Wetlands Watch’s Catch the King relies on volunteers to track the highest predicted tides of the year in southeast Virginia. The Perigean Spring Tides, aka King Tide, in late October happens when the moon, earth, sun, and fall full/new moons are aligned in this part of the state. Volunteer citizen scientists will add their data to that King Tide data collected over the past few years; prior year data collection locations are shown in the image below.
Learn more and sign up to volunteer.
Why volunteer
As is shown in the video Catch the King Citizen Scientists by WHRO Public Media, people of all ages volunteer to identify flooding. As several people mention, the data helps the government take action to improve stormwater runoff systems, protect communities from sea level rise and flooding, and increase/improve resilience. From a volunteer perspective, participating makes people feel like they are making a difference in and for their community.
How can the data be used?
One way counties can make use of the data is on planning and zoning. For example, sea level rise and flooding may result in fewer exceptions to the Chesapeake Bay setback requirements being granted. The data can also inform the work by the Northern Neck Planning District Commission as it updates the 2023 and future iterations of regional hazard mitigation plans.