Bay & Basin Citizen Science

23/04/2026

Please consider participating....

17/04/2026

Want to help a wombat? 🐾

Citizen science is science led by the public. Scientists can’t be everywhere all at once, as much as they’d like to, which is why citizen science is important.

It even helps our furry friends, which is where Womsat - Wombat Survey and Analysis Tools comes in. Started in 2015, WomSAT is a citizen science program that allows the public, researchers and wildlife carers to record evidence of wombats across Australia. It collects real-time data on wombat sightings, the location of their burrows, and whether they appear to be affected by mange.

There’s a need to understand more about wombats and where they live, so that we can manage threats, including collisions with vehicles and habitat loss.

Wildlife carers also use WomSAT to track the treatment of sarcoptic mange, a devastating disease that can result in aggressive scratching, open wounds, and in severe cases, death.

WomSAT is an ongoing project that anyone can contribute to by logging sightings of wombats. Just check the comments for the link!

And the animal sightings don't stop there: The Atlas of Living Australia (ALA) is Australia's national biodiversity data infrastructure, home to over 160 million records of species from across the country. Observations like these contribute to that growing dataset, used by researchers and decision makers nationwide.

One of the easiest ways to contribute is to download one of the many citizen science apps that feed into the ALA. That’s it! You don’t need any other special equipment or expert knowledge to get involved.

16/04/2026

A great project to get involved with...

17/03/2026

This report is very concerning. Jervis Bay, M***a M***a Creek and Currambene Creek all have high to very high levels of microplastic concentration!

https://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/sites/default/files/2026-03/broadscale-microplastics-report-card-260012.pdf

15/12/2025

Spotted a Christmas beetle? The NSW Government needs your help! 🪲

Christmas beetles (Anoplognathus spp.) are one of Australia’s most iconic insects, famous for their vibrant colours and iridescent appearance. Once frequently seen in December and January, sightings are now declining.

Did you know?
👉 There are 35 species of Christmas beetles, 21 of which are found in NSW.
👉 Adults emerge near Christmas, while larvae are white and C-shaped.
👉 They’re often confused with Argentinian lawn scarabs, which are smaller and have thinner back legs. Christmas beetles are larger with thick back legs!

How you can help:
1. If you spot a Christmas beetle, take a photo.
2. Upload your sighting to iNaturalist at https://www.inaturalist.org/ to help scientists monitor populations.
3. Need help identifying? The Australian Museum app https://australian.museum/visit/mobile-apps/ makes it easy!

📸 Christmas beetle (Anoplognathus porosus) Image: Max Beatson ©Australian Museum

30/05/2025

Please help if you can!

This morning Friday 30 May Sue paddled to Bherwerre Beach and couldn’t believe the amount of plastic on the high-tide line.

Since the huge storms last week the 5km foreshore of Bherwerre Beach stretching south east between Caves and Sussex Inlet is lined with plastic particles from tiny chips to large items such as plastic bottles, ropes, milk crates and the like. The next high tide will take a lot back into the ocean only to dumped elsewhere along the Shoalhaven Coast.

This is a CALL TO ACTION. We need to do something collectively. It would be very helpful if lots of us could get out over the next few days and visit as many of our beaches as possible. We can document and monitor the situation and collect as much plastic as possible. The tiny bits are obviously a challenge but the big bits are tiny bits in the making, so worth removing what we can from the beaches.

Here's the BIG ASK:

1 Go to a beach whether close by or one you know that is more remote.
2 Take your phone and take pictures, if possible switch on your GPS so the location is recorded.
3 Take rubbish bags and collect as much plastic as you can.
4 Move what you can't take away above the high tide mark. Take a picture so it can be collected later.
5 Please then email Our Future Shoalhaven (OFS) [email protected]
subject: Plastic Action. Send us your pictures and a summary of what you observed including the details of where exactly you went. OFS will work other agencies and try and get rubbish bags picked up.
6 If you know of other beaches which may be over looked or are difficult to get to please let us know in the email
7 Give yourself a big pat on the back.

THANK YOU.

OFS will keep the community posted about this Plastic Action Plan via website and social media.
Please pass this message on to your network of friends and encourage others to help. Thank you again for getting on board.

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21/03/2025

Our marine mammal research evening on Wednesday was popular and we learned so much from Scott Sheehan about Marine Mammal Research JB and their work in Jervis Bay.

We can all get involved and help to document the beautiful marine mammals who live and play in our bay. It's as simple as submitting a photo!

Visit our website for all the details:

https://www.bbcitizenscience.au/post/marine-mammal-research-in-jervis-bay

29/01/2025

Shoalhaven City Council has a ‘TideWatch’ citizen science program where community members can send in photographs of the impacts of King Tides. The TideWatch photographs can help Council further understand potential tidal inundation ‘pinch points’ and inform management responses.

Send in your photographs with details of the location, time, and date to [email protected].

If participating in TideWatch, please be aware of your surroundings and do not put yourself at risk while taking photographs!

The next King Tide is 28 February

https://www.shoalhaven.nsw.gov.au/Environment-and-emergency/Coast-and-waterways/Coastal-and-estuary-management

Thanks to everyone who has participated in our Tide Watch citizen science program by sending us photos of recent King Tide events.

📸 Frank Blanchfield snapped this picture at Washerwoman's Beach, Bendalong at 10am on 14 January.

The term King Tide is generally used to describe tides that are uncommonly high and have the potential to cause inundation in some low-lying areas.

Your photos can help improve our understanding of potential tidal inundation ‘pinch points’ and inform how we respond.

👉 To participate, send in your photos with details of the location, time, and date to [email protected].

Please be aware of your surroundings and do not put yourself at risk while taking a photo.

🌊 The next King Tides for 2025 in the Shoalhaven region are expected on:

▪️Thursday 30 January 2025 at 9:30am
▪️Friday 31 January 2025 at 10:15am

For more information head to our website: https://bit.ly/41w0Zyc

17/01/2025

An egg-cellent activity to participate in!

An egg-cellent beach activity. 🏖️

Shark and skate egg cases come in all different shapes, colours and sizes, and they are all unique to the species. Only the Draughtboard Shark (Cephaloscyllium laticeps) lays eggs of this particular shape and size.

After hatching, the egg cases wash up on beaches, where they may be mistaken for seed pods or other marine creatures.

So while you're at the beach this summer, we want you to record your sightings of shark egg cases for The Great Eggcase Hunt Australia.

We've teamed up with The Shark Trust, so it's easy to record your sightings via their app or website. It would be a jaws-ome help to our work!

Find out more about the hunt and download the app: https://www.csiro.au/en/news/all/articles/2023/march/great-eggcase-hunt

15/12/2024

🌊 As part of our ‘TideWatch’ citizen science program, we’re asking you to send in photos of King Tide events.

The term ‘King Tide’ is generally used to describe tides that are uncommonly high and have the potential to cause inundation in some low-lying areas.

📸 Your photos can help improve our understanding potential tidal inundation ‘pinch points’ and inform how we respond.

To participate, send in your photos with details of the location, time, and date to [email protected].

Please be aware of your surroundings and do not put yourself at risk while taking a photo.

📆 The next King Tides for 2024 in the Shoalhaven region are expected on:

Sunday 15 December at 8:45am
Monday 16 December at 9:30am
Tuesday 17 December at 10:15am

👉 For more information head to our website: bit.ly/41w0Zyc