St. Kilda Mangrove & Saltmarsh Monitoring
The tidal wetlands surrounding the St. Kilda Mangrove Boardwalk have been adversely affected since mid-2020. Nearby decommissioned gypsum ponds that were filled with hyper-saline brines. Gypsum, lining the old ponds, are suspected to have degraded after sitting empty for seven years. It appears the ponds are leaking and mobilising acidic materials from underneath the gypsum crust. There appears to be no effort to monitor the area or efforts to mitigate any effects of the salt fields.
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Here, we have set up a citizen science project to facilitate monitoring of the forest and its recovery.
Project on iNaturalist
To facilitate more public engagement we have created an ongoing project on the free citizen science platform, iNaturalist. We look forward to watching over the recovery and comparing our results with the unaffected mangrove and saltmarsh areas surrounding this region.
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To get involved, check out our iNaturalist project, or contact us through email.
