Life Below Water
Fresh-Water Ecosystems
The University of Newcastle actively contributes to education and capacity-building programs focused on freshwater ecosystems, water management, and environmental resilience through partnerships with community and government organisations — both locally and within the broader Pacific region. In 2025, local and regional outreach included the Frog Find community science initiative and Experiment Fest freshwater catchment and water-quality education for schools. International capacity-building also included field-based knowledge exchange and capacity-building with the Cook Islands National Environment Service (NES) and local stakeholders in Rarotonga.
Local capacity building
In 2025, these initiatives provided community volunteers and regional school students with practical opportunities to learn about freshwater ecosystem health, water quality, catchment management and pollution prevention.
Frog Find - community freshwater ecosystem education and citizen science
In 2025, PhD candidate Oliver Kelly was expanding Frog Find, an in-field and online community science initiative developed by the University of Newcastle Conservation Science Research Group. Community volunteers help researchers review acoustic recordings from streams, ponds and wetlands in and around NSW national parks to identify threatened frog calls, while learning how frog calls and habitat data can indicate environmental health and threats such as water pollution, disease and habitat degradation. The programme is publicly accessible online and provides guidance and resources to help community scientists learn frog-call identification. Explore the Frog Find project.
Experiment Fest 2025 - freshwater catchment and water-quality education for regional schools
In 2025, The University of Newcastle’s College of Engineering, Science and Environment ran the free program Experiment Fest, receiving more than 1,580 registrations from 57 schools with Stage 6 students attending from the Hornsby Shire through to the Upper Hunter and Mid-North Coast. In the Earth and Environmental Science programme, students investigated water quality in an urbanised/agricultural catchment; measured pH, electrical conductivity, turbidity, temperature, dissolved oxygen and nutrients. They compared their results with Australian and New Zealand environmental guidelines and developed measures to reduce nutrient pollution. This provides direct, hands-on education in freshwater ecosystem health, catchment management and pollution prevention for local and regional school communities. View the 2025 Earth and Environmental Science handbook.
International capacity building
One key international example is the University’s strategic partnership with the Cook Islands National Environment Service (NES), reflecting a shared commitment to:
- Advancing scientific research and education on environmental sustainability
- Promoting capacity development in water resource management and ecosystem conservation
- Supporting knowledge exchange on freshwater conservation, irrigation practices, and climate resilience
This collaboration includes the exchange of research methodologies, educational materials, and community-based learning initiatives designed to address local and global water-related challenges through knowledge exchange and capacity-building. The partnership supports the Cook Islands and Samoa and contributes to a broader Pacific regional platform for innovation and sustainable development.
In September 2025, Associate Professor Troy Gaston and Dr Alex Callen from the School of Environmental and Life Sciences travelled to Rarotonga in the Cook Islands as part of the Enhancing Nature’s Unique Areas Catchment Audit Activities project. The visit formed part of the University’s ongoing collaboration with the Cook Islands National Environment Service (NES) under the Global Environment Facility (GEF7) initiative. The pair conducted catchment fieldwork with NES staff and engaged with local stakeholders, including the Ministry of Marine Resources, Ministry of Agriculture, Cook Islands Tourism, Muri Environment Care, and the Korero O Te Orau Environmental Education Centre. As experts in ecology and restoration, they also shared insights on establishing “tiny forests” - compact, high-density native plantings to support biodiversity and ecosystem resilience. The visit combined field-based environmental work with stakeholder engagement and knowledge exchange, reflecting the College’s commitment to impactful international collaboration and the real-world application of environmental science to support communities across the Pacific.
Through these initiatives, the University of Newcastle continues to play a leading role in supporting education, research, and sustainable practices related to freshwater ecosystems.
Water Research Roadmap
This Roadmap identifies the guiding principles and priority actions necessary to support a quality, sustainable water supply into the future. It proposes how the sector can adapt and respond to uncertainties in order to meet current and future water needs, sustain healthy communities, support regional economic prosperity and protect and restore ecosystems and biodiversity values.
Pacific Roadmap
This Roadmap describes the partnership between the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) and University and launches a research plan as the first step to deliver co-operative and sustainable solutions to complex challenges faced by Pacific island people in critical areas of environmental need and national priority.
The University of Newcastle acknowledges the traditional custodians of the lands within our footprint areas: Awabakal, Darkinjung, Biripai, Worimi, Wonnarua, and Eora Nations. We also pay respect to the wisdom of our Elders past and present.