EstuaryWatch wins 2018 Victorian Coastal Award

29 May 2018

During a ceremony in Melbourne on 17 May for the 2018 Victorian Coastal Awards, EstuaryWatch Victoria received the Community Engagement award. These awards celebrate the efforts of Victorians in protecting and enhancing Victoria’s coastal and marine environments and are an initiative of the Victorian Coastal Council.

EstuaryWatch Victoria is a prominent citizen science program promoting the monitoring of estuary health and local waterways across 18 Victorian regions and is supported in its efforts through involvement of local catchment management authorities. A strong focus of the program is on the contribution provided by the community and volunteers to assist with regional data collection and recordings of water quality across Victoria’s rivers and associated waterways.

During 2016, CeRDI completed substantial redevelopment work for EstuaryWatch Victoria. CeRDI’s research and technical support staff worked closely with project partners and program coordinators to ensure that EsturaryWatch could better respond to a groundswell of community interest by providing more effective access information and long term data on the condition of Victorian estuaries.  

The EstuaryWatch portal now features a range of innovative monitoring methods and tools to track changes in estuary health. The data explorer is supported by improved functionality using re-designed databases, rapid data interrogation tools, and offering interactive maps for accessing and visualising region-specific data.  

The Community Engagement award for EstuaryWatch Victoria recognises the outstanding contribution of EstuaryWatch coordinators and volunteers in improving understanding and connection with coastal and marine environments through engagement with the wider community. This award recognises EstuaryWatch Victoria’s important role in citizen science and community engagement, furthering its reputation as a global leader in supporting community members to actively participate in the monitoring of estuary health by collecting, storing and communicating long term data sets on estuaries.

This award follows on from another important milestone for EstuaryWatch having recently celebrated its 10 year anniversary in 2017.

EstuaryWatch: www.estuarywatch.org.au

Further details about the 2018 awards: http://www.vcc.vic.gov.au/page/awards