How it all began...

Our River Warriors initiative came into being in northern NSW during Plastic Free July 2017. Our good friends at the Byron Cookie Shack had noticed how much rubbish was accumulating across the Brunswick River, especially after storm and flood events.

Teaming up with the Byron Cookie Shack, as well as Go Sea Kayaks, Byron Bay Eco Cruises and Kayaks and Mullum Cares we ran a 12km clean of the river as part of our Plastic Free July initiatives in the Byron Shire. With 36 incredible volunteers, we collected over 1 tonne of trash!

This prompted us to take this one-off event further and, after putting together a survey model, we decided to look into ongoing marine debris and water quality monitoring projects in waterways that were known to accumulate huge amounts of marine debris, with little being done to address the problem. Our River Warriors initiative was born!

Our volunteers and staff collected an over 1 tonne of rubbish from our inaugural River Warriors program on the Brunswick River. — Our volunteers and staff collected an over 1 tonne of rubbish from our inaugural *River Warriors* program on the Brunswick River.

What does the River Warriors initiative do?

The model is simple - during Phase I we run kayak-based surveys to collect baseline data on marine debris in waterways. We then produce a State of Marine Debris Report and Marine Debris Report Card, which rates waterways from A (best) to F (worst) based upon three key variables.

Phase II identifies hotspots, implements stakeholder engagement/outreach programs based upon our findings and runs public-facing clean-ups to enable a shift in behaviour, addressing the issue at its source.

Phase III helps to identify and promote lasting solutions to major sources of pollution. This might include physical traps and barriers, managed wetlands and restoration zones as well as recommendations for management of the riparian zone.

River Warriors works with schools, universities, local businesses, residents and community groups through hands-on programs, which connect them to their waterways, fostering a sense of stewardship around the environmental, social and economic importance of these vital natural places.

A New Ecological Approach

In 2020, we launched our new ecological approach for River Warriors. With a strong focus on strengthening connectivity both in the ecosystem and amongst stakeholders, we are assessing a wider range of environmental variables to produce a comprehensive map of overall River Health. This will also identify key areas and hotspots that warrant additional attention.

This new direction enables us to focus on effectively strengthening collaboration and community synergy between the different groups working on the health of the River.