INFORMATION FOR SEA SEARCH VOLUNTEERS
WHAT TO BRING? The type of clothing and what to bring along to a Sea Search session will depend on which habitat you will be monitoring:
Intertidal Rocky Shores
Shorts, t-shirt, hat, sunscreen, sunglasses, warm jacket/raincoat in case of cooler weather or rain, protective shoes which you do not mind getting wet, sandy and /or muddy (Thongs are not appropriate and do not provide adequate protection for the feet, some good options are Crocs, dive boots or old runners), don’t forget to bring water to keep yourself hydrated.
Seagrass Beds
The clothing and gear you need to bring varies depending on which site the Sea Search event is being held, but you will always need: hat, sunscreen, warm jacket/raincoat in case of cool weather or rain, protective shoes which you do not mind getting wet, sandy and /or muddy (Thongs are not appropriate and do not provide adequate protection for the feet, some good options are Crocs, dive boots or old runners), a wetsuit, fins, mask and snorkel. Don’t forget to bring water to keep yourself hydrated.
In Corner Inlet Marine National Park, Seagrass monitoring is done by SCUBA diving, so volunteers that want to participate will need to have and show a valid SCUBA license and bring their own dive gear (we may be able to organise rental of some gear). There are also special safety procedures when doing SCUBA seagrass monitoring at Corner Inlet, so volunteers will need to be registered and briefed by the Dive Safety Officer a week prior to the event (this will be organised when registering your attendance).
Mangrove Beds
Shorts, t-shirt, hat, sunscreen, sunglasses, warm jacket/raincoat in case of cooler weather or rain, protective shoes which you do not mind muddy (Thongs are not appropriate and do not provide adequate protection for the feet, best options are dive boots, old runners or gum boots), insect repellent, don’t forget to bring water to keep yourself hydrated.
WHAT WILL HAPPEN?
At the event:
All new volunteers will be taught at the session the methods of how to monitor the habitat (what information we collect) and how to recognise and identify the different species of marine plants and animals. No previous experience in monitoring or species identification is necessary. New volunteers will be paired up with returning Sea Searchers wherever possible during the monitoring session to help them learn and so you can have fun swapping stories on all you discover.
After the event:
An important part of Sea Search monitoring isn’t just the outdoor side of things; once data has been collected it needs to be put into the online database. This allows it to be looked at by you (the database can show reports on what you and others that have worked at the same place have found) and analysed by our scientific partners so any changes in the health of the marine environment will be discovered and passed onto the relevant management agencies who can work towards making it healthier if any problems are found. Training sessions on how to use the online database will be scheduled either on the same day as the outdoor event or at another convenient time.
EVENT INFORMATION
See the events listing on our website www.peopleandparks.org/programs/marineconnections/
sea-search/events
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