CITIZEN SCIENCE TO HELP WITH HARBOUR WATCH

Citizen science occurs when ordinary people help conduct real scientific research. If this is something you have always wanted to do, but didn’t know how you could help, Curtis Harbour Watch has a guide to make things a whole lot easier. The Citizen Science project aims to educate and provide the opportunity for the local community to scientifically monitor water quality in their own waterways and publish their findings in global and local databases. 

Early last year, Harbour Watch released the MyWater Community Portal which allows citizens to upload water quality data to receive an A to E rating for the health of monitored waterway. The portal also provides the previous data of each monitored waterway and is freely accessible to all. “Gladstone Harbour is one of Australia’s most monitored waterway however most of the water quality data is not publicly available.,” says Project Officer, Somone Boston. “By educating and providing opportunities for local citizens to become involved in monitoring water quality, people will become better informed on the health of their own waterways and harbour,” she says.