CitSciOz23: CoralWatch: data collection, awareness and future project - Diana Kleine

CoralWatch: data collection, awareness and future project
Presenter: Diana Kleine
Citizen science programs play a crucial role in a world where a ‘mass global bleaching event’ is predicted for 2023/24. CoralWatch citizen scientists have been actively monitoring and assessing coral bleaching events worldwide since 2002.
Using the Coral Health Chart is easy, and individuals can monitor reefs and contribute to our global database powered by the Atlas of Living Australia, the BioCollect platform. CoralWatch data can identify potential bleaching events, and the CoralWatch method is used by many scientists. Our data is collected mainly by dive centres, schools, universities, and conservation groups. All data is publicly accessible and can be downloaded freely.
CoralWatch not only monitors the health of reefs, but it also provides tangible solutions to reduce impacts on reefs worldwide. CoralWatch Ambassadors, staff, and volunteers help to educate about the everyday changes people can make to ensure reefs stay healthy for generations to come.
Driven by the urgent need to retain as many reefs into the future as possible, a new program, “What can I do?” will focus on 7 key pillars for
sustainable actions achievable in everyday life. Using the same approach of active involvement within the CoralWatch program, users will learn about solutions to protect reefs for the future. An interactive platform will promote valuable, practical, effective, targeted solutions that individuals can use while collecting engagement indicators data. This new citizen science project, focused on social science, will apply behavioural science
approaches to support engagement and acceleration in climate change mitigation activities.
Keywords: citizen science, coral bleaching, reef monitoring, sustainability