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 see its ten year history here!
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.
NatureWatch celebrated 10 year anniversary in 2018, check out its history here!
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.
NatureWatch 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.
They’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.
Grasslands are home to many threatened species that need careful monitoring if we are to ensure their survival.
Want to try your hand at being a citizen scientist? Or learn about Victoria’s native flora and fauna, and how to monitor them?