VOLUNTEERS NEEDED: Urban Heat Island Data Collection

Can you hold a thermometer? If you said yes, Friends of the Rappahannock wants YOU as a citizen science monitor to help us understand Urban Heat Island Effect in the Fredericksburg area.

Urban Heat Island Effect is when developed areas have a higher temperature compared to the nearby rural and forested areas due to a concentration of concrete and asphalt surfaces with little vegetation coverage. Urban heat islands affect water quality by heating up the nearby water sources and stressing out the aquatic organisms. Also, they affect human health with poor air quality and hot temperatures, especially in vulnerable communities. It is important to identify and understand where these urban heat islands are so we can create solutions local to those areas.

Friends of the Rappahannock is looking for volunteers to sample temperature levels across the City of Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania, Stafford, King George, or Caroline Counties to find urban heat islands.

Contact Adam Lynch ([email protected]) for more information.