A Shorebird Steward learns to read the site the way the birds do.
The work is to be at the waterline, paying attention. Reading the bird — species, condition, behaviour, the read flag on the tibia. Reading the site — the tide, the disturbance pressure, what's working at the roost and what isn't. Reading the encounter — who's there, what they're being told, how the information lands. A Steward keeps a record of all three.
Some Stewards will also interpret at the waterline — telling the story of the science and the wonder of it to whoever is there. That's one expression of the role, not a requirement. Preference and disposition are not a barrier, and not every Steward needs to be comfortable with strangers. The work begins with reading.
The records a Steward keeps are citizen-science grade. They join the longitudinal Moreton Bay shorebird dataset and are visible to anyone — partners, council, members of the public — via the FSB dashboard. Anyone driven enough to keep showing up can do this work.
The course is self-directed — you work through the material at your own pace. The three delivery partners (Jacobs Well EEC, REF Environmental, BIEPA) facilitate that learning rather than instruct it.
The three field activities — ShorelineWatch, FlagWatch and DuskWatch — train the reading and collect the records.
A presence at the waterline.
The program asks one thing above all else: that you show up at the site, at the right tide, and pay attention. Everything else follows from that act: the science, the tools, the conversation at the waterline.
"Before you start, I'll interview you, ten questions about what you know, what draws you to the bay, where you want to go. From that conversation I'll produce your personal lesson plan. Your entry point is yours. No two are the same."
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