Volunteer with Bellingen Riverwatch

Turtle recovery is very long term, so a program that supports turtle recovery must also be long term.

The virus responsible for the turtle mortality event left only juvenile turtles in the river.

There have been multiple successful releases of captively bred turtles (bred at Taronga Zoo Sydney and Symbio Wildlife Park), however, there are still less than 200 turtles left in the river and these turtles are not yet at breeding age.

Image : Paul Fahy

We are looking to deliver Bellingen Riverwatch into the long term.

We need many dedicated community volunteers to help make this happen! We strive to have happy volunteers that feel supported and acknowledged. In a recent program evaluation, the majority of our volunteers are happy to volunteer with us for the next five years; and many of our volunteers have been with us from the very beginning!

Volunteers work across all BR programs to help protect rivers.

Water Quality Program

Our volunteers have collected the largest water quality data set in NSW.

Learn More
Macro Program

The largest macroinvertebrate monitoring citizen science program in Australia.

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Riverbank Program

Weeding, planting trees and maintaining plantings along riverbanks at key sites.

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Nature Connection

People need to first fall in love with the river to then hear the call to protect it.

Learn More
Community Education

Workshops and presentations at schools, businesses or events to raise awareness.

Learn more

Volunteer Roles

Bellingen Riverwatch volunteers work in one or multiple roles to help us deliver our programs.

When?
On the 2nd Tuesday or Wednesday of the month.
How often?
Monthly, ongoing.
Duration
Training - Approximately 2-4 hours (two sessions minimum required prior to comencing testing. Training takes place with one of our WQM Mentor Vols - Helen or Cass).

Testing - Approximately 2-4 hours (monthly, ongoing)
How to Register
Please complete : https://forms.gle/z8SeqeoeQ54WeVv98
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Our WQM Assigned Volunteers are an incredibly dedicated group of people who care deeply for their rivers and go out - rain hail or shine - every month, to test water quality at 30 sites across the Bellinger and Kalang catchments.
Assigned WQM Volunteers are assigned a testing site and test at the site every month, either by themselves or with another volunteer. (For safety, we prefer volunteers to test in pairs wherever possible.)
Roving WQM Volunteers need to have access to a car, be available on the second Tuesday or Wednesday of the month and partners ask that testing occurs between 12noon and 2pm (ideally, wherever possible).
It can take sometime to become an Assigned WQM Volunteer. It can take a few training sessions to feel confident, and then it can take a while to be assigned to a site, or if we are adding a new site to the program, it can take quite a while for us to fundraise to be able to purchase a new kit.
The dedication of this group is quite outstanding.

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Training
Helen Davies and Cassandra Vockler are very experienced Bellingen Riverwatch volunteers who have stepped into WQM Mentor Roles to train new WQM volunteers.
Once you register as a WQM volunteer, the Coordinator will contact Helen and Cass and share your details with them.
Helen or Cass will then be in contact to organise a day, time and place to meet up to start training.

Sometimes, these will be one-on-one sessions. Sometimes, there will be other learning volunteers, or experienced volunteers doing refresher training there also.

These sessions may be conducted out in the field or at the OzGREEN office.
Two or more sessions are required to feel confident in WQM testing. There are training videos throughout the WQM Manual that we recommend you watch prior to your training sessions.
Wherever possible, these sessions are conducted on the second Tuesday or Wednesday of the month.

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Scientific Support
In addition to the training outlined above, Bellingen Riverwatch partners, Ingrid Garland and Sue Lennox are happy to answer any volunteer's WQM questions.

Ingrid Garland, NSW Waterwatch
ingrid@envirocommconnections.com.au

Sue Lennox, OzGREEN
slennox@ozgreen.org.au
When?
On the 2nd Tuesday or Wednesday of the month.
How often?
As needed (when an assigned volunteer is sick or away).
Duration
Approximately 2-4 hours
How to Register
Please complete : https://forms.gle/z8SeqeoeQ54WeVv98
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Roving WQM Volunteers hold a vital role in the program. These volunteers step in if an Assigned WQM Volunteer is ill, on holidays or move away.
The Coordinator contacts our roving volunteers as needed, with as much notice as possible, and asks if they are able to test the site/s needed that month.

Roving volunteers pick up a kit from OzGREEN’s office in Bellingen, and can test at any of our 25 sites across the Bellinger and Kalang catchments, or alternatively, can specify the sites that they are happy to support.
Testing occurs rain hail or shine. For safety, we prefer volunteers to test in pairs wherever possible. As such, we endeavour to assign two roving volunteers to test together wherever possible.
Roving WQM Volunteers need to have access to a car, be available on the second Tuesday or Wednesday of the month and partners ask that testing occurs between 12noon and 2pm (ideally, wherever possible).
It can take sometime to become a Roving WQM Volunteer. It can take a few training sessions to feel confident.

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TrainingHelen Davies and Cassandra Vockler are very experienced Bellingen Riverwatch volunteers who have stepped into WQM Mentor Roles to train new WQM volunteers.
Once you register as a WQM volunteer, the Coordinator will contact Helen and Cass and share your details with them.
Helen or Cass will then be in contact to organise a day, time and place to meet up to start training. Sometimes, these will be one-on-one sessions. Sometimes, there will be other learning volunteers, or experienced volunteers doing refresher training there also. These sessions may be conducted out in the field or at the OzGREEN office.
Two or more sessions are required to feel confident in WQM testing. There are training videos throughout the WQM Manual that we recommend you watch prior to your training sessions.
Wherever possible, these sessions are conducted on the second Tuesday or Wednesday of the month.

__

Scientific Support
In addition to the training outlined above, Bellingen Riverwatch partners, Ingrid Garland and Sue Lennox are happy to answer any volunteer's WQM questions.
Ingrid Garland, NSW Waterwatch
ingrid@envirocommconnections.com.au
Sue Lennox, OzGREEN
slennox@ozgreen.org.au
When?
Training - Monday afternoon, 2 hrs
Muster - Friday, all day, approx 6 hours
How often?
Biannually (usually in May and September of each year)
Duration
Approximately 2-4 hours
How to Register
Step 1 - Register your interest to get on our mailing list : https://forms.gle/z8SeqeoeQ54WeVv98
Step 2 - We will send you an email with a link to a registration for our biannual musters. Complete this rego form asap as places fill up fast for our Musters.
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Our Macro Volunteers commit to attending one Macroinvertebrate testing session at a time - this is a one-time commitment. These sessions are planned to be held in May and September of each year.
Volunteers are given as much notice as possible of upcoming events and register for each event via an online registration form.

Macroinvertebrate Monitoring is very intense and complex and we thank our macro volunteers for their incredible concentration and focus at testing events.

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Training
We run a training session on the Monday before each Muster where our Macro Teachers practice collecting and identifying waterbugs with volunteers.

Training sessions are especially important for new Macro Tester vols - less so for veteran Macro Testers.

__

Scientific Support
In addition to the training outlined above, Bellingen Riverwatch partner, Ingrid Garland, is happy to answer any volunteer's WQM questions.
Ingrid Garland, NSW Waterwatch
ingrid@envirocommconnections.com.au
When?
Training - Monday afternoon, 2 hrs
Muster - Friday, all day, approx 6 hours
How often?
Biannually (usually in May and September of each year)
Prerequisites
Mentor Volunteers must have attended a Muster as a Testing Volunteer before they can step into a Mentor role.

How to Register
Step 1 - Register your interest to get on our mailing list : https://forms.gle/z8SeqeoeQ54WeVv98
Step 2 - We will send you an email with a link to a registration for our biannual musters. Complete this rego form asap as places fill up fast for our Musters.
—
Our Macro Mentor Volunteers commit to attending one Macroinvertebrate testing session at a time - this is a one-time commitment. These sessions are planned to be held in May and September of each year.
Volunteers are given as much notice as possible of upcoming events and register for each event via an online registration form. Macroinvertebrate Monitoring is very intense and complex and we thank our macro volunteers for their incredible concentration and focus at testing events.

Macro Mentor Volunteers also attend the Macroinvertebrate testing sessions, as well as the Musters.
Macro Mentor Volunteers are stepping into more of a leadership role. They are more dedicated to the program, are excited about macroinvertebrates, try to come to each Muster (wherever possible), and, over time, will become the 'knowledge holders' that form the pillars of this program, and allow it to continue long into the future.
To "keep your eye in", the experts say you really need to be identifying macroinvertebrates every 2 months. As such, Macro Mentor Volunteers try to borrow our Macro Share Kits (located at the OzGREEN office) and go out a few times in between the biannual testing sessions, at a time that suits them, to practice their macro identifications.

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Training
We run a training session on the Monday before each Muster where our Macro Teachers practice collecting and identifying waterbugs with volunteers. Training sessions are especially important for new Macro Mentor vols - less so for veteran Macro Mentors.

__
Scientific Support
In addition to the training outlined above, Bellingen Riverwatch partner, Ingrid Garland, is happy to answer any volunteer's WQM questions.
Ingrid Garland, NSW Waterwatch
ingrid@envirocommconnections.com.au
Bellingen Riverwatch is launching a Riparian Program and will be starting work to restore the riverbank at Gordonville Crossing in April 2023.

Stay tuned for more details and a registration form.

From our Volunteers

"I've always loved science and the positive changes it can make to our world. Citizen science projects like Bellingen Riverwatch and the volunteers behind them are essential for building evidence and knowledge where our governments can't or won't act. Rivers and their health are a vital part of our local ecosystem so it's critical we care for them."

- Henare Degan, WQM Support Volunteer
“"I’ve loved sharing the information learnt with my children, and watching them learn, asking questions, and playing an active part in it. I’ve loved learning from the team and seeing their passion and enthusiasm around the project. I'd definitely recommend citizen science to anyone. It’s educational, inspiring...it’s a way to help."

- Skye Condon, Bellingen Riverwatch WQM Roving Volunteer
“Having recently retired from a career in science I thought it would be a great way to help collect vital data needed to further understand the increasing stresses we put on our environment. Good data collection is at the core of good science so it is fundamental that we collect as much as possible."

- Cassandra Vockler, WQM Support Volunteer & WQM Mentor Volunteer (Trainer)
""I am grateful to have the opportunity to contribute to gathering baseline and ongoing data of our local river health. Various land uses in the catchment concern me such as unmanaged stock, clear fell forestry, and excessive or inappropriate fertiliser and pesticide use. I hope that my small efforts can help add to a bigger picture that will ultimately improve our care of the local catchment area and therefore the river health, for all the life it supports."

- Jane Grebert, WQM Roving Volunteer & Macro Volunteer