VISITORS to Werribee’s Western Treatment Plant are being asked to help Parks Victoria and Melbourne Water to remotely monitor vegetation growth and seaweed wash-up.
Victoria University researcher Dr Martin Fluker has designed posts which have been placed at various points at the treatment plant that need monitoring.
Each post contains a small platform for a camera and instructions on where to point, shoot and then email the photo.
Pictures are uploaded to a website, which allows Melbourne Water and Parks Victoria to monitor the sites without having to visit them.
“The success of this design is its simplicity. Photos will help agencies determine if they need to do work on that particular area,” Dr Fluker said.
“[The project] has minimal set-up or maintenance costs yet delivers on the need for monitoring large and often remote natural environments.”
Melbourne Water funded the $30,000 project, which runs for a year.
To date, there are 30 posts scattered around the wetlands, with Dr Fluker keen to add more.
Melbourne Water biodiversity scientist Dr Will Steele said the posts provided a cheap yet effective way to monitor the wetland vegetation conditions and water levels in habitat ponds.
Parks Victoria has used the posts at Cape Otway and the You Yangs.
Ranger Nick Alexeyeff said the posts helped gather information from remote locations without having to send staff to the sites.
“This has cost benefits for me by not having to regularly send staff out to monitor these sections, which in turn frees up my team for other work,” he said.
