Current Projects
For additional operators and more information on visiting Tasmania go to the Discover Tasmania website.
Updates
As Green Guardians projects progress information will be placed on the internet for participants to see the results of their combined efforts. The updates will be brief, however further information is available by contacting the PWS through the website and quoting the Green Guardians program.
Road Kill Devil Survey
Update April 2013
The Save the Tasmanian Devil Program is working with the Green Guardians Program on a project that records details of Tasmanian devils that have been killed on the state’s roads. Since the start of the project there have been seven dead devils recorded along the roadside around the midlands and west coast. A biopsy was done on two devils, one outside of Strahan which was an adult over 4kg with a few scars, and a juvenile male just out of Tullah. Neither devil showed any sign of the deadly Facial Tumour Disease which the Save the Tasmanian Devil Program is working hard to manage. All the results provide the STDP with vital information in their battle to save this iconic and endangered species from extinction. Approximately 85% of the wild devil population has been wiped out by the disease with only the far northwest corner of the state remaining disease free.
Marine Debris collection
Beaches in Tasmania are known for their wilderness qualities, but even on beaches were the next land stop is South America marine debris or rubbish can still be found. Participants will collect and study marine debris as part of this project. Links have been established with the
Tangaroa Blue Ocean organisation to document and report on the marine debris collected. Tangaroa Blue Ocean then works with government agencies and manufacturers to change design to stop the debris ending up on our wild coastline.
Update April 2013
Marine debris is continuing to be collected along the Bay of Fires coast in the north east of the state and the Tarkine coast in the north west. From recent Bay of Fires trips 295 items of marine debris have been collected and classified by volunteers. The major contributor to the debris was 96 items of plastic hard pieces of various kinds. The other top four contributors in order are 31 aluminium cans, 19 items of paper/cardboard, 16 plastic-food wrap and 16 pieces of broken glass. The trips have also found dead or injured wildlife and sadly seven sea birds (six shearwaters and one cormorant) were recorded for the period of December 2012 to March 2013. Items found along the Tarkine coast this season include 30 pieces of hard plastic, 20m of rope, an inner tube, a bicycle pedal, 20 glass bottles and 17 plastic drinking bottles. Green Guardians continues to partner with Tangaroa Blue Ocean Care Society to try and reduce the amount of marine debris that enters the environment.
Green Guardians participants help uncover and remove large lengths of rope from the pristine beaches of the Tarkine. Photo by Robert Pallin.
Update April 2012
Six trips to the northern end of the Bay of Fires coastline between November 2011 and February 2012 retrieved 36 pieces of rope, 30 aluminium cans, 10 plastic bag remnants, 10 plastic sheets/tarps, 8 pieces of fishing line, a plastic power board cover, and a cricket stump. There were also numerous other objects, many being plastic, with the majority of marine debris being related to shoreline and recreational activities. This information will be passed on to the Tangaroa Blue Ocean Care Society.
Update June 2011
A number of large packing bags were collected off the Tarkine wilderness beaches. The items collected included 64 pieces of rope, 38 plastic bottles, 29 metal can, 8 fishing nets and lines, a hard hat, a lpg gas bottle, and many other examples of plastic, rubber, foam and metal rubbish.
Litter Survey and Collection
Update April 2013
This is the second consecutive summer season that litter has been collected and classified in the Freycinet and Cradle Mountain regions. During Green Guardian trips this season, a total of 166 pieces of litter was collected by volunteers. A breakdown shows that more than half of the litter (57%) was tissues with 95 tissues collected near Hazards beach and other tracks in Freycinet National Park. Coming in second was clothing and materials at 13% while confectionery wrappers/chip packets accounted for 11% of the total litter collected. The main form of rubbish on the Overland Track was miscellaneous items including 2 pieces of blue foam mat, a cleaning cloth, a pin and a shoelace.
Update April 2012
This season litter collection took place along the Hazards Beach track in Freycinet National Park and the Overland Track in Cradle Mountain – Lake St. Clair National Park. Amongst the litter along the Hazards Beach track were 86 tissues, 14 confectionary wrappers/chip packets, 2 sanitary pads, and a few other miscellaneous items. The majority of litter collected from the Overland Track consisted of 98 confectionary wrappers/chip packets, 58 metal items such as cans, aerosols, foil, etc., 38 paper and cardboard items, and numerous other bits and pieces. This information will be passed on to the Keep Australia Beautiful organisation for their national database.
Fauna Survey
Tasmania has been designated an Endemic Bird Area by the IUCN-recognised Birdlife International organisation. Birds are significant; as such, there are two fauna surveys included in the Guardians Program. Both have a focus on birds, including the endangered forty-spotted pardalote and azure kingfisher. Participants will either work along the pristine beaches of Maria Island, or on the wild waters of the Franklin River. Participants will document the wildlife they see using provided binoculars and fauna checklists.
Update April 2012
Another season on the Franklin River has produced numerous native animal sightings; the most notable being a few platypus and a number of birds. The most common bird species spotted along the river were the Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo, Black Cormorant, Green Rosella, Crescent Honeyeater, and the White-bellied Sea Eagle. Unfortunately, of the five tours which involved Green Guardians participants between October 2011 and February 2012, no Tasmanian Azure Kingfishers were sighted.
Update June 2011
Native animal sightings on the Franklin River included platypus and spotted-tail quoll, however no azure kingfishers were sited on the projects operating dates.