Two local groups are among recipients to receive $1.31m in State Government Citizen Science Fund grants.
The grants have been awarded to help fund 10 large-scale projects that seek to improve the state’s understanding of the environment through scientific research.
Projects include those protecting breeding sites for rare shorebirds, monitoring freshwater turtles on the Limestone Coast and studying the restoration of native habitats.
Nature Trust Glenelg was allocated $80,000 for its Limestone Coast community bird monitoring program, while Burrandies Aboriginal Corporation will receive $60,000 to gather data or turtle populations in wetland and swampy areas of the Limestone Coast.
The project will identify suitable habitat sites for turtles, as well as examine threats from foxes.
The grants are part of the State Government’s election commitment to establish a $2m Citizen Science Fund, which last year funded 10 small-scale projects.
The latest funding also includes a $136,000 grant to BirdLife Australia to help train and recruit volunteers to protect nesting sites for rare Hooded Plover shorebirds.
Trees For Life has also received $275,000 to help landowners develop new methods to monitor ecosystem health and habitat restoration across the state.
The fund is administered by the Department for Environment and Water to gather data on plants, animals, fungi, ecosystems, soil, water and air.
