Welcome to EnviroDIY, a community for do-it-yourself environmental science and monitoring. EnviroDIY is part of 
Learn Do-It-Yourself Electronics for Environmental Monitoring
May 20 @ 8:30 AM – May 21 @ 5:00 PM
- 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. Attendees should be comfortable using spreadsheet software. No prior computer programming experience is required.
Who Attends EnviroDIY workshops?
State and federal agency staff, academic faculty, students (high school, undergraduate, and graduate), and researchers from environmental NGOs and watershed organizations comprise most of our previous attendees.
What Do I Need to Bring?
We loan attendees all of 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 (and Not Expect) from the Workshop?
You should expect hands-on experience using data loggers, sensors, cellular radios, and laptop computers. Attendees work in groups of two to program and assemble the provided electronic hardware. You should expect instruction on how to find and use online resources on your own after the workshop.
Attendees should not expect one-on-one support from the Stroud Center after the workshop. We can’t guarantee your ability to monitor exactly where or how you want. Attendees should not expect to be experts on DIY electronics at the conclusion of the workshop. The workshop will not provide instruction on making or fixing sensors.
Agenda
Tuesday, 20 May 2025
| 8:30 – 09:00 | Arrival |
| 09:00 – 09:15 | Welcome and introduction to do-it-yourself technologies |
| 09:15 – 10:15 | Arduino Interactive Development Environment and the Mayfly Data Logger** |
| 10:15 – 10:30 | Break |
| 10:30 – 12:00 | Simple sensors |
| 12:00 – 01:00 | Lunch (provided: hoagies*, chips, fruit, and drinks); overview of Stroud Water Research Center |
| 01:00 – 02:00 | Sensors, power, and communication protocols |
| 02:00 – 03:00 | Data logging and data telemetry using cellular radio |
| 03:00 – 03:30 | Break |
| 03:30 – 05:00 | Assemble, program, and deploy temperature, conductivity, and depth monitoring stations |
| 05:00 – 05:30 | Optional: configure personal laptop for Mayfly and Arduino Interactive Development Environment |
| 05:00 – 05:30 | Optional: tour of Stroud Water Research Center |
Wednesday, 21 May 2025
| 08:30 – 09:00 | Arrival |
| 09:00 – 10:30 | Retrieve monitoring stations, explore and QA the data |
| 10:30 – 10:45 | Break |
| 10:45 – 12:00 | Using the Modular Sensors code repository to customize data logger configurations |
| 12:00 – 01:00 | Lunch (provided: sandwiches*, salads, and drinks) |
| 01:00 – 03:30 | Outdoor demonstration of monitoring station deployment best practices |
| 03:30 – 04:00 | Break |
| 04:00 – 05:00 | Questions and answers; open discussion |
| 05:00 – 05:30 | Optional: tour of Stroud Water Research Center |
*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, Research Scientist, Stroud Water Research Center
Lodgings
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. Toll Free: +1-888-236-2427.
Workshop attendees are responsible for reserving and paying for their own lodging.
