Community collaboration to celebrate World Environment Day
Volunteer groups within the Casuarina Coastal Reserve have partnered with the City of Darwin, Landcare NT and NT Parks and Wildlife to deliver a world-class, citizen science–based weed mapping project targeting ivy gourd—an emerging weed of concern that has been identified across the Darwin region.
Members of the Casuarina Coastal Reserve Landcare Group, the Rapid Creek Landcare Group and the Casuarina Coastal Reserve Adopt-a-Spot team recently marked World Environment Day with a successful community event focused on tackling the invasive weed, ivy gourd.
The event brought together volunteers, the City of Darwin, NT Parks and Wildlife and Landcare NT to officially launch the collaborative ivy gourd mapping project — an initiative aimed at strengthening early detection and coordinated management of this weed of concern.
Attendees gained valuable insights through engaging presentations covering how to identify ivy gourd (Coccinia grandis), why it poses a threat to local ecosystems and the importance of early intervention.
Participants were also introduced to practical ways they can contribute to tracking its spread using the iNaturalist platform.
The morning quickly moved from theory to action, with hands-on workshops giving volunteers the opportunity to build skills in weed identification and control. These efforts made an immediate impact, with a substantial amount of ivy gourd removed from the Rapid Creek end of Casuarina Coastal Reserve.
Participants left the event feeling empowered, equipped with new knowledge and practical skills, and reassured that their contributions are making a meaningful difference in protecting local natural areas.
This initiative builds on the ongoing commitment of local volunteer groups that have already made significant progress in mapping ivy gourd across the reserve.
By inviting the broader community to contribute observations via iNaturalist, the project aims to develop a more comprehensive understanding of the weed’s distribution. This data will no doubt play a key role in informing future weed management strategies at a landscape scale.
