New approach to monitoring endangered species

Queensland’s regional natural resource management (NRM) organisations regularly meet to share knowledge and best practice through Communities of Practice (CoPs).

In August, staff from nine NRM organisations gathered in Cairns for the Monitoring, Evaluation, Reporting and Improvement (MERI) CoP. 

The MERI CoP provides a forum for NRM practitioners to address joint issues, discuss approaches, and agree monitoring and evaluation priorities for the Queensland NRM sector. It also plays a crucial role in sharing updates on the State-wide Indicators Framework (SWIF), which equips organisations delivering NRM projects in Queensland with consistent methods and tools to collect accurate project data.

Among the presentations, Cape York NRM’s Maree Coulson demonstrated how the Photo Point Capture app is supporting our Golden-shouldered Parrot project. The app allows officers to efficiently capture geolocated photos in the field, providing vital monitoring data for this endangered species. 

Key benefits include:

• Documenting nesting sites: These endangered birds nest in termite mounds, and the app easily records nests and “scratchings”, capturing the multiple nesting attempts Golden-shouldered Parrots often make before success. 

• Managing multiple angles: Collects photos from all sides of a mound in one record.

• Accurate field labelling: Tags photos at capture to save time and reduce errors.

  
  

Cape York NRM was the first to trial the app in the field.

“The success of the new app is testament to the team behind SWIF, NRM Region Queensland’s Penny Scott and Lee Blacklock, and the MERI CoP working together to develop the tools we need to collect reliable data to support vital NRM projects across the state,” said Maree.

This project is funded by the Queensland Government's Natural Resources Recovery Program.

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