Overview of the program

All information about the Program is contained in a manual called the Marine Community Monitoring Manual (the manual), which you can access and download from this site.

The manual is made up of six parts and includes: information on the history of the program; a number of simple monitoring methods and data sheets; information on monitoring equipment and an overview of marine management in Western Australia. In addition the manual covers safety issues and the need for all participants to be environmentally sensitive when working in marine and coastal areas.

What you need to do

To learn more about the program simply click on the icon of the manual. This will bring up the Table of Contents. The manual consists of a number of individual Pdf documents, which you can download separately.

Getting started

1. Download Part 1 of the manual ('Starting Up').
   The 'Starting Up' section contains:
   • Essential reading about the program;
   • Information on how to coordinate a successful marine monitoring program; and
   • Registration details.
2. Browse through the Table of Contents and decide what activities you would like to do. Once you have decided you can download the relevant methods and associated datasheets.
3. Fill in Table 2 from the 'Starting Up' section. Table 2 contains a series of questions to help you decide what you want to monitor and also what methods from the manual you can use.

Registering with the program

If you have followed all of these steps please continue and Register with the program.

1. Only community groups and individuals living in Western Australia can register with the program.
2. To register with the program click on the CoastBase icon. CoastBase is the name of the database that manages all information relating to the Marine Community Monitoring Program, including group registrations, site registrations and data entry forms.
3. Registration Form: to access all areas of CoastBase you will have to Register with the program by filling in your details on the Registration Form.

You can register as an individual or as a group (eg. a school, community group, friends of group or charter operator).

If you are registering as a group, only submit one Registration Form per group, additional entries will be deleted. Once you have registered you will receive a password. This password will enable you to enter your monitoring data or information and will also enable you to receive simple outputs generated by CoastBase (eg. graphs and tables).

What we can do for you

• We can help you develop a framework for your Marine Community Monitoring Program.
• We can help you select appropriate methods to use and appropriate sites to monitor.
• We can talk to your group and help you plan your monitoring activities, or organise a short seminar about the program for interested groups.
• Where possible, we can provide assistance in the field to help collect information or to facilitate you or your group on the day.
• We can provide community groups in Western Australia with an interactive CD-ROM entitled “Marine Life in Western Australia”, to facilitate identification of common marine plants and animals. (While stocks last and restricted to one CD-ROM per group or school.)

**Attention school teachers**

Unfortunately the program does not run classes for school groups. However, we would be happy to liaise with teachers and provide assistance where possible, to get your school involved.