NatureWatch is our land-based citizen-science program. It started in 2007 and trains community volunteers like you to collect important information about Victoria’s animals and plants.

You can get involved in any of our four great projects: Communities Listening for Nature, Caught on Camera, Grasstree Monitoring and Grassland Threatened Species.

Our hard-working NatureWatch volunteers have:

  • Found tuans in the Wombat State Forest and southern brown bandicoots in the Bunyip State Park.
  • Tracked the changes of a key urban population of growling grass frogs in Epping since 2011.
  • Collected 10 years’ worth of data about the impacts of Phytophthora dieback on vulnerable grasstrees in the Brisbane Ranges.

In each of our NatureWatch projects we work with local groups, scientists and land managers to ensure they are of community value, scientifically valid and match local management priorities.

Get involved

Joining a NatureWatch project is a fun and important way to contribute to nature conservation in Victoria.

Want to learn about our projects or find out about how to get involved with NatureWatch? Take a look below.

Communities listening to natureNatureWatch doesn’t just watch nature, we listen to it too! You’re probably familiar with the laugh of the kookaburra, warble of the magpie and screech of the cockatoo. But did you know that recording bird calls can tell scientists and land managers a lot about Victorian birds? We’ve teamed up with Museums Victoria to record bird calls and help build that critical knowledge.

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Eastern grey kangaroos caught on cameraThey’re cute, curious – and captured!  Since 2011, we’ve been using motion-sensing cameras to monitor wildlife in our Caught on Camera project. The elusive imaginary bunyip, the brushy-tailed tuan of the Wombat Forest and the stocky malleefowl in the north-west are some of the species we’re keeping a close eye on to see how they are doing at several locations across Victoria.

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Grasstree monitoring
Caption: Photo: Des Peters

Have you ever seen groups of dying grasstrees and wondered why? A deadly dieback disease caused by a microorganism, Phytophthora cinnamomi, is often to blame. The disease affects many plant species and is devastating ecosystems across Australia. We’re monitoring the impacts on grasstrees in the Brisbane Ranges and Wilsons Promontory national parks.

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Grasslands monitoringGrasslands are home to many threatened species that need careful monitoring if we are to ensure their survival.
Our volunteers watch for golden sun moths flying, listen for growling grass frogs calling, and search for very rare plains yam daisies. This is making an important contribution to nature conservation in Victoria.

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Volunteer with NatureWatchWant to try your hand at being a citizen scientist? Or learn about Victoria’s native flora and fauna, and how to monitor them?

Volunteering with NatureWatch is a fantastic way to help increase our understanding of our precious environment.

NatureWatch volunteers can end up doing anything from counting leaves on a threatened plant species, listening to frog calls or setting up motion-sensing cameras specialised sound recorders to monitor forest animals.

By volunteering with NatureWatch, you’ll meet other people from a wide age range interested in nature and science, learn and share knowledge and skills, gain experience in nature conservation and spend time in the bush.

‘Participation in NatureWatch has broadened my knowledge and appreciation of local plants and animals and the habitats in which they live.’

Monitoring usually runs for a single day and full training is provided to all volunteers, so whether you are a beginner or experienced ecologist, we would love to have you on board.

Your involvement in NatureWatch will help collect data in important long-term research projects that are critical to our understanding of nature. NatureWatch volunteers also play an important role in the growing field of citizen science in Australia.

There is still so much to learn about nature in Victoria to better manage it for conservation.

Would you like to help out?

Please contact us on 03 9341 6500 or email us at [email protected] if you would like more information about being a NatureWatch volunteer.