Announcing a NEW, exciting program just launching in Ontario that is of interest to rural and urban communities alike.
The Farm and Food Care Ontario Foundation has just announced the launch of the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network (CoCoRaHS) in Ontario, which is a non-profit, grassroots, volunteer network of weather observers of all ages and background measuring and mapping precipitation (rain, and snow) in their communities across Canada and the USA.
CoCoRaHS started in Colorado in the late 1990s, and came to Canada in Manitoba in 2011, Saskatchewan and the Maritimes in 2013. And now in Ontario! With support from the Ontario ministries of Natural Resources, Agriculture and Food, Rural Affairs and Environment, weather enthusiasts can sign up on the CoCoRaHS website www.cocorahs.org/canada to become a volunteer observer. They can join as an individual observer or as part of a group (community group, school group, etc).
The volunteers or groups will need to purchase an official CoCoRaHS kit, which is subsidized by the ministries to $30 (one-time fee). Observers will take daily recordings and post their precipitation (rain or snow) online to the publically available site (www.cocorahs.org/canada), which are then mapped.
This project will allow us to learn more about regional and local weather events and how they impact our water supply, which will benefit consumers, farmers, businesses and government alike.
Please feel free to call Karla Jackson, Ontario Volunteer Coordinator at (519)352-5334 ext 228 or an email ontario@cocorahs.org if you have any questions or are interested in the program and would like more information.
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