Beach monitoring sees citizen science a snap

Eurobodalla has joined the CoastSnap family. The citizen science project has beach-goers across the country and around the world using their mobile phones to collect images used by coastal scientists to assess the health of beaches.

Eurobodalla Council has installed two CoastSnap stations – one at Melville Point, Tomakin and the other at South Broulee lookout – where visitors can snap a picture of the beach and share it on CoastSnap social media pages.

Over time the images are compiled to capture a long-term time lapse of each beach, which is analysed by scientists from the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage and the University of NSW Water Research Laboratory.

The resulting data is an additional tool for agencies involved in coastal management, and Cr James Thomson suggested CoastSnap as a resource that could help Council better understand Eurobodalla’s beaches.

Council’s coastal and flood management planner Cameron Whiting said it was a great opportunity for the community and visitors to get involved in a citizen science project that started in Australia and had since gone global.

“It’s easy to get involved,” he said.

“Put your phone in the cradle, camera facing out through the gap, screen facing you, and snug it up against the left side.

“Then take a standard photo – no zoom or filter. Remove your phone then share your photo to Facebook, Instagram or Twitter using the appropriate hashtag: #coastsnaptomakin or #coastsnapbroulee.

“If you’re not on socials, you can also email the photo to [email protected].”