Harbour Habitats Bioblitz

19/06/2025

Be sure to pop into the Marine Science Centre before July 20th

Solitary Islands Aquarium hosts travelling exhibition, Bidhiinja: restoring our oyster reefs

18/06/2025

What a fantastic opportunity, be sure to go and check out the exhibition.

Solitary Islands Aquarium hosts travelling exhibition, Bidhiinja: restoring our oyster reefs

15/06/2025

🌿 Your Nature Photos Can Make a Difference! 📸

Did you know that a simple photo of a plant or animal can aid global conservation efforts? In his TED Talk, Scott Loarie shares how everyday nature photos contribute to a global biodiversity database, helping scientists track and protect species worldwide.

Platforms like iNaturalist empower citizen scientists to make meaningful contributions to ecology.

🦋 Get Involved:
Download the iNaturalist app.
Snap photos of plants, animals, or fungi you encounter.
Every photo counts. Start your journey as a citizen scientist today!

🎥 Watch the full TED Talk here: Scott Loarie: The Surprising Power of Your Nature Photos

Scott Loarie has a challenge for you: go outside and take a picture of a living thing. He introduces the global community of people building a living atlas of the natural world by sharing their nature photos with scientists — and shows how you can join in on the fun.

13/06/2025

Hold onto your horses! This year's Great Southern Bioblitz has been created. make sure to save the date and tell your friends.

This year's project is now up and running:
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/great-southern-bioblitz-2025-coffs-harbour-region

Dates to save are October 24-27th.

Photo: Coleus graveolens

12/06/2025

Big news for bird lovers! 🦜

Say hello to AviList – a definitive list of all 11,131 bird species on Earth, sorted into 252 families. 📚

Led by Southern Cross University’s own Professor Les Christidis, this global dream team of bird experts spent four years (and plenty of debates!) creating one list to help people everywhere identify and protect our feathered friends. 🌍

Goodbye confusion, hello birdwatching bliss! 🎉

Read more 📖: https://www.scu.edu.au/news/2025/global-bird-experts-release-avilist/?utm_source=meta&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=news_2025&utm_content=bird_list&utm_term=null&fbclid=IwQ0xDSwK3P8xjbGNrArc_yGV4dG4DYWVtAjExAAEeVB1u2i7gjQlq-KU6-SEddClty7vGpzsObZxbOrwiDiMEGasiv4XGfTiSTYk_aem_wLYKYE2CrotPZQDKH4J2Yg

A consortium of global bird experts have released a definitive list of the world's bird species called AviList.

01/04/2025

It's Fungi hunting time!

The Great Aussie Fungi Hunt 2025 is on!

Join citizen scientists across Australia to improve our understanding of fungi when you upload your photos and observations to iNaturalist here: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/the-great-aussie-fungi-hunt-2025

There will be prizes for the Most Research Grade Finds (young and old) and the most Exciting or Rarest find.

Happy hunting...

04/03/2025

!! We have had to postpone our scheduled Marine Discovery Series public lecture due to Cyclone Alfred and campus closures this week!! The lecture has been rescheduled for next Thursday, 13 March starting at 6:00 pm.

03/03/2025

Join us for a free lecture: "Ocean of Self" - Forty Years of Ocean Exploration
With Guest Speaker: Dr. Mark Spencer
At the National Marine Science Centre
On Thursday 6th March

Join Mark Spencer as he takes you on a voyage of ocean exploration and discovery. Mark is an acclaimed deep-water diver and photographer. His photographs - sometimes of rarely seen shipwrecks hidden in the deep - have been featured in publications such as National Geographic and Australian Geographi...

15/01/2025

Each year, regions across the Southern Hemisphere participate in the iNaturalist event, The Great Southern Bioblitz. This intensive four-day event inspires friendly competition as regions strive to collect and submit as much data as possible about their local natural environment to iNaturalist.

The Harbour Habitat Bioblitz follows the spirit of the annual Great Southern Bioblitz but adopts a more relaxed pace. This educational community event is designed to equip budding naturalists with hands-on, practical skills for observing and documenting the natural world. Participants will learn how to contribute valuable biodiversity data to the iNaturalist platform while fostering a deeper connection to nature.

Spanning two weeks, the Harbour Habitat Bioblitz offers guided walks, tutorials, and presentations suitable for all ages and skill levels. To join, all you need is a phone (or camera) and a healthy sense of curiosity!

Please join the event to stay updated with scheduled events.

Photo: Oides dorsosignata - or the Orange Oides Leaf Beetle found in the Coffs Coast region

10/01/2025

Get yourself prepared for a mid-year Coffs-region-only BioBlitz....
More info forthcoming.

You have been warned!!