Youth Ambassador Program

This project is supported through funding from the Australian Government’s National Landcare Program.

The aim of our Youth Ambassador program is to help shape the conservation leaders of the future, by empowering them to deliver their own conservation project. These projects provide a means for our ambassadors to increase awareness around common threats to islands in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area (GBRWHA) through the engagement and empowerment of our local community to make a difference.

This program ties into other areas of our GBRWHA Islands project which includes Invasive weed control, sea turtle monitoring, marine debris removal and sorting, as well as Seagrass monitoring.

Meet our Youth Ambassadors

A marine classroom trip to Brampton Island landed Felicity Case and Emily Garner the opportunity to participate in our Youth Ambassador program. Each year Reef Catchments empowers youth of the Mackay Whitsunday Isaac region to deliver their own conservation project to increase awareness of common threats to islands within the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area.

When asked what they hope to achieve both Felicity and Emily responded with great passion and enthusiasm, akin to that of our late environmental warrior Steve Irwin, 'I really hope people will see and value the natural beauty of our region', said Emily. 'I really hope to make a difference in the community and hopefully it will open some amazing doors for my career path'.

SURVEY FOR SCIENCE

A survey was designed through the Youth Ambassador program by Felicity and Emily in order to gauge our community’s knowledge on a range of environmental topics such as pest species in our area, threatened flora and fauna across our region as well as see what initiatives people were taking, such as recycling and involvement with community groups.

By creating this survey, the Youth Ambassadors were able to identify knowledge gaps, areas where community engagement could be increased, and to help identify key issues in our region. Some of the key results are presented below:

The survey engaged a broad group of participants aged from 13 - 65+.

These results show a great interest in recycling already with 70% of those surveyed using their home recycling bin.

This result shows that most people surveyed have adapted to supermarkets no longer supplying plastic bags.

This result reveals the habits of those surveyed could be improved to minimise plastic waste.

This result shows a large percentage of those surveyed are concerned about litter in the environment and take responsibility to ensure it is responsibly disposed of.

It is important to note that false water rats (Xeromys myoides) are NOT a pest species but are instead a threatened native species.

Results highlight the potential to raise awareness about applications which exist to help us identify weed species easier, and also help to create a record of their distribution.

These results show that there may be a knowledge gap in the region when it comes to invasive species and responsible weed management.

It is important to note that all Queenslanders have a general biosecurity obligation (GBO) under Queensland's Biosecurity Act 2014 for managing biosecurity risks that are under their control.

This results highlights a large opportunity for local conservation organisations to engage more with the community.

This results reveals that while some of those who were surveyed already participate with environmental groups there is still space for improvement.

What the survey results tell us

Due to the results of the survey, our Youth Ambassadors decided to organise a photo competition within our region to help raise awareness around 4 key areas, Ecological Communities, Threatened Species, Invasive Species and Marine Debris.

Photography is a powerful medium of expression which can be used to help communicate strong positive messages about a subject. Our photography competition has been designed to celebrate and illustrate the rich diversity of life within our region while also helping to inspire action and education about our amazing biodiversity.

The four categories for the photo competition include:

Have you heard of an ‘ecological community’ before? This term refers to species' who interact and live within the same location. Within these communities, each species is vital to the balance and wellbeing of the overall community. In Mackay there is an abundance of interacting species, creating numerous ecological communities. For example, the mangroves in our region are essential for maintaining the health of our coastlines, but they also are home to juvenile fish and crabs, offering these species shelter and food. Are you familiar with with any other ecological communities in our region? Look for interactions between different plants and animals. If you get the opportunity, we encourage you to take a photo and enter it into our photo competition. Please note it is important to respect the flora and fauna you come across. You can do this by ensuring you don’t trample or damage any vegetation, disturb or feed any animals.

Have you been adventuring throughout our region recently? Have you spotted a koala high in the gums? Or the tracks of one of our terrific turtles? Maybe you've managed to catch a glimpse of an eastern curlew? Our region is home to an abundance of unique fauna and flora, some you may come across in your own backyard! These animals are essential to the ecosystems of our local regions. Keep an eye out for any threatened species of our region. If you’re thinking about submitting and be sure to enter your photos in our photo competition. Remember, it is important not to disrupt, harm, feed or interfere with any wildlife you come across. We encourage you to take photos from a safe distance, that doesn’t risk the wellbeing of yourself or the wildlife.

Did you know that everyone has a general biosecurity obligation (GBO)? This means every member of our community has the responsibility and obligation to prevent the spread and introduction of harmful invasive species. Why? Because invasive species are spreading like wildfire all over our Queensland coast. Often, seed is dispersed far and wide, spread via wind, water, animals, or by us humans. How can you help? Check your clothes, shoes, tyres, equipment and even your furry friends for seeds and burrs from weeds. Dispose of these in a bin, to prevent them spreading and invading other vulnerable areas of our environment. While you’re on the lookout for weeds, snap some shots and submit them into our photo competition!

Walking along the beach, have you ever come across litter? Have you ever seen pieces of rubbish that are sun bleached and old, laying along the high tide mark? Rubbish found along our region’s beaches is referred to as ‘Marine Debris’. This is rubbish that ends up in natural water systems and the pieces you see on the beach have been carried back to shore with the tide. Yet, some debris that washes up on our local shores comes from all around the world. Marine debris has detrimental affects on the environment, it is important to always dispose of the marine debris you come across responsibly. If you’ve got time, count the pieces and upload your data to the Australian Marine Debris Initiative data base. While you’re at it, take a photo for our photo competition!

Important announcement! Our photo competition has been extended until July 31st

Participants of all ages from the Mackay, Whitsunday and Isaac region are all welcome to participate. Register here and submit your entries here before the end of July. Participants are welcome to enter as many categories and submissions as they wish, however be sure to submit each entry separately with its location, date, name of photographer and caption.

What's up for grabs

Red Cat 2 x adult Mackay trip
Whitsunday Croc Safari trip
$300 Camera House voucher
National Geographic Binoculars

A HUGE thank you to our supporters: Conservation Volunteers Australia, Red Cat, Whitsunday Croc Safari, Camera House, Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, Reef Check, Tangaroa Blue

National Day of Action

On Sunday 22nd of May 2022, Conservation Volunteers Australia held the National Day of Action at Far Beach in Mackay. This program is funded and supported by BHP Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA). The day aimed to engage the community in a beach clean as well as identify types of marine debris present in order to determine ways to manage it more effectively at its source.

Our Youth Ambassador's, Emily and Felicity, participated in a beach clean on the day with fellow volunteers.

Participants on the day were educated through presentations by Mackay Regional Council's waste management officer, Mackay and District Turtle Watch, Red Cat Adventures, Mackay Community Gardens and Reef Catchment's Youth Ambassadors, where local environmental initiatives, environmental protection efforts and recycling and waste management processes were highlighted and showcased.

The Day of Action event was held at Far Beach on Sunday, May 22nd.

What we found:

51kgs of litter was collected, which included some items of interest such as two fire extinguishers, a blow up mattress, and 10 meters of rope.

While consistent with most litter audits, plastic was the main contender, however on this occasion there was a high volume of paper also collected.

Notably, the percentage of paper collected was higher than usual (46%), due to the large number of cigarette butts found (316). 48% of the items collected were plastic (418), and of those items, 46% were small hard plastic fragments.

Cigarette butts are consistently recorded as a real issue in our local region.

Other common plastic items included bottles, bottle tops, and food wrappers. The litter surveyed from this event will contribute to the CSIRO’s national research.

Micro plastics are the result of other larger plastic materials breaking into many little fragments.

A total of 51kg of litter was collected, sorted and audited.

Would you like to be involved with Youth Ambassador program, future events and activities? Sign up for our quarterly newsletter here. Alternatively send us an email: reception@reefcatchments.com

This project is supported by Reef Catchments, through funding from the Australian Government’s National Landcare Program

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