Kicker: A fishy livestream

NICK EICHER, HOST: The Dutch are experts at controlling floods. With so much of the country below sea level, they’ve built engineering marvels to keep the water at bay.

But the same lock system that keeps dry land dry can also block the fish. So behold this:

AUDIO: [ding-dong] A warm welcome—it is fish doorbell time!

It’s a simple concept, really: a webcam pointed at a river lock in the city of Utrecht. Viewers who spot a fish waiting to migrate can click a digital doorbell. That sends a screenshot and time-stamp to lock operators—and if it’s legit, they open the gate and let the fish pass.

It’s part crowdsourcing, part citizen science with a touch of good neighbor. Cofounder Mark van Heukelum:

VAN HEUKELUM: It shows there’s a huge willingness and potential in people just offering a little bit of a better environment to help nature out.

So in a country famous for holding water back, now it’s the fish making waves—with a little help from a global fanbase.

It’s The World and Everything in It.

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