Melbourne families join platypus census
A dawn census with a useful purpose
Platypus spotting is a lovely family outing, but the 774 Platypus Census is also a practical piece of waterway monitoring. On Wednesday 2 September, volunteers will search Melbourne’s local waterways from 5:30 to 8:00am and record what they see.
That kind of community science works best when the results feed back into habitat protection, water-quality work and long-term maintenance. The early start may limit the family audience a little, though older children could get a memorable lesson in how ecological data is gathered.
Details are in the ABC’s report on the census.