Macro Muster 5 + Community Dinner
October 2023 | Bellingen Showground, Bellingen, NSW Australia
Our Research Question : Can a group of citizen scientists work together to do an accurate count of macroinvertebrates at multiple sites in a short amount of time?
We hosted four events for Macro Muster 5 - a schools session, a mentors session, a community session and a community dinner. 122 community members, including students from 4 schools, worked together to complete a full count of the waterbugs at 6 sites across the Bellinger and Kalang catchments. This macroinvertebrate monitoring citizen science event is the largest of it’s kind in Australia and gathers data to support the recovery of the critically endangered Bellinger River Snapping turtle.
100%
of participants felt more connected to the community
100%
of participants felt they had new knowledge and skills to help protect the rivers of the Bellingen Shire
Outcomes
4 events
122 participants
15 partnerships
Connections amongst community members, community groups, and partners strengthened.
Project Partners
North Coast Local Land Services
NSW Waterwatch
Repton Primary School
St Marys Primary School
Woolworths
This event is being part-funded by the DPE Flood Recovery Water Quality Monitoring Project, delivered through the NSW Environment Protection Authority's Flood Recovery Program for Water Quality Monitoring, in partnership with the NSW Department of Planning and Environment. The Program is jointly funded by the Australian and NSW Governments under the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements. This event is supported by the Bellingen Shire Council and the NSW Department of Planning and Environment and it’s Saving our Species Program.
Affirmations Publishing House
Apex Enviro Solutions
Bellinger Landcare
Bellingen High School
Orama Public School