Welcoming the next chapter of Streamwatch with GSLN

We've taken on Streamwatch!

Stronger Together - LLCI012-19

The issue

Streamwatch is an iconic Sydney institution. Founded by Sydney Water as part of their educational and public outreach, in the 1980s, the program expanded across schools, churches, communities, Landcare and Bushcare groups and council LGAs. Then, in the early 2010’s the Australian Museum adopted the program, continuing the good work of – and supporting – volunteers in taking meaningful stewardship of their backyard waterways.

In 2018, however, the Museum announced that Streamwatch needed a more permanent, long term home – together with the volunteer-collected data records spanning much of the Sydney waterways. With no government, corporate or NGO funding able to take on the program, and support the nearly 300 groups participating in the program, the future looked bleak.

The solution

The value in Streamwatch lies in its capacity and ability to draw the general public in – the approach of water monitoring on a monthly basis, at a locally important creek or waterbody brings an element of stewardship to local land management and fosters local champions to protect that river system. The 30 plus years of data already generated provides a valuable baseline from which further monitoring and current data collections can be compared.

We’ll be holding volunteer consultation workshops over the next few months, to get a on-the-ground understanding of what Streamwatch looks like, and how we can continue supporting the next chapter of this program.

The impact

Streamwatch – and with it almost 300 volunteers, plus 30 years of data – now has a new home.

Learnings

The power and enthusiasm of citizen science is alive and well – there has been enormous interest from the general public about the future of the program.

A program of this size requires paid coordinator staff.

Funding is tight in the current economic and political climate, and the citizen science movement is suffering.

Forecasting financial, HR and resource – particularly IP ownership – is critical to make an informed decision before adopting such a program.

Author: Clare Vernon