MangroveWatch

31/07/2026

Great work Mackay MangroveWatchers!

29/07/2026

We're thrilled to share that the MangroveWatch Local Action Plan model is a finalist in the 2026 Australian Museum Eureka Prize for Innovation in Citizen Science.

Developed in partnership with Earthwatch Australia, the Great Barrier Reef Foundation and Cairns and Far North Environment Centre, the program supports Traditional Owners and communities to turn local knowledge and citizen science into real action for coastal wetland conservation and restoration.

The model, which was funded by the partnership between the Australian Government’s and the Great Barrier Reef Foundation, was pioneered in the Wet Tropics and has now been replicated in four regions, with more than 10,000 people contributing to monitoring and protecting local mangroves.

This recognition is a testament to the power of citizen science, celebrating collaboration and the many volunteers, Traditional Owners, ranger groups, schools, community organisations and partners who make this work possible. Together, we're helping communities take meaningful action in their local coastal wetlands while generating valuable environmental data that supports conservation across Australia. Thank you to everyone who has been involved and supported the MangroveWatch program to date.

Congratulations to all the finalists. We're honoured to be recognised alongside such outstanding Australian science. To see all finalists: https://buff.ly/xzTCBZs

To learn more about the MangroveWatch Local Action Plan see: https://bit.ly/3TuYOZW


Reef Trust Australian Museum Eureka Prizes Australian Citizen Science Association

26/07/2026

The power of citizen science.
Citizen science doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Every successful program relies on people behind the scenes to train and support volunteers, maintain scientific standards, manage data, and ensure community effort leads to real conservation and management outcomes. Volunteers generously give their time, but meaningful citizen science still requires investment to make that contribution count. Thanks to everyone who makes it possible.

Australian Citizen Science Association

Scientists and authorities are increasingly calling for help from citizen scientists to track species and changes.

👉 Read the full story: https://theconversation.com/how-retirees-beachcombers-and-communities-help-scientists-track-everything-from-threatened-species-to-algal-blooms-268199

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26/07/2026

Mangroves protect our coastlines. People protect mangroves.

This World Mangrove Day, we celebrate the Traditional Owners, Indigenous Rangers, citizen scientists, schools and community organisations caring for Australia’s mangroves.

Local people who know, value and depend on mangroves are often the first to notice when something changes. But noticing is not enough.

Communities need a pathway to turn local knowledge, observations and citizen science into decisions and action. That is what the MangroveWatch Local Action Plan framework provides.

The framework brings together Traditional Owner knowledge, local experience, citizen science observations and scientific evidence so communities can:
🔎 understand what is changing and why
📍 identify local values and priorities
🛠️ choose actions that address the causes of change
📊 monitor whether those actions are working

From Mackay to Cairns, community monitoring and Local Action Planning are already turning evidence into action—from building awareness and engaging decision-makers to vehicle exclusion, w**d management, drainage improvements, fencing and planting native trees to strengthen buffer zones for mangrove resilience.

The goal is not simply to collect data or plant trees. It is to give communities the knowledge, evidence and tools to protect and restore mangroves in ways that reflect local values and priorities—and to remain involved in caring for them over the long term.

Local knowledge. Shared evidence. Prioritised action. Lasting mangrove conservation and restoration.

Ready to turn local mangrove knowledge and monitoring into action?

Explore the MangroveWatch Local Action Plan:
https://bit.ly/3ToTSpo

Who are the people protecting mangroves in your community?

The MangroveWatch Local Action Plan framework was developed in partnership with Earthwatch Australia and Cairns and Far North Environment Centre, with support from the Australian Government Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water and the Great Barrier Reef Foundation through the Reef Trust Partnership.

Image 1: Sharing mangrove knowledge with Jabalbina Yalanji Aboriginal Corporation Rangers
Image 2: Mangrove shoreline monitoring on the Moresby River with CAFNEC and Mandubarra Aboriginal Land & Sea Inc Rangers
Image 3: Monitoring mangroves on Yunebenun with the CANOE Projects Inc. Maggie Mangroovers
Image 4: The Local Action Plan
Image 5: Daintree River mangroves, Far North Queensland

24/07/2026

Beyond the Great Barrier Reef lies a critical ecosystem that helps keep it healthy.

Mangroves support water quality and provide vital habitat and nursery grounds for wildlife.

International Day for the Conservation of the Mangrove Ecosystem is on 26 July, and we're celebrating the CAFNEC MangroveWatch Program, which empowers community members and citizen scientists to monitor and report on the health of mangrove forests, helping to support their conservation.

The data collected by volunteers helps inform local conservation and management decisions while building community stewardship of these important coastal ecosystems.

Some recent achievements through MangroveWatch Local Action Plans include 👇

🌱 More than 1,700 trees planted to support the restoration of the Barr Creek Fish Habitat Area.

🎓 200 local students educated about the importance of mangroves through the Tidal Wetlands Education Campaign.

👀 Collaboration with Cassowary Coast Regional Council and Girringun Aboriginal Corporation on mangrove monitoring along the Cardwell foreshore in response to erosion control measures.

MangroveWatch is funded by the Australian Government's Reef Trust and the Great Barrier Reef Foundation and is delivered in partnership with Earthwatch Australia and MangroveWatch.

22/07/2026

🌏 MangroveWatch goes to China

Last week, MangroveWatch and Earthwatch Australia's Jock Mackenzie joined the China–ASEAN Mangrove Conservation and Restoration Workshop in Shenzhen, China, hosted by the Mangrove Conservation Foundation (MCF).

The workshop brought together NGOs, practitioners, researchers and government representatives from China and Southeast Asia to share experiences, compare approaches and explore future collaboration. Although we are working in very different social, ecological and cultural settings and challenges vary, it was wonderful to learn of the strong shared commitment to mangrove conservation that is locally led, practical and lasting.

Jock contributed a keynote and training session drawing on 18 years of MangroveWatch citizen science and the Local Action Plan framework. The key message- communities should not simply collect data for others. Meaningful community-based monitoring should build local skills, respond to local priorities and generate evidence communities can use to guide decisions and action. Mangrove conservation must also deliver more than blue carbon. It should protect biodiversity, strengthen coastal resilience, respect cultural values and support local livelihoods.

Did you know - China and Shenzhen are protecting mangroves to protect migratory shorebirds? Shenzhen is now officially a wetland city. Shenzhen’s mangroves and mudflats provide habitat for migratory shorebirds travelling along the East Asian–Australasian Flyway, including birds that continue south to Australia. Protecting wetlands across the region is a shared responsibility. Despite past challenges, there are now positive moves to protect and restore mangroves and increase public awareness of mangrove habitats through initiatives like the Futian Mangrove Ecological Park Education Centre - well worth a visit!

It was inspiring to see the work of MCF in China and the participating organisations and we're excited about future collaboration between MangroveWatch, Earthwatch Australia, MCF and partners across the region. 🌿🐦

It was also great to see and learn about China's mangroves.

With Blue Forests YAGASU. The Malaysian Mangrove Research Alliance and Network (MyMangrove)

01/07/2026

22/06/2026

19/06/2026

Mangroves and saltmarshes are amongst the most valuable - and vulnerable – blue carbon ecosystems along the Mackay coastline. They stabilise shorelines, filter water flowing to the Great Barrier Reef, store carbon and provide habitat for fish and wildlife.

When they decline, the impacts are felt across the entire coastal system. Reef Catchments’ Inshore Resilience project is working to reverse that trend by turning years of community-collected data into targeted, measurable on-ground restoration.

Delivered through the Queensland Government’s $117.84 million Natural Resource Management Expansion Program, the project establishes a formal partnership with MangroveWatch to ensure restoration is guided by robust, locally collected evidence.

Read more: https://ap1.hubs.ly/y0-2Jf0

Land Queensland Earthwatch Australia MangroveWatch