Citizen science

Citizen Science involves the collection of environmental data on species populations, habitats, and other threats. Data can be collected by community members whether they are trained in science or dedicated to learning.

A community citizen science project can be a fauna monitoring project to gather baseline data on urban wildlife, both residing in the local Bushland.

Nest Box installation projects provide additional nesting spaces by fixing boxes to existing trees and conducting followup monitoring.

Flora monitoring can also be a project to monitor plants to check their suitability for a specific area or monitor a community planting to check plant survival rates.

Platypus

The platypus is an iconic semi-aquatic mammal endemic to Eastern Australia. Platypuses inhabit a range of waterway types, land uses, and environmental conditions, but their general habitat requirements include permanent water, abundant macroinvertebrates, and stable earthen banks for burrows.

The Wolston Creek Catchment is not an easy catchment for the platypuses to live in. Their territory does run through some natural good quality bushland but also some industrial and residential areas where the surface drainage runs into the creeks. We collaborate with Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland | Your voice for your wildlife through Dr Tamielle Brunt. Our resolute volunteers have collaborated with residents for more than a decade, to increase knowledge about how to improve platypus habitat in this Creek Catchment area. Each sighting and photograph from residents like Edith who loves to sit at potential sites along the creek to catch a glimpse of a platypus, brings such excitement and joy to the residents and to our volunteers when she announces a sighting and sends us photos.

If there has been a long gap between sightings, there is widespread concern amongst locals and WaCC that something is amiss in the Creek Catchment. Fortunately, we now have environmental DNA (eDNA) sampling science to tell us what is happening.  Water samples from the creeks are sent for analysis for any platypus DNA. These samples can tell us that platypus do inhabit our creeks but cannot tell us the gender, age, or how many there are, or exactly when they visited the area. This is why observations from nearby residents is essential to compliment the eDNA sampling.

Koalas

The Koala Research Program is a collaborative initiative between the Brisbane City Council, and various research institutes including the University of Queensland. The Project aim is to re-establish the healthy population of koalas in the Pooh Corner Bushland Reserve. It is run by Dr Sean FitzGibbon, Dr Bill Ellis and the team from the Koala Ecology Group and has resulted in the successful release of carefully selected koalas.

The first koala was released on 26^th September 2022 and a total of 16 koalas now reside across Pooh Corner Bushland Reserve and nearby Wacol Bushland Reserve. There are now eight females, three males and three joeys living.

Our resolute WaCC members, Ed and Michael are giving their time to be involved in the citizen science support for the Project and have been trained to track the koalas and upload data to provide ongoing research. They are also collating observation data for GPS satmap images of the koalas’ movements and noting their preferred host trees.  Koala images are available along with other information about other species this Bushland on BCC Two more koalas to call Brisbane home and  inaturalist https://inaturalist.ala.org.au/projects/pooh-corner-bushland-reserve

The present population has settled in well and the evidence is there to see in the three new joeys, thriving. There is further carrying capacity in the Reserve to allow the release of more koalas and if anyone wishes to participate in the citizen science reporting or be notified when we have a koala walk, they can contact our secretary at info@wacc.org.au

Dr Sean FitzGibbon has pointed out that koalas, just like humans, have very specific food preferences. He has observed that the blue gum (E. tereticornis) is preferred by Matilda and the gum -topped box (E. moluccana) is preferred by Chandler.

Photos of Lady Jane taken in November 2023 by Ed Parker. She was released in 2022 and by mid-2023 had produced a joey which was named Glenda.

Fauna monitoring

Nest Box Installation, Newcomb Pk, Riverhills

The Installation was funded by the Suburban Enhancement Fund, and we thank Cr Sarah Hutton, Jamboree Ward BCC and our Creek Catchment Officer (CCO) Wes DeMuth for their support. The nest boxes were installed on 13th Feb 2024.

Thanks to Wes and Dom of Hollow Log Homes, who design and build nest boxes for Australian native wildlife.

Installation of artificial nest sites can help many native animals to survive or return to a disturbed environment, especially like this site where the present trees are too young to provide enough suitable nest holes.  Not all bush areas, or trees are suitable for installing nest boxes, but this site and twelve of the trees were particularly suitable. The nest boxes will provide nest sites, refuge and breeding space in the years until the present trees are mature. The nest boxes may attract some native bird species back to the area now that there are more available nest sites.   The nest boxes are designed to target species and to keep the Indian Myna’s out.

Nest Box Monitoring

The nest boxes need to be inspected annually to check that no pest species have taken up residence and to ensure the boxes are in good condition. WaCC successfully gained funding from the Lord Mayor’s Better Suburbs Grant Application ‘City Critters’ in July this year. This funding will cover the monitoring of the twelve nest boxes installed in February this year in Riverhills.

In October this year, Dr Tamielle Brunt from Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland  inspected the twelve nest boxes as part of the City Critters Project and provided a citizen science workshop following the nest box inspections.  Dr Tam provided a report about the data collection and interpretation of results. We found a Rainbow Lorikeet sitting on an egg, a possum and evidence showing that others had been visiting a couple of the nest boxes.

Dr Tam, photo on the left, had the camera on an extendable pole focussed on the inside of each of the twelve nest boxes while the adults and young children took turns working together while learning how to use the hand-held LCD wireless monitor which showed what was in or evidence of what had previously visited each nest box. They would then announce what they viewed and report it to the data monitoring person who wrote it on the list along with the position of each nest box.

I loved seeing everyone, and having a quick turn with the monitor myself, so intently watch the monitor. Everyone quickly picked up the process, maybe we inspired some future ecologists at this event. The photos below show Rosie and Noah diligently checking their observations on the monitor. This is the sort of monitor we like children and adults watching.