Earthwatch Australia, the Great Barrier Reef Foundation and Cairns and Far North Environment Centre (CAFNEC) are proud to announce that the MangroveWatch Local Action Plan model has been named a finalist in the 2026 Australian Museum Eureka Prize for Innovation in Citizen Science.
The finalist recognition celebrates an innovative approach to citizen science that goes beyond collecting environmental data, supporting communities to use science, local knowledge and Traditional Ecological and Cultural Knowledge to identify priorities and take action to protect and restore coastal wetlands.
Funded through the partnership between the Australian Government's Reef Trust and the Great Barrier Reef Foundation, the MangroveWatch Local Action Plan (LAP) model was pioneered in the Wet Tropics and has since been replicated across four regions. Today, more than 10,000 volunteers, Traditional Owners, Indigenous Rangers, schools and community groups have contributed to monitoring local mangroves, helping build one of Australia's most significant community-led coastal monitoring networks.
The Local Action Plan model transforms local knowledge, Traditional Ecological and Cultural Knowledge, and citizen science into practical, community-led action. By helping communities identify local priorities and take meaningful action, the model strengthens stewardship and supports the long-term health of Australia's coastal wetlands.
What excites me about citizen science is what can happen beyond the data. Through MangroveWatch, we learned that people don’t give up their time and expertise simply to document environmental decline in the places they care about, they want to contribute to positive environmental outcomes. The Local Action Plan model gives people a pathway from observing change to taking action on what matters most. For me, that’s where citizen science becomes most powerful, when it gives communities the knowledge, agency and opportunity to protect the coastal wetlands that matter to them now and into the future.
