13 August, 2025

Two innovative initiatives that integrate  citizen science, digital technology , and youth participation are presented to strengthen water management in Mendoza and combat the environmental crisis.

The city supports both initiatives through the  Youth and Climate Action Fund of Bloomberg Philanthropies.  They focus, in addition to on the water issue (a critical point in the province), on urban resilience. A strong  involvement of young people and local organizations  stands out.

Water management and community monitoring

The first of the projects, called  Local Resilience Development , is led by the NGO  Oikos Red Ambiental  and aims to create a public database on the vulnerability status of the city’s  alluvial collectors system .

Innovative citizen science projects. (Photo: Mendoza City Press).

Through  citizen science methodologies , the project calls on young people and residents to monitor risks associated with extreme precipitation. The aim is to promote  shared responsibility in water resource management  and territory protection.

In this sense, three key training sessions have been held so far:

• Towards a community water monitoring network in Mendoza: presentation of the case of  Plan Colibrí in Valle de Uco .
• Citizen participation in environmental issues: analysis of the  Water Code of Mendoza .
• Urban runoff monitoring, led by  Oikos Red Ambiental .

The training included monitoring techniques, the use of collaborative platforms, and georeferencing tools. After the last workshop,  field trips will be conducted to map alluvial defenses , infiltration zones, and stormwater relief points.

According to reports, the work will conclude with the  creation of collaborative maps  and the open publication of the results.

Environmental history and digital humanities

Water management in Mendoza, a central point in the water crisis.

The second proposal,  Digital Humanities for Environmental History , aims to rescue and digitize Mendoza’s water heritage, providing free access to  historical documents, maps, and photographs .

In this way, the goal is to raise awareness among the population about the water-tree-irrigation channel interdependence, a central axis in Mendoza’s environmental identity.

It is being developed by CONICET researchers  along with Geography and Audiovisual Production students from  UNCuyo , who have been working on digitization with  low-cost resources and open-source software  since 2014.

In this new stage,  archive surveys, interviews, and compilation  of historical material from the  19th century  will be carried out, which will then be published on an open access web platform.

As announced, the content will be accompanied by a  photographic exhibition and dissemination essays  to bring environmental history closer to the community.

SOURCE