of Riparian Zone Conservation on River Water Quality in an NGO-Protected Fragment of the Atlantic Rainforest, Brazil

Iracambi Research Centre is located in the remote Municipality of Rosário da Limeira, within the Atlantic Rainforest. The residents rely heavily on natural water sources for drinking, sanitation, and livestock and crop maintenance. Despite this, the quality of local river water had not been researched since 2010. When it was assessed, it was done as part of a dissertation and used equipment/software that were not practical for long-term monitoring by non-scientific volunteers.

For her project, Amy Lovegrove developed a more appropriate invertebrate identification guide and streamlined the abiotic variable data collection process using basic equipment. Using these techniques, she assessed 16 rivers in the area and created a GIS heatmap of water quality, which can be used to inform tree-planting efforts, new hydro-energy builds, and determine safe drinking sources.

Amy built upon her existing ecological fieldwork skills primarily through problem-solving. Carrying out fieldwork in rural Brazil was very different from in the UK, and she learned to be more adaptable and work with available resources. She also helped run the Young Eco-Leaders programme, teaching local school children about the importance of water quality conservation, and led a group of visiting PGCE students. Through this, Amy learned to communicate scientific principles and methods to children and adults (in limited Portuguese) so they could carry out data collection for Iracambi and their own projects.

Amy is most proud of creating a water quality monitoring system that can be used by locals without a background in science. She feels strongly about making science accessible, and the perspective of seeing how simple methods can make such a difference is something that will stay with her.