Join the WUU Team at VIMS on October 11!

The King Tide is coming! The result of a full moon in close proximity to the Earth, these astronomically high tides are tomorrow's new normal as sea level rise continues. Join Wetlands Watch volunteers Oct 10-12 to help cities prepare for rising seas. Catch the King 2025 is a community science effort that invites residents to map how far flooding reaches during the year’s highest tides. In just 15–30 minutes, volunteers use the free Sea Level Rise app (iOS/Android) to drop GPS points that help improve flood-prediction models used by local governments.

Catch the King volunteers can also sign up to collect water samples from the same locations for nutrient and bacteria testing! Early findings show that receding high tides carry a substantial, previously unmeasured load of contaminants into local waters, revealing a significant gap in current water-quality models. Join fellow WUU members in Measuring the Muck while Catching the King on Saturday, October 11 with a 12:00 pm meetup at Virginia Institute of Marine Science in preparation to then visit locations in Gloucester Point, York County, and Poquoson. There will be a brief virtual training on the evening of October 6 at 5:30 that will also be recorded and sent to volunteers.

Sign up for both by filling out the CTK interest survey (mention your affiliation is WUU): https://forms.gle/x9qyk7sWJ9yHdodG8! Be sure to select "yes" for your interest in Measure the Muck.

Interest in mapping on your own time? Fill out the survey and check out the Catch the King Toolkit page for how to prepare!

Questions? Contact Catch the King Coordinator Stephanie Letourneau (catchtheking@wetlandswatch.org) and visit https://www.wetlandswatch.org/catchtheking for more details. Can also contact office@wuu.org to be put in touch with the WUU Team.