River Guardians

🤔What do dolphin watchers, bird enthusiasts, turtle spotters and backyard naturalists have in common? They're all citizen scientists helping build one of the world's largest biodiversity datasets!

As we look ahead to National Science Week later this month, we're deep diving the power of citizen science and the contribution River Guardians Dolphin Watch volunteers make to understanding and protecting local waterways.

In Australia, community members in 2023 contributed 9.6 million of the 10 million species observations recorded that year via multiple citizen science apps - which are subsequently shared with the , helping scientists track wildlife and environmental change on an unprecedented scale: https://www.csiro.au/en/news/All/Articles/2023/September/citizen-science-naturalists

Every observation submitted through Dolphin Watch adds to a growing body of knowledge about the health of our rivers and the dolphins that call them home. By taking part, you're not just spotting dolphins, you're helping build the science that supports future management of healthy rivers and estuaries!

🌊🐬 Interested in becoming a citizen scientist? Drop us a DM, visit the River Guardians website, or email [email protected]
📷 Photo of Akuna and new calf Matata by Sue Harper

🌳🌳🌳🌳
is this weekend Sunday 26th July!
✔️ Excellent planting weather has been booked (cool, couple of minor showers to water all those trees in)
✔️ Tree planting events are happening right across the Perth metro and Mandurah
✔️ Restoring and maintaining bush and wetland reserves
✔️ Planting trees is a heap of fun!

You can attend organised tree planting events at the following metro locations:
🌳 Horse Swamp, Whiteman Park https://nationaltreeday.org.au/site/10032269
🌳Harper St, Woodbridge https://nationaltreeday.org.au/site/10032357
🌳 Garvey Park, City of Belmont https://nationaltreeday.org.au/site/10032156
🌳 Mueller Park, City of Subiaco https://nationaltreeday.org.au/site/10032513
🌳 Heirisson Island, Perth https://nationaltreeday.org.au/site/10032000
🌳 Point Waylen, City of Melville https://nationaltreeday.org.au/site/10031764
🌳 Hester Park, Langford https://nationaltreeday.org.au/site/10032320
🌳 Horley Rd, Beckenham https://nationaltreeday.org.au/site/10032436
🌳 Westfield Rd, Kelmscott https://nationaltreeday.org.au/site/10032206
🌳 Coodanup Foreshore, Mandurah https://nationaltreeday.org.au/site/10031897

Want to rock up and do your bit? Please RSVP via the event page links above 😃
Can't attend an organised event? You can plant at home to increase biodiversity in your garden or even on your balcony.
Let's get to it Perth! 🌱🪏🌳🏡🌳🏡

It’s been a little over a week since our Winter School Holiday Program wrapped up, and we're still smiling looking back at all the great memories! ❄️🌲

Thank you to all the amazing kids, parents, guardians, and providers who took part over the break. Seeing young explorers connect with nature, build confidence, and make new friends is what it’s all about.

From night time frog foraging, nature hikes to discovering rich cultural knowledge, learning about our unique local wildlife, and staying warm around the campfire with group activities and more, you brought so much energy and enthusiasm to every single session!

📸 Check out a few favourite highlights from the winter holidays below!

🍂 What was your family’s favourite activity these winter holidays? Let us know in the comments!

🌸 Stay tuned, our Spring School Holiday Program details will be dropping soon!

🐢Look at this little guy! 🐢

How could anyone not love that face 😆😆
This little fella (let's call him Turbo) sure needs some love, as he's a Critically Endangered Western swamp tortoise (Pseudemydura umbrina) - his species currently numbers around 200 in the wild, and approximately 230 in a captive breeding program.
Turbo is asking us to ask you to take a look at and comment on the draft Western Swamp Tortoise Recovery Plan - he's been pretty insistent on that actually - it's a good opportunity to get to know his family better as they might be your neighbours if you live in the Ellen Brook or Moore River area! He's got swampy tortoise cousins in the Augusta area too.
Access the draft Recovery Plan here:
https://www.dbca.wa.gov.au/get-involved/have-your-say/western-swamp-tortoise-recovery-plan

Turbo is classed as Critically Endangered at State, Federal, and International levels - which means without urgent conservation action Western swamp tortoises face high risk of extinction in the wild. Recovery plans aim to stop the decline of threatened species and ecosystems by providing for research and management actions, maximising their chances of continued survival in the wild.
Turbo thanks you! 🐢
📸 by Gerald Kuchling, DBCA

𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗷𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝗽𝗼𝗱! 🐬🐬🐬

Autumn delivered three very special additions to the resident dolphin community of the Swan Canning Riverpark and we’re excited to announce their names!

🐬 𝗪𝘆𝘂𝗻𝗮 (pronounced: Why-OO-na) – Dunedoo’s calf born 25 March. Wyuna is an Australian Aboriginal word meaning “clear water” (named by Oyumaa Batsaikhan).
🐬 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗮 – Akuna’s calf born 17 April (named by Shane Davidson).
🐬 𝗕𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗶 𝗕𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗶 – Click’s calf born 16 May. Bindi Bindi means ‘butterfly’ in Noongar language (named by Cydney Williamson Smith).

These recent births bring the number of dolphins in the Swan Canning Riverpark community to 27!

Dolphin calves face many challenges, with about half not surviving to adulthood. While some deaths occur naturally due to predation and disease, sadly some are caused by human activity such as entanglement in fishing gear. Last year, Dunedoo lost her previous calf, Hope, to severe fishing line entanglement around his rostrum.

Please help protect our dolphins and wildlife by picking up any discarded fishing waste and litter and disposing of it in a bin

Next time you’re out enjoying our beautiful Swan and Canning rivers, keep an eye out for our newest mother and calf pairs – Dunedoo and Wyuna, Akuna and Matata, and Click and Bindi Bindi… and don’t forget to log your observation reports in the Marine Fauna Sightings app! 😉

📸 Delphine Chabanne, Coastal & Estuarine Dolphin Project. Photos are of Dunedoo and Wyuna, Akuna and Matata, and Click and Bindi Bindi.

🔍SPOTTED! Fishy Business in the Djarlgarro 🔍
Long-term Dolphin Watch volunteer and top-notch wildlife photographer Sue Harper recently snapped the dramatic demise of a Yellow-tail scad via some pointy dolphin teeth!
We're not sure whether the hungry dolphin was playing with its food, or whether the fish was a particularly slippery customer - what we do know is that an adult dolphin needs to catch and eat 10-15kg of fish and other prey daily, so:
🐬Always keep your distance
🐬Let dolphins feed themselves
🐬Go slow for those below
🐬Take your rubbish and fishing gear home.

Onya legends!

📸 Sue Harper

💡Calling all you Educators out there!💡

Heads up the Junior Dolphin Watch incursion is now taking bookings for term 3 and 4.
It's curriculum-linked, is mainly aimed at K-6 although can be adapted to all year levels and covers:
🐬The Dolphin Watch citizen science project
🐬Dolphin anatomy, identification, and behaviours
🐬What threatens the Boorloo urban dolphin population
🐬Practical ways we can help protect them.

The incursion is FREE and runs for an hour, the incursion can be adapted if need be to work in with any relevant study topics and can be delivered either in the classroom setting or outdoors.
Keen as beans to offer this to your students? Go you! Get in touch with River Guardians Education Officer Rosie on [email protected] and we'll get a date locked in 🤜🤛
📸dolphin pic by