• What: EnviroDIY Workshop
• When: May 20 and 21, 2025, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Where: Stroud Water Research Center, 970 Spencer Road, Avondale, PA 19311
• Audience: Beginners and those with intermediate experience programming data loggers and using environmental monitoring equipment. State and federal agency staff; academic faculty; high school, undergraduate, and graduate students; and researchers from environmental NGOs and watershed organizations have attended previous workshops.
• Cost: $135 per person. Registration is limited to 24.

EnviroDIY empowers researchers with innovative digital and electronic tools and training that enable cost-effective and customizable environmental measurements. This workshop is appropriate for beginners and those with intermediate experience programming data loggers and using environmental monitoring equipment. Topics include:

• Programming electronic data loggers and connection with environmental sensors.
• Transmission of data from data loggers to web-based data portals via cellular radio.
• Assembling data loggers, sensors, cellular radios, and solar panels into monitoring stations.
• Deploying, maintaining, and troubleshooting monitoring stations.

Attendees will acquire the skills necessary to assemble, program, and deploy a water monitoring station, but with the understanding that the DIY journey has just begun! We can’t cover the wide world of DIY technologies in a single workshop, but we’ll give you the foundational knowledge and resources to continue learning on your own.

Is EnviroDIY Right for Me?

• Do you need more customized or less expensive monitoring equipment than commercial vendors provide?
• Do you enjoy learning hands-on electronic skills, computer coding, and web-based tools?
• Are you motivated to continue learning DIY skills on your own using internet resources?
• Can you accommodate the extra work required for DIY versus commercially-available products?

What Are the Prerequisites?

Workshop attendees should answer yes to all of the “Is EnviroDIY right for me?” questions above and be comfortable using spreadsheet software. No prior computer programming experience is required.

Who Attends EnviroDIY workshops?

Most of our previous attendees have been state and federal agency staff, academic faculty, students (high school, undergraduate, and graduate), and researchers from environmental NGOs and watershed organizations.

What Do I Need to Bring?

We loan attendees all the electronics and hardware needed to follow the classroom curriculum. Attendees should wear comfortable clothes and shoes for walking trails alongside White Clay Creek. Lunches will be provided.

What Should I Expect from the Workshop?

• You should expect hands-on experience using data loggers, sensors, cellular radios, and laptop computers.
• You should expect to work in pairs to program and assemble the provided electronic hardware.
• You should expect instructions on how to find and use online resources on your own after the workshop.

What Should I Not Expect from the Workshop?

• You should not expect one-on-one support from the Stroud Center after the workshop. We can’t guarantee your ability to monitor precisely where or how you want.
• You should not expect to be an expert on DIY electronics at the conclusion of the workshop.
• You should not expect instructions on how to make or fix sensors.

Agenda

Tuesday, May 20, 2025

Wednesday, May 21, 2025

*A selection of vegetarian, turkey, and ham sandwiches will be available.
**Attendees will be provided with laptop computers and all electronic hardware needed for all exercises.

Instructors

• Shannon Hicks, research engineer, Stroud Water Research Center.
• Scott Ensign, assistant director, vice president, and research scientist, Stroud Water Research Center.

Lodgings

Workshop attendees are responsible for reserving and paying for their lodging. The closest hotel to Stroud Water Research Center is the Fairfield Inn & Suites Kennett Square Brandywine Valley, 719 East Baltimore Pike, Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, USA, 19348, 1-888-236-2427.