Waterwatch Australia Community Education and Stakeholder Involvement in Monitoring Waterway Health

Waterwatch Australia is a national waterway monitoring and environmental education program striving to achieve the vision of healthy waterways. This program operates in every State and Territory in Australia through supporting a network of committed individuals and groups, active in learning about and protecting their waterways and catchments. Pictures of the health of waterways and catchments are built through assessing physical, chemical and biological indicators. It is now estimated that over 50 000 people are involved in the program nationwide, with over 2000 groups monitoring 5400 sites across 246 catchments (Buxton, 1999). The success of the program is due not only to high levels of involvement by individuals and community groups, but also the development and maintenance of effective partnerships between community, government and industry to improve catchment health.