Scientists and graziers working together on water quality
Grazing Field Officer Morgan Gunther clocked up a 16-hour road trip to collect water samples from graziers across the Bowen and Bogie catchments — all part of the Landholders Driving Change Community Water Quality Monitoring Group.
Thanks to this year’s wet season, graziers have been busy in gumboots, sampling their local waterways to track how sediment and nutrients move during rainfall.
Back in the lab at TropWATER, James Cook University, scientists are analysing the samples for nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment — turning paddock data into insights that can help manage soil loss and protect waterways.
The results feed into the joint Queensland and Australian Government’s Paddock to Reef program to track progress towards cleaner waterways and a healthier reef, sharpen models and pinpoint hotspots to guide actions to protect the reef.
Community science, muddy boots, and lab magic — all working together for cleaner water.
This activity was supported by the Landholders Driving Change (LDC2) project, funded by the Queensland Government through the Queensland Reef Water Quality Program.
