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Every member of the community can play a role in collecting valuable environmental data, bringing his or her own local knowledge and experience to the task. Community monitoring is an effective way of collecting information that can aid management decisions. It is also an important education tool, increasing community awareness that may alter attitudes and hopefully change behaviours that impact negatively on the environment. Environmental monitoring programs allow the community to become the eyes of the catchment, observing changes and collecting data from sites that may not be monitored by local authorities. As a result of the information gathered, the community can act to preserve natural resources and take measures to minimise further degradation. Community Seagrass Monitoring uses scientific methods to collect localised, site specific information. The aim is to collect consistent and reliable data over time, so that when data is analysed, changes can be detected. Currently there is no localised community-based monitoring of seagrasses in NSW. Community Seagrass Monitoring has proven to be useful in detecting changes in seagrass beds due to human disturbance, and allows action to be taken before it is too late. |