In late November, AUSMAP breached South Australian territory for the very first time. Dr Michelle Blewitt and Dr Scott Wilson both made the trip to Adelaide to train our newest group of AUSMAP accredited facilitators. The day was a huge success, with over 25 individuals attending in one of our largest training groups yet. The day was hosted by the wonderful Keep South Australia Beautiful (KESAB), who are now our very first regional hub in South Australia!
We spent the day at Henley Marine Discovery Centre, sampling in the sunshine at the beautiful Henley Beach in front of the centre. One thing is for sure, the South Australian folk sure do keep their beaches clean! Only small amounts of microplastics were found during the sampling – significantly smaller when compared to other sites we have sampled with the AUSMAP methodology. Only 2.5 microplastic items were detected per m2, and only 0.5 macro debris items were found in the same area – that’s squeaky clean!
It was fantastic to spend the day connecting with so many great people from the region. We had a really diverse group comprised of educators, local government members, Natural Resources Management (NRM) groups and interested community participants, that all shared a great deal of interest in the program and issue at hand.
It is always so exciting to see so much interest and enthusiasm for the AUSMAP program flowing in from all around the nation. We have are now established in three states – NSW, Queensland and South Australia – and we are beyond excited to watch AUSMAP continue to grow and flourish around the nation into the New Year!
Written by: Nicola Fuller (AUSMAP Marketing Coordinator, Volunteer)
Photos: Program Director Dr Michelle Blewitt, Dr Scott Wilson