National Water Week ran again in October this year, Corangamite Catchment Management Authority (CMA) teamed up with local citizen scientists to explore our waterways and surrounding environments, sharpening their skills on iNaturalist, an interactive online tool for recording biodiversity.
Visiting the peaceful settings of the Barham and Moorabool Rivers, as well as Cobden Lake, participants practised identifying macroinvertebrates collected from these waterways. By uploading their observations to iNaturalist, they contributed valuable data to improve understanding of the distribution of these fascinating waterbugs and other life around our waterways. Observations of all sorts of critters from stick caddisflies, to watermites, damselfly nymphs, and shiny native freshwater snails were found.
As our confidence grew, participants expanded their focus beyond waterbugs to include plants and other animal species and recording bird calls, and they were excited to use iNaturalist to document a wide range of biodiversity. At the Barham River Paradise reserve, sleeping bag caddisfly were found which was a favourite for many! The sleeping bag caddisfly is a clever insect whose larvae build tiny, tube-like cases from sand, pebbles, and plant bits, creating a snug “sleeping bag” home for protection and camouflage.
The more we understand about where plants and animals live, the better we can protect them. That’s where citizen scientists and platforms like iNaturalist play a vital role.
This year, National Water Week coincided with the Great Southern Bioblitz, an international spring biodiversity survey, giving participants the perfect opportunity to apply their skills and contribute to a global biodiversity mapping effort.
To find out more about Citizen Science at Corangamite CMA visit https://ccma.vic.gov.au/get-involved/citizen-science or contact info@ccma.vic.gov.au to find out about volunteering opportunities.