This project aimed to develop inexpensive and rapid field screening tools for microcystin producing cyanobacterial Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs). During the 2020 HABs season, we trained 10 volunteers in Cayuga and Canandaigua Lakes how to collect and share images of suspected HABs using inexpensive WiFi microscopes. Using ImageJ opensource image analysis software we generated correlations between image colony abundance and the levels of microcystin (MC) (R squared of 0.48) and chlorophyll A, a general measure of algal density (R squared = 0.64). Additionally, our team performed qPCR for MC synthase genes on DNA extracted from a subset of HABs and background non-bloom samples. Using both benchtop and handheld devices for qPCR we found excellent sensitivity of the method for screening for high toxin HABs (87.5-96%). Other key findings are that: multiple strains of Microcystis (MC-producing genus) are present in the Finger Lakes and that one, specific to Canandaigua Lake, has a very high MC/chloral ratio; blooms arose quickly from non-bloom samples and non-bloom samples immediately preceding the event had detectable levels of the MC toxin gene. The work strengthened relationships among the community partners and trained community members on tools for HABs monitoring. In addition to one publication submitted to Water Research journal, and two others in preparation our team also disseminated the results via webinars, a newsletter in the Cayuga Lake Watershed Network newsletter, and the creation of a publicly available GIS based map that shows microscope images associated with the different locations sampled.