The Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning’s (DELWP) Marine Biodiversity team has won a coveted award for its world-leading coastal monitoring program.
DELWP’s Victorian Coastal Monitoring Program (VCMP) brought home the Federal Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources’ Eureka Prize for Innovation in Citizen Science.
Coordinator of the VCMP at DELWP, Lawrance Ferns said the world-first Program saw a partnership between communities and universities to predict how beaches responded to storms and rising sea levels.
Mr Ferns said the Program harnessed more than 100 citizen scientists who used lightweight drones to produce 3D models to measure shoreline changes.
“Initiated in 2017, the project has received a total of $10.7 million contributed by the Victorian Government, DELWP and university partners and will run until next year,” Mr Ferns said.
“The VCMP was recognised because it maximised the amount of information that could be gathered with the available funding,” he said.
“It’s a win-win for everybody because we get the information we need to help make decisions about the coast and the community gets sense of ownership and understanding that the coast is a dynamic thing.”
Mr Ferns said the partnership included scientists from the University of Melbourne, Deakin University, Monash University, the University of Wollongong, Macquarie University and Propeller Aerobotics.
He also praised Marine Biodiversity colleague at DELWP, Kimberley MacDonald’s role with the Program as the responsible officer who took care of volunteer training, safety, insurance and equipment.
Mr Ferns said the team was examining how it could keep the program going into the future and support groups to study different areas.
