Citizen scientists step up for platypus preservation in Ovens catchment

Dozens of local, environmentally-minded volunteers attended the Bright Brewery on Sunday 20 September, to participate in one of three ‘Ovens Catchment Citizen Science Platypus Survey’ presentations, to help launch a new project to identify platypus populations in the Ovens catchment. Similar events in Beechworth and Wangaratta on the same weekend attracted more than 60 residents. The talks were hosted by the Ovens Landcare Network (OLN) in collaboration with Melbourne-based company EnviroDNA, which specialises in the detection of resident platypus using water DNA analysis. OLN vice president, Paul Reser, said most attendees from the presentation in Bright stayed on to learn how to collect a sample. "Without these volunteers stepping up and agreeing to participate, we just could not do this important work,” he said. “We gathered at the Bright Brewery, which is a good location because it's right next to the Ovens River. “We had about 40 people show up, which was tremendous and the presentation itself went stunningly well. "Everyone was very curious and wanted to become more informed about this wonderful little creature." Josh Griffiths from EnviroDNA, who has had decades of experience in the study of platypus in their natural habitat in Victoria and beyond, treated an enthusiastic audience to an informative and wide-ranging talk. “Through analysis of DNA extracted from water samples, we can know with a high level of certainty whether platypus exist in any particular waterway throughout the Ovens River catchment,” Mr Griffiths said. Isaac D. Natali, also from Enviro DNA, showed attendees how to run water through a filter to collect minute particles of DNA from the river and package it up so we could send it away for analysis. The presentations were funded by the Wetenhall Environment Trust, The June Canavan Foundation and the North East Catchment Management Authority. More than 60 volunteers visited 150 selected sites across the catchment area to collect water samples in the days following each presentation. Results from the survey will be released in coming months, with a planned webinar hosted by OLN to discuss the findings. In the meantime, Mr Reser encouraged both locals and visitors to be mindful of hair-ties and other rubbish around waterways, as they are a hazard to platypus and other wildlife - with up to five platypus killed in the Ovens River near Bright in recent years. "It really is surprising how such a small, innocent little item like a hair-tie can prove deadly to a platypus," he said. "Because of the nature of how they forage through the water, looking for the little bugs and crustaceans they feed on, inevitably, they encounter the hair ties. "So yes, people really need to be aware and if you see a hair tie on the ground in your waterway, definitely pick it up. "If you're wearing a hair tie, make sure it doesn't come off and you'll be saving a platypus's life." Call for national action on 'platypus decline' The Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) and University of New South Wales (UNSW) platypus researcher Associate Professor Gilad Bino are calling on the federal government to urgently fund Australia's first national platypus survey as new research reveals a decline in the iconic species. Assoc Prof Bino said the platypus faces pressure from habitat destruction, climate change impacts like drought and bushfire, invasive species, poor river and dam management - and is also at moderate risk from bird flu as it shares the same habitat as many bird species. "Currently, the platypus is not protected under national environment law," he said. "It is listed as endangered in South Australia and vulnerable in Victoria but is not listed as threatened federally, which means we have no national action plan to protect it. "In March 2026, the UNSW nominated the platypus for protection under national environment law, using the best data available: more than 13,000 platypus sightings col-lected across the country over 20 years, including sightings logged by ACF Platy Project volunteers. "Over the last two decades, the data in-di-cates the platypus distribution has shrunk by nearly 25 per cent, and possibly by as much as 30 per cent." The federal Threatened Species Scientific Committee did not put the platypus on its 2026 Proposed Priority Assessment List because the committee said "there is no evidence to demonstrate declines across the species range or impacts on its national population". Assoc Prof Bino disputes this and is calling on Environment Minister Murray Watt to fund Australia's first ever national platypus survey to establish the population.

Citizen scientists step up for platypus preservation in Ovens catchment

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