Are you keen to take part in a citizen science workshop on wetland restoration?
Join us on Wednesday, October 11th, for a day of learning and hands-on citizen science! We’ll begin with a presentation about coastal wetland research, then head to the Gippsland Lakes to collect data from the tidal marshes.
Read more about the project in our briefing.
Saltmarsh restoration in the Gippsland Lakes
The ‘Restoring coastal wetlands through low-cost strategies‘ project is restoring >200 ha of degraded coastal marsh in Victoria through fencing to exclude non-native animals. The project aims to demonstrate fencing as a scalable, replicable, and low-cost strategy to restore blue carbon ecosystems. As part of the project, scientists are studying how fence installation can enhance plant cover, carbon sink capacity and biodiversity from degraded zones.
To achieve this, you will help scientists collect baseline data from a) healthy saltmarsh and b) a degraded site (soon to be restored).
Join our citizen science workshop and field trip
More details about the citizen science day and how to register are provided below.
| Title: | Gippsland wetland citizen science program |
| Date & Time: | Wednesday. October 11, 2023
9 am – 3 pm |
| Meeting point: | Bond Street Event Centre
10 Bond St, Sale VIC 3850 |
| Fieldwork location | 494 Hollands Landing Rd, Meerlieu. 3862. *Transportation will be organised departing from Sale |
| Event Description:
|
Become a scientist for a day and participate in coastal wetland research!
The ‘Restoring coastal wetlands through low-cost strategies‘ project is restoring >200 ha of degraded coastal marsh in Victoria through fencing to exclude non-native animals. The project aims to demonstrate fencing as a scalable, replicable, and low-cost strategy to restore blue carbon ecosystems. As part of the project, scientists are studying how fence installation can enhance plant cover, carbon sink capacity and biodiversity from degraded zones. To achieve this, you will help scientists collect baseline data from a) healthy saltmarsh and b) a degraded site (soon to be restored). Join our team from the Blue Carbon Lab, Greening Australia, BirdLife Australia, BugBlitz, and Gunaikurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation, to learn about coastal wetlands and how to monitor all the ecosystem service they provide. Field activities will include (1) identification of saltmarsh species, (2) survey of vegetation plots, (3) collection of soil samples for carbon stocks analysis, (4) deployment of tea bags to measure carbon decomposition, (5) feldspar application for vertical accretion measurements, (5) bird surveys, and (6) invertebrate surveys. Program 9 am – 10am. Introduction to coastal wetland and restoration research. 10 am – 10:30am. Travel to field site 10:30am – 2:30pm. Blue Carbon fieldwork in the Gippsland Lakes 2:30pm – 3:00pm. Return to Sale Lunch and transportation will be provided. All fitness levels welcome. The fieldtrip briefing provides instructions on how to prepare for the fieldwork (e.g. what to bring) and details of the research project and team of scientists. This is a COVID-safe event and we ask that participants are mindful of others by maintaining social distancing where possible. Face masks are optional for this event. |
| Organiser
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Deakin University’s Blue Carbon Lab in partnership with Greening Australia, BirdLife Australia, BugBlitz, and the Gunaikurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation. This program is funded by BHP, HMSTrust, and Intrepid Foundation. |
