Running on dates that coincide with platypus breeding season (August) and the post-breeding burrow emergence period (March) each year, platypus monitoring is our community-based citizen science program that engages local volunteers to help collect platypus data by recording sightings and assessing platypus habitats at three different creeks on the Sunshine Coast.

Platypus are highly sensitive to water quality and a keystone indicator of a healthy ecosystem.  A majority of ECOllaboration’s work involves catchment restoration via the revegetation of riparian (river and creekside) areas and therefore, it is of great interest to monitor platypus as they indicate the success of our ecological restoration efforts.

This citizen science project has been designed to engage the community and collect a long-term data set on these remarkable creatures to ensure they are afforded an accurate conservation status in Queensland.