What if protecting your favourite place could start with something as simple as paying attention?

Maynard Lake in Nova Scotia, Canada, is a local gem—a place for swimming in the summer, skating in the winter, and a home for wildlife year-round. But when a large drop in water levels occurred over just four weeks, it was more than just unusual—it was alarming.

With the help of eOceans, a baseline for Maynard lake was recorded, turning everyday observations into valuable insight. What started as simple monitoring was soon brought to the attention of local authorities, setting off a chain of events that would reveal the full extent of the issue...

A personal mission: protect what you love, before it’s too late

Christine’s connection to Maynard Lake isn’t just scientific—it’s personal. This is the lake she swims in, skates on, and shares with her community. But this unexpected drop in water wasn’t just about losing a seasonal activity. It threatened fish, birds, and the entire ecosystem that relied on the lake’s environment.

When she started using the eOceans mobile app to track Maynard Lake, her goal was to only observe the ecosystem, to create a baseline that others could go off of when something when wrong. Christine was able to track the lake’s condition in real time and build a data-backed case that couldn’t be ignored. Each observation became part of a living dataset—proof of a problem that needed urgent attention.

What began as one person’s concern turned into real-world action.

Conservation powered by observation

The Maynard Lake case study shows how fast, easy access to data can make all the difference—especially when time is critical.

Without observation, the slow leak in Maynard Lake might have gone on for months, if not years. Wildlife habitats could have been lost, and the lake's cultural and recreational value diminished. Instead, thanks to a few weeks of simple, consistent monitoring and data-sharing, action was taken. The leak was found and fixed, and the lake is now recovering—its wildlife protected, and its community benefits preserved for summers and winters to come.

The eOceans mobile app, purpose-built for scientists and citizen observers alike, simplifies and accelerates monitoring. With every entry, real-time graphs and maps are generated, helping identify changes as they happen—not months later. And when authorities are equipped with this kind of timely evidence, they’re more likely to act.

Looking ahead: community science for local change

Maynard Lake is just one example of what’s possible when the right tools are in the hands of the right people. With the eOceans platform, anyone—from scientists to swimmers—can help protect the places they care about most.

As this model scales, it opens the door for communities everywhere to become guardians of their local waters, using science and technology to act before it's too late.

Because protecting what you love starts with knowing what’s changing—and why.

🌊 Watch the full case study

Watch the case study HERE to dive into how simple observations helped stop a massive issue. See what role you can play in tracking your coastlines and protecting them.