In 2019, The TCCBE applied for a Trillium SEED grant under the Green People category in collaboration with U-Links to launch a pilot project that would address the increasing needs of the local lake associations for regular benthic biomonitoring. The pilot project also facilitated vital
field experience for students enrolled in community-based research courses under the Community Based Education (CBE) program.

The evaluation was completed by systematically reviewing the project records to determine progress towards milestones; first-person observation of program implementation; conducting a series of interviews and online surveys with stakeholder groups that focused on whether any changes should be made to the existing project design in place and whether the evidence
supports an application for funding support; and reviewing the literature in place that supports the project design.

The specific questions that were asked of each group (see Appendix 1) attempted to gauge the progress towards objectives for the pilot submitted in the application for the Trillium SEED Grant.
A total of thirteen stakeholders, including lake association members, students, U-Links staff and faculty from Trent University and Fleming College were surveyed or interviewed. The interviewees represented a range of involvement with the project.

The report concluded that TCCBE and U-Links have made significant and positive progress on every milestone they set out to achieve, much of it earlier than originally anticipated, and that there is confidence amongst stakeholders in the effectiveness of the model. Moreover, the implementation of this project led to some important quality assurance decisions as well as some new partnerships that will ensure the model will continue to align with best practices while scaling up to meet the research needs of community organizations in multiple geographic areas.
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