#PlasticPatrol: the #CitizenScientists tackling #litter in #Australian #waterways

#Plastics make up the majority of litter across the country. In the absence of regulation, the public are taking matters into their own hands

by James Norman, Fri 30 Jan 2026

"Neil Blake weighs a paper bag of fake grass fragments he has collected from a stormwater gutter near #DarebinCreek in #Melbourne’s north.

"Over the past three years Blake has conducted 56 collections of synthetic turf in the waterway alongside the KP Hardiman Reserve hockey pitch.

" 'I noticed that a local hockey pitch was being replaced and the plastic surface was running off into the local environment,' he says. Strong northerly winds and #LeafBlowers had helped shed the turf fragments into the local #environment.

"In addition to impacts on #AquaticEcosystems, scientific analysis suggests #PlasticPollution is exacerbating #ClimateChange, #biodiversity loss and #OceanAcidification.

"Australians produce more than 3m tonnes of plastic waste each year, and according to Clean Up’s annual survey of parks, beaches, creeks and other public spaces, plastics make up more than 80% of litter across the country. A review by the New South Wales chief scientist found that one #SyntheticTurf field could transport between 10kg and 100kg of plastic fragments into the #stormwater system or local waterways.

"Blake has taken advantage of the electronic scales provided by the newly opened community science laboratory in the Port Phillip #EcoCentre in #StKilda, to quantify his samples to present to the local council and the Environment Protection Authority. The lab hosts facilities including microscopes, measuring equipment, safety gear and access to advice from trained scientists.

"It’s one example of citizen scientists tackling the growing problem of plastics in #waterways, including #beaches, #rivers and dive sites around the country."

Read more:
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/jan/31/australia-litter-picking-beaches-waterways-plastic-pollution

Archived version:
https://archive.ph/okVtk

#SolarPunkSunday #LitterCleanup #NewSouthWales #Australia #PlasticTurf #PlasticPollution #CitizenScience #WaterIsLife #Astroturf #PlasticPollution #Microplastics

#HoldenME - #StreamExplorers Workshop at #FieldsPond

April 25 from 10:00 am-12 pm

Location: 216 Fields Pond Rd. Holden, ME

Free, registration required.

"Do you want to volunteer your time to care for your local streams? Do you want to learn more about the critters that live in the water? Come and practice your sampling methods and #macroinvertebrate identification skills at this in-person training workshop. Learn how to sample a stream for science and identify the organisms you find, to help professional scientists monitor water quality. Marsh and Stream Explorers is our community science project featuring #AquaticInsects and what they can tell us about #WildlifeHabitat and #WaterQuality. Educational resources for classroom teachers will be available."

FMI and to register:
https://maineaudubon.org/events/stream-explorers-fields-pond/

#SolarPunkSunday #CitizenScience
#NatureBasedLearning #StreamExplorers #WaterIsLife #ClimateChange #CitizenScientists #ObservingNature

#WestbrookME - Marsh and Stream Explorers Field Training in Westbrook

April 25 from 9:30 am-12 pm

Location: #MillBrookPreserve, Presumpscot Regional Land Trust, Westbrook

Free, registration required.

"Curious about what critters live in your local streams and freshwater marshes? Come join #MaineAudubon and #MaineDEP for a fun morning of catching and identifying #macroinvertebrates at Mill Brook Preserve! Get hands-on training and learn how you can contribute to an important community science project that acts as a screening tool for Maine’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) water quality assessments. Be prepared to wade into shallow water as you net and handle macroinvertebrates!

"Marsh and Stream Explorers is a water quality monitoring project that trains volunteers to survey streams and freshwater marshes for large #AquaticInsects (macroinvertebrates) which are sensitive to environmental stressors and can be indicators of #wetland health. After this training session, you’ll have the tools to choose and survey your own stream or freshwater marsh and contribute invaluable data to Maine’s water quality monitoring efforts. If you’re interested in getting outdoors, learning something new, and protecting your local #watershed, this community science project is for you!

"We will meet at the parking area for the Northern Trailhead and go on a short walk from there. Wear clothes and shoes you’re comfortable walking in and potentially getting wet, waders or muckboots are encouraged and some may be provided."

FMI and to register:
https://maineaudubon.org/events/marsh-and-stream-explorers-field-training-in-westbrook/

#SolarPunkSunday #CitizenScience
#NatureBasedLearning #MarshExplorers #StreamExplorers #WaterIsLife #ClimateChange #CitizenScientists #ObservingNature

#Webinar - #Marsh and #Stream Explorers: A Treasure Hunt to Find Healthy Freshwater #Habitats in #Maine

"Curious about what critters live in your local streams and freshwater marshes? Come learn about Maine Marsh and Stream Explorers, a collaborative #CommunityScience project between #MaineAudubon and the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (#MEDEP). This program trains volunteers to survey for #macroinvertebrates, or large #AquaticInsects, in streams and freshwater #marshes statewide. With many macroinvertebrates sensitive to temperature, #pollutants, and other environmental stressors, their presence or absence serve as an important indicator of overall wetland health. This data then becomes an invaluable screening tool for #MaineDEP to prioritize where more-indepth water quality assessments should be conducted.

"In this webinar you’ll learn about what the Marsh and Stream Explorers project has accomplished and its impact on water quality monitoring statewide. We’ll look at our overall results, share our successes, and talk about future goals of the project. If you’re interested in getting outdoors, learning something new, and protecting your local watershed, this community science project is for you! Come learn more about how you can get involved. In-person field training for survey techniques to follow."

FMI and to register:
https://maineaudubon.org/events/marsh-and-stream-explorers-a-treasure-hunt-to-find-healthy-freshwater-habitats-in-maine/

#SolarPunkSunday #MaineAudubon #OnlineEvents #CitizenScience #NatureBasedLearning #MarshExplorers #StreamExplorers #WaterIsLife #ClimateChange #CitizenScientists #ObservingNature

Highly and casually active #CitizenScientists contribute equally valuable data
https://phys.org/news/2026-03-highly-casually-citizen-scientists-contribute.html Paper by Erin Grady et al.: https://dx.doi.org/10.5334/cstp.868

"highly active users are seeking out regions that are #biodiversity rich... the bias toward natural areas perpetuated by super-users is partly balanced by those of casual users... you can push back on those biases a little when you're walking your dog or even in your backyard, because we have fewer observations for neighborhoods."

Might as well do some good news now as well :)

Large Tortoiseshell butterflies are not extinct in the British mainland again :)

I saw a couple of butterflies on the warm dry day last week but didn't ID quickly enough but they are out there for spotting already.

#UKWildlife #BritishWildlife #NatureRecovery #Biodiversity #butterfly #citizenscientists #Pollinators #goodnews #hope #hopefornature #extinction

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/mar/09/large-tortoiseshell-butterfly-no-longer-extinct-uk

Fish, Precious!

Yes, the world is a dangerous mess right now but not everything is terrible. Exhibit A: The Fish Doorbell is back!

The Fish Doorbell — The Fish Doorbell

Every spring, thousands of fish swim through the Oudegracht in Utrecht, searching for a place upstream to lay their eggs. But the Weerdsluis is often closed. You can help the fish continue their journey! If you see a fish, press the doorbell. This alerts the lock operator to open the lock.

Love this!

* * *

#SolarPunkSunday musings...

So, in contemplating my own vision of a #SolarPunk community, there are some *jobs* that imho are crucial to running any type of close-knit community /society...

1. People trained in #FirstAid / #MedicalArts -- for both humans and non-humans
2. #Plumbers
3. #Carpenters
4. #Masons
5. #Blacksmiths / #Metalworkers
6. #Architects / #Planners
7. #Foresters / #Foragers
8. #Gardeners / #Farmers / #FoodProducers
9. #Menders / #Cobblers / #Clothiers / #Seamsters / #Tailors
10. #Chemists / #Alchemists
11. #Herbalists / #Compounders
12. #CitizenScientists / #Observers
13. #Potters / #Ceramics experts
14. #Computer / #Technology fixers (especially #electrical and #solar)
15. #Mothers / #Caregivers
16. #Teachers / #Librarians
17. #Cooks
18. #Cleaners
19. #Weavers / #Spinners / #FiberArtists

Other suggestions?

#CitizenScience rediscovers rare South African moth https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/citizen-science-rediscovers-rare-south-african-moth/ paper: https://zookeys.pensoft.net/article/171904/element/8/16038/

"A strikingly handsome emerald-green #moth, lost to science for nearly one-and-a-half centuries, has been rediscovered in #SouthAfrica by #CitizenScientists who posted photographs of it online. The moth was thought to be #extinct. The species hadn’t been recorded since two male specimens were collected near the #WesternCape town of Swellendam around 1875."