Kangaroo Island is one of South Australia’s most loved holiday destinations for both locals and travellers and it’s not hard to see why. The island escape is not only breathtakingly beautiful but is also home to a diverse range of native wildlife and remarkable natural landmarks making it the ultimate Australian getaway.
In 2019/2020, the island was devasted by the Black Summer bushfires which destroyed t a large portion of the island, including a number of important ecological sites.
With the community, plants animals and economy still recovering from the destruction, a new initiative has been unveiled to get tourists involved in lending a hand in the island’s recovery.
Dubbed the ‘Passport to Recovery’(P2R), the $1.1million Federal Government-backed program encourages visitors to ‘arrive as a tourist, leave as a scientist’ through a series of special conservation and ecology projects that include helping to locate and collect data on koalas, observe the islands bee hotels and help to re-establish native shellfish in the reefs of Kingscote.
Projects can be viewed and selected through the P2R app and once the chosen activity is complete, helpers will be rewarded with points which can then be redeemed at local businesses.
Program leader from Flinders University, Professor Karen Burke da Silva, says the aim of the project aims to help push along recovery.
“By simply getting involved, everyone can play a part in helping our favourite holiday destination get further along with its post-fire revival,” she explains.
“Flinders University is working with key community and business partners to help with the environmental recovery, as well as the local economy.
“All you need to do is to download the app onto your phone and pick up a P2R Passport from the SeaLink ferry terminal or Kingscote Airport, to help with these key projects.”
The first projects citizen scientists can take part in include helping to conserve koalas and native bees, track plant pathogens and monitor shellfish reef restoration. The app will be a vital part of data collection from across Kangaroo Island for future conservation efforts.
Other projects – including microplastic pollution and other species observations – will roll out in 2023.
“The aim of this project is to engage citizen scientists to take part in activities to provide us with data so we can generate far more information about the impact of this plant pathogen, both on native plants and crops,” says environmental health expert Professor Kirstin Ross.
“We’re also pleased to be able to show people, of any age, how to be citizen scientists and find out how much fun and enjoyable science actually is.”
The ‘Smart Nests’ project invites citizen scientist to make observations at the special Flinders University technology-integrated ‘bee hotels’ around the island and assist in identifying pollinator activity on plants and agricultural crops.
Marine ecology project, ‘Reef Rewind,’ is focusing on the potential to re-establish native shellfish reefs in Kingscote. Swimmers and snorkellers will be invited to record sea life in the town’s coastal zone to monitor the development of the reef and coastal ecology over time.
The ‘Koala Compass’ project invites citizen scientists to help locate and collect photos and data on the behaviour and habitats of surviving koalas they see during their travels around Kangaroo Island. This information will be used to explore koala movements back into bushfire-affected areas and for future conservation efforts.
Sighting and reporting evidence of a small plant pathogen called phytophthora is the target of the ‘Dirty Boots’ project, which invites tourists to also take a small soil sample from their shoes for analysis by experts from Flinders University. Phytophthora dieback disease can spread easily and affects crops and susceptible plants which might be important habitat for animals and insects.
Find more information at the website or download the app at the App Store and Google Play.
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