OzGREEN invites river lovers, families and curious locals to Macro Muster 9, a free hands-on citizen science event at the Bellingen Showground on Thursday 24 October from 4.00pm till 7.30pm.
This immersive macroinvertebrate monitoring event brings people together to investigate the health of our rivers through the tiny creatures that live within them – the waterbugs. These waterbugs act as biological indicators, giving an accurate picture of river health.
This program is the largest community-led initiative of its kind in Australia. It empowers people to become part of real time science, helping track and protect the water quality of the Bellingen, Kalang and Nambucca River catchments.
“Macro Muster 9 is all about connection,” says Amy Denshire, Bellingen Riverwatch Program Manager.
“Connection with country, with community and with the life teeming beneath the surface of our rivers. We’re excited to see even more locals getting involved in this round – it’s a wonderful event to share with your friends, family and neighbours and a powerful example of grassroots citizen science in action.”
Participants work in small groups to identify waterbugs from the river monitoring sites, guided by experienced volunteers and scientists – no experience necessary. Trish Reinten, OzGREEN team member, adds: “It’s exciting to be completing another Macro Muster. Every event adds to a deeper story of our rivers. I love seeing how the data builds over time.”
A key part of the event’s success is thanks to the dedicated collecting volunteers, who visit the sites before the muster to collect waterbug samples for the community to identify. Collectors play a vital role in ensuring the accuracy and consistency of the data.
Volunteers are assigned a site and equipped with nets, waders and buckets to gather samples on either the Thursday or the Friday. They then bring these samples to the showground for all of the Testing volunteers to count and identify the waterbugs. New collectors are paired with experienced volunteers to ensure proper sampling techniques are followed. If you’re interested in becoming a collecting volunteer for either the Bellinger, Kalang or Nambucca catchments, please contact Trish on trish@ozgreen.org.au.
This event is for all community members 8 years and over – no prior experience is necessary. All training is provided on the day in a fun, welcoming atmosphere and there are easy-to-use resources that have been developed by partners and volunteers over many years to make it super easy to follow the process and get identifying!
The event kicks off at 4pm in the Main Pavilion at Bellingen Showground, followed by a shared community dinner to celebrate participant’s contribution to protecting our waterways.
To learn more and register for this free family-friendly event, visit: www.ozgreen.org/macromuster