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 its 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

  • "Now i love the river".

    - Participant

  • "It gives me hope to know there are actually people taking care of the river".

    - Participant

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

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Nature Photography Tour, Oct 2023 | 1 event | 6 participants

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Bellingen Riverwatch Info Stall, Oct 2023 | 1 stall | 100 interactions