Citizen science at Woowookarung Regional Park

Since the start of the year, some NGT ecologists have been working with Parks Victoria to develop a citizen science program for Woowookarung Regional Park on the eastern edge of Ballarat. The park lies on the traditional lands of the Wadawurrung people and is an important asset to the community for recreation and connecting with nature. The land managers have worked closely with the community to develop some key research questions that may be addressed through citizen science activities.

Citizen science has two main benefits. First, individuals involved in citizen science projects develop a deeper connection with the environment, local issues, and the volunteer community. Secondly, land managers benefit from the data generated by monitoring programs and volunteers’ feedback. In a good citizen science program, there is a two-way flow of information between the public and the land managers. This encourages everyone to share their knowledge and leads to transparent decision-making.

NGT has developed 15 potential monitoring activities at Woowookarung for the community. Most activities are designed to collect valuable data to support park management, but a few activities are designed to be fun and educational without much data collection.

As part of the project, we have been test-driving a couple of the activities with the community. In April, Bryan demonstrated survey techniques for insects from the order Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies). On the first evening, we observed insects attracted to illuminated white sheets and experimented with using iNaturalist as a tool for identification and recording observations. We were fortunate to be joined by Dark Sky Ballarat members who brought along their portable telescopes (the size of a small cannon) to observe the night sky. Bryan also set up UV light traps to attract and collect nocturnal insects overnight. Dedicated volunteers returned the next morning to empty the traps and record the diversity of insects collected. We collected about 15 species of moth from two light traps.

Bryan then demonstrated a Pollard Walk to survey butterflies in a 1-km walking loop in the park. It was the end of the butterfly flying season, so we only spotted one Common Brown Butterfly. We expect the citizen scientists will have better luck when they repeat the survey in spring.

A few weeks later, Ayesha returned to Woowookarung to demonstrate vegetation surveys. The group learned about establishing the survey site, survey techniques and recording data. Because of the dry conditions and the time of year, understory vegetation diversity was low and leaf litter cover was very high, but there were lots of robust discussions about the methodology and the health of the forest.

In the future, this survey will be adopted by local TAFE students with some support from local Field Naturalists with expertise in plant identification. This is a great outcome for the community and for long-term data collection!

We look forward to seeing the development of long-term monitoring projects in the park over the coming years.

This project is funded by Parks Victoria