A whole river basin youth engagement and environmental education program for schools.
OzGREEN's MYRiveR program enables young people to become citizen scientists, test the health of the environment, identify key environmental threats and values, develop their own vision and implement their own action plans to sustain the health of their local waterways.
Since 2002, OzGREEN has involved over 60 regional communities and 6,000 young people in MYRiveR in the Brisbane, Bremer, Murray-Darling, Hunter, Cooks, Georges, Nepean, Onkaparinga, Yarra and Derwent River basins and internationally in India, East Timor, Pakistan and Central America.
The MYRiveR process builds collaborative relationships with indigenous leaders, business, government, non-government organisations, local communities, young people, schools and adults. Case studies from OzGREEN’s Australian and International programs, enable young people to gain first hand understanding of the global nature of local challenges.
Caring for our land, our river, our future.
Key Activities
Field Work |
One day field work per school, conducting snapshot of ecosystem health (water quality testing, flow, biodiversity, and community attitude surveys) |
Youth Congress |
Students analyse field data, identify ecological threats and values, develop a river vision and action plans. |
Community Forum |
2-hour forum facilitated by students to report back the results of their investigations, vision and action plans and engage community support. |
Youth Presentation |
Presentation by students to report back the results of their investigations, vision and action plans |
Youth Action |
Young people implement action plans with OzGREEN mentoring and support |
Outcomes
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Youth participation in real world science.
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Youth voice and vision for the future of their river.
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Innovative action plans developed to achieve this vision.
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Strengthened youth capacity to measure, analyse, reflect, plan, vision and act.
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Strengthened whole catchment thinking and links between schools and their communities.
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Increased commitment to environmental stewardship and water conservation.
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Increased active youth participation in the democratic process and civil society.
https://youtu.be/CNVIePjWsGQ
Bellingen Riverwatch was created to provide consistent water quality data in the Bellinger and Kalang catchments following a disease outbreak that caused a mass death event of the critically endangered Bellinger River Snapping Turtle (BRST) in early 2015. A lack of water quality data was identified by scientists and community alike as a priority focus area.
The waterways of the Bellingen Shire are highly valued by the local community as they they support many activities, such as recreation and supplementary drinking water. There is therefore a strong community interest in monitoring and improving the water quality and riparian health.
Ongoing water quality data is important for monitoring the rivers’ health, identifying priority areas for management actions and educating the community on how to reduce the impact they may be having on their environment. Read more
Our Volunteers
Bellingen Riverwatch engages 32 local community volunteers and 5 schools to collect monthly water quality data at 24 sites every month across the Bellinger, Never Never, and Kalang Rivers. Watch Our Volunteers video
Our Partners
Bellingen Riverwatch is an initiative of OzGREEN and The Department of Planning, Industry & Environment in partnership with Bellingen Shire Council, NSW Waterwatch, Western Sydney University, Taronga Zoo Sydney, Bellinger Landcare, Earthwatch Institute, Eco Logical Australia, North Coast Local Land Services and Jaliigirr Biodiversity Alliance.
It is rare to find a project with this level of sustained community engagement, paired with such strong and consistent partner collaboration and focus. The breadth of project partners reflects the importance placed on working together collaboratively with key stakeholders who have a role to play in catchment health and biodiversity. This partnership approach allows us to leverage the expertise and available resources of a strong group of organisations and individuals.
Our Objectives
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To meaningfully engage the community to provide long-term, scientifically robust water quality data to support recovery actions for the Bellinger River Snapping Turtle ('Myuchelys georgesi') and other threatened species. The reportable elements of this are Temperature (air and water), pH, Electrical Conductivity, Turbidity, Available Phosphate, Dissolved Oxygen.
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To enable easy access and use of the data collected to the project stakeholders and the community to aid decision making, guide research, inform policy, raise awareness.
- To communicate data to the community in an accessible and timely manner which increases awareness and understanding of river health and threatened species conservation, which builds on current levels of stewardship for their river by community members, landholders, and tourists.
