Applications close soon for CCMA River Detectives program

CORANGAMITE Catchment Management Authority (CCMA) is calling on schools and youth groups to register for its River Detectives Program.

The cross-curricular citizen science program connects teachers and young people with their local waterways through water-testing, macroinvertebrate sampling, and habitat surveys.

More than 20 schools and 815 students took part in River Detectives in 2023, including Otway institution Timboon P-12 School.

Program coordinator Deirdre Murphy said the sessions empowered students and teachers to become stewards of their own environment.

“Students learn a lot about the causes and impacts of water quality changes and how land use upstream can affect water quality all the way down to the estuary.

“River Detectives is an engaging, citizen science, sustainability program that will help students to value waterways as the lifeblood of the land – a very important value in these times of environmental change.”

Timboon Agriculture Project co-ordinator Andrea Vallance strongly recommended the program.

“As more teachers access the training and resources on offer from River Detectives in coming years, and as students move through year levels engaging with the river in different ways, we expect the interest and enthusiasm for the Curdies River, its catchment, and estuary will flow strongly through the district,” she said.

Applications for the CCMA’s River Detectives Program close tomorrow, Wednesday, February 14.

For more, head to riverdetectives.net.au