Surfrider Foundation South Bay and the City of Gardena are excited to announce a new joint venture with the launch of a new Blue Water Task Force Teach & Test lab. This new lab brings hands-on water quality science to the Gardena Willows Wetlands Preserve, an important urban wetland in the watershed of the South Bay area of Los Angeles, California.
Fifteen students at the GWWP entrance during the inaugural BWTF Teach and Test Lab Run.
The Blue Water Task Force (BWTF) is Surfrider’s volunteer -run water quality testing program. The South Bay Chapter has dubbed their BWTF program ‘Teach & Test’, as it focuses on providing educational experiences for local students for the past 20+ years. The South Bay Teach &Test program combines environmental education with real-world science, training students and volunteers to collect and analyze water samples while learning why water quality monitoring matters.
Youth involvement is the cornerstone of this effort. By engaging students in hands-on science, the Teach &Test program helps foster a strong connection to the environment and empowers the next generation of enthusiastic coastal defenders. Testing at the Gardena Willow Wetland Preserve will be conducted in collaboration with the Environmental Charter Schools, Surfrider volunteers, and the Gardena City Naturalist, making it a true community-based monitoring effort. This new water quality lab brings science, stewardship, and opportunity to engage inland, urban communities, expanding access to hands-on learning and environmental career pathways while strengthening regional water protection by connecting the watershed to the coast.
Students processing water samples in the new Teach and Test Lab at Gardena Willows Wetland Preserve.
Initial testing is expected to take place monthly at three sites throughout the Preserve, increasing the capacity of the South Bay Chapter’s Teach &Test program to regularly monitor over 25 sampling sites on a regular basis. Experienced students who help run the long-established South Bay BWTF lab, hosted by Dive N’ Surf in Redondo Beach, have already visited the new lab in Gardena to provide training to the students and volunteers who will be collecting and processing samples at the Preserve. This is authentic peer-to-peer learning and a great leadership opportunity for South Bay students, including students in Gardena, Lawndale, El Segundo, PV, and Manhattan, Redondo and Hermosa Beaches.
Early results from the new Gardena Willows lab are already showing just how important this work is. Samples collected during one of the largest winter storms of the season revealed some notably high fecal bacteria readings, highlighting the need for consistent water quality monitoring. You can check out those results here.
With this new lab, the South Bay Chapter is expanding its reach, strengthening community science and building momentum to protect clean water for everyone. A big thank you to all the volunteers and partners who make this work possible.
Celebrating years of dedication: Mary Simun, our amazing long-time Teach and Test coordinator, at the Dive N’ Surf BWTF lab.
To volunteer or find a BWTF lab testing near you, check out our online map at bwtf.surfrider.org.