Healthy Waters Partnership for the Dry Tropics

21/05/2026

To the local legends who step up and volunteer – thank you 💙

It’s National Volunteer Week and this year’s theme is “Your Year to Volunteer.” So, if you’ve been thinking “maybe this year”…the time is now.

From clean-ups to saltmarsh surveys, and Landcare working bees, these are just some of the ways you can give our rivers, creeks, and coasts some TLC.

Check out volunteer opportunities across Townsville via 🔗 in comments, or join the Townsville Environment and Volunteering Hub to discover events, activities and volunteer gigs to connect with nature and your tribe.

Events are thanks to the dedicated work of our partners: Coastal Dry Tropics Landcare Inc, Townsville City Council, OzFish Unlimited, Tangaroa Blue (ReefClean), MICDA (Coastal Stewardship Project), North Queensland Conservation Council (NQCC), Earthwatch Australia (MangroveWatch) and TIDY Up Townsville Group.

📸: Lucia Caldas Duran, Jacqui Richmond-Clay, Kaspa Blewett

19/05/2026

This turtle is one of the lucky ones 💙

Found entangled in discarded fishing line, she endured a few days of pain before being rescued and treated. Sadly, this isn’t a one-off.

Discarded fishing line continues to harm wildlife in our waterways. So, we’re doing something about it.

With our Partner North Queensland Conservation Council (NQCC) and NQ Wildlife Care, we’re heading to Barnicle Street Boat Ramp in Railway Estate to Clean Up for Wildlife.

We’d love your help! Happening this Sunday (24 May), from 8am. Check out the event via 🔗 in comments.

Together, we can help keep our waterways safe for the turtles, bats, and birds. 🐢🦇🐦

📸: Jo Hurford, NQ Wildlife Care

15/05/2026

We joined Earthwatch Australia to survey saltmarshes in Railway Estate - from muddy boots to species ID, and the impacts we can’t ignore. The MangroveWatch citizen science program is helping to protect coastal wetlands.

13/05/2026

Meet our intern – Sanjana👋

Hailing from Mauritius, Sanjana is completing a master’s in marine biology at JCU: James Cook University, Australia.

With a passion for marine and wildlife protection, Sanjana was drawn in a different direction for her internship – working with community survey data to understand how people value and interact with waterways in the Townsville Dry Tropics.

From data wrangling to storytelling, Sanjana’s internship (a collaboration with CSIRO), has been all about turning complex information into something people can connect with.

Read more about her journey communicating waterway science via 🔗 in comments.

The path from complex data to meaningful stories isn’t always clear, but for our intern, Sanjana, navigating that journey has been a defining part of her internship experience.

05/05/2026

🌊💡When Year 4 students put their minds to protecting waterways…things get creative.

The students at Townsville Grammar School have been diving into the water cycle and the Waterways Report Card.

Tasked with improving the health of our rivers, creeks, and coasts, the students developed action plans tackling it all! From litter on Magnetic Island to water quality in the Bohle, and fish habitat 🐟

Some ideas were impressively practical, while others leaned into science fiction, and a few involved serious jail time for people who don’t pick up dog poo 💩😅

Along the way, they learned how real-world tools are used to guide targeted management actions, and proved that when it comes to caring for our waterways, imagination and enthusiasm are in no short supply.

The next generation of waterway managers might be a bit strict, but they’re already hard at work 💙

28/04/2026

The weather gods weren’t on our side for an underwater citizen science adventure around Magnetic Island, but they turned it on above the surface! Blue skies and sunshine set the scene for a day of being coral detectives instead 🕵️‍♀️🪸

Led by Reef Ecologic, we joined BYOGUIDES, MICDA and JCU: James Cook University, Australia to chat with emerging marine science leaders from the Red Sea. We shared how science and management connect through our Waterways Report Card.

The participants from General Organization for Conservation of Coral Reefs and Turtles – SHAMS are spending four weeks across the Great Barrier Reef, gaining hands-on exposure to coral and sea turtle science, management, policy and innovation.

An inspiring exchange of ideas, knowledge and passion for coral reefs – above and below the surface 💙

📸:Jo Hurford

21/04/2026

✅First step in finalising this year’s Waterways Report Card is complete – review by the Technical Working Group (TWG).

Scientists, government agencies and data owners came together to review the Technical Report and methods behind the Report Card. The TWG bring independent expertise to ensure the data is sound, results are accurate and provide advice on what it means for the health of our rivers, creeks, and coasts.

A big thank you to everyone who took part. It’s a state-wide effort!

Next stop on the road to release: review and sign-off by the Independent Science Panel, before the 2026 Waterways Report Card is published for everyone to see in July.

Department of the Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation, JCU: James Cook University, Australia, TropWATER, Townsville City Council, CQUniversity Australia, Wet Tropics Waterways, Healthy Rivers to Reef Partnership, Australian Institute of Marine Science

16/04/2026

Ever been curious about our local saltmarshes? Now’s your chance to step out and explore!

Join our Partner, Earthwatch Australia, as they survey saltmarshes around Townsville. These hands-on field days are a great opportunity to discover the plants, crabs and other wildlife that call our coastal wetlands home, learn new skills and contribute to data that supports long-term conservation 🍃

See comments for how to register ⬇ (The first round kicks off next week with round two from May 11th.)

15/04/2026

Today we say a big farewell (and goodluck) to Adam, our Environmental Data Analyst, as he heads off to an exciting new role 👋

Over the past four years, Adam has been an absolute force within the Healthy Waters Partnership team. From streamlining technical processes to making complex waterway data easier to understand and share, his contribution extended well beyond the Dry Tropics to all Regional Report Card regions.

Beyond his flair for R-coding and StoryMap development, Adam has guided several interns through the final stages of their studies and growing into a confident leader in both projects and people along the way.

🙏 We’re incredibly grateful for everything, Adam. From everyone across our Partner network, best wishes (and fishes 🐟) for your next chapter. We’ll be cheering you on from afar.

09/04/2026

Every muddy boot and every moment spent in the field amongst saltmarshes has come to life in one place, the new saltmarsh monitoring dashboard.

This interactive map brings together hundreds of citizen science observations, revealing what locals value, the pressures these coastal wetlands face, and where action is needed to protect them.

After diving into the dashboard, here’s what piqued our interest 👇

The data behind the dashboard is collected by Saltmarsh SAVERS, a citizen science monitoring program under MangroveWatch and led by Earthwatch Australia that gives communities the tools to understand, monitor and care for their coastal wetlands.

07/04/2026

🪸 Survey ready! It’s Citizen Science Month and we’re celebrating the incredible Reef Check Australia staff and volunteers who power reef monitoring in the Dry Tropics and beyond.

From mastering the skills needed to collect robust, reliable data to fostering stewardship for our blue backyard, these citizen scientists are the heartbeat of reef conservation. Here, they share what drives them and their words of wisdom for anyone keen to make a splash. 💦

Citizen science gives volunteers a chance to gain hands-on skills and open doorways to a career in marine or environmental science, while helping collect the data we need to fill gaps so we can better understand how our reefs are doing. 💙