James River Association (JRA) needs local volunteers to serve as citizen scientists collecting water samples and recording data to track the environmental health of the James River.

JRA will introduce volunteers to the types of harmful bacteria, and provide an overview of sampling methods and analysis. Volunteers will also learn to collect turbidity and temperature data from the field.

Sampling will occur weekly from May to September, and data will be made available to the public on the James River Watch website.

Volunteers will be assigned to teams in the region to monitor multiple sites in a rotating schedule. The scheduling will be determined after the training, depending on volunteer availability.

One of the sampling sites is the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries boat landing in Buchanan.

Training dates are:

• May 22 from 5-7:30 p.m. at, Riveredge Park, 150 Rocky Hill Rd., Madison Heights.
• May 25 from 5-7:30 p.m. at Boxerwood Gardens, 963 Ross Rd., Lexington.

Those with previous training can take a refresher course from 4-5 p.m. at both locations.

To register, visit http://ow.ly/YNH530bxuOv.