The reading path through the Steward Course.
A sequenced map of what to read, in what order, around the six observation topics the Ng et al. (2026) paper identifies as the evidence gap on EAAF conservation actions — interleaved with FSB’s own material. Use it as a sequence, a checklist, or a topic-finder. Gazza will assign readings as you go; this is the same map.
What you’re working with.
Six months of material, delivered digitally, supplemented by personal trips to the shoreline. Every Steward works from the same material. There is one course.
The Program
How the course works as a whole: the training cycle, the two complementary modes for engaging with the material, what you’ll be able to do at the end.
Open the Program →Course Materials
The catalogue of readings, charts, and field tools. Each item is either available now or in preparation, with delivery status marked.
Open Course Materials →The Resources orbit
Eight topic constellations — Foundations, In the Field, The Big Picture, Australia & the Bay, Watch & Listen, Printable Charts, For Curious Minds, How Bird Bodies Work. Click a satellite, open its readings.
Open the Resources →The Annotated Bibliography
The deep scholarly reference. Every peer-reviewed paper the program rests on, annotated with what it says and why it matters at the waterline. Grouped by jurisdiction. The anchor for the units below.
Open the Bibliography →The Field Tools
ShorelineWatch (the public-tier walk-up record), FlagWatch (the trained-Steward flag-reading and Encounter Notes tool), and DuskWatch (the Terek Sandpiper pilot study).
Open the Tools →Gazza
The AI Teacher’s Aide for enrolled Stewards. Online 24/7, expert mode, for six months. He reads your records before he answers, sets you readings as the work asks, debriefs your field visits.
Introducing Gazza →Six topics, in order.
The six units below take their topical shape from Ng et al. (2026), which identifies six categories of human-disturbance intervention at EAAF sites and asks which are backed by published evidence of effectiveness. Each unit pairs the Ng frame with FSB’s own material and points at the field practice that records the topic.
Before any of the Ng topics, the Reader’s literacy: tide, light, substrate, species, behaviour, disturbance pressure, what’s working at the roost and what isn’t. The unit that everything else sits on.
FSB material
- Foundations constellation
- About ShorelineWatch
- The Birds — species recognition
Field practice
- ShorelineWatch sessions
- Read the tide before each visit
- Submit the record even when nothing notable happens
What you’ll be able to do
Read a flock without disturbing it. Distinguish a natural event from a human-caused one. Record both with context.
FSB material
- Ng (2026) Steward observation prompt
- Existing site signage at Kakadu Beach, Toorbul, Buckleys Hole
Field practice
- FlagWatch Encounter Note — type: Signage interaction
- Note the pattern, not just the count
- Distinguish read-and-proceed from read-and-respond
What you’ll record
The gap between people reading the signage and people changing what they do. The descriptive record — what the visitor said or did next — not an evaluation.
FSB material
- In the Field constellation
- Weston et al. (2012) FID review on background reading
- Species-differentiated FID distances — dog 200m, human 75m, drone 150–200m
Field practice
- FlagWatch Encounter Note — types: FID briefing given, Misconception observed
- Deliver the briefing as ecology, not as judgement
What you’ll record
How a briefing lands — what the person said, what they did next. The descriptive outcome, not an assessment of whether they were “changed.”
FSB material
- Australia & the Bay constellation
- Kakadu Beach Constructed Roost site materials
- BIEPA roost protection context
Field practice
- FlagWatch Encounter Note — type: Restricted-area crossing
- Distinguish unaware from unconcerned
What you’ll record
Who crosses the rope or sign, at what time of tide, and whether they didn’t see the boundary or saw it and proceeded.
FSB material
- In the Field constellation
- Site geometry materials — roost-trail relationships
- Edney et al. (2022) practitioner framework on background reading
Field practice
- FlagWatch Encounter Note — type: Trail straying
- Note what draws walkers off-trail — view, photo angle, shortcut
What you’ll record
Whether walkers stay on trail, where they drift toward, and what the drift suggests for site design.
FSB material
- For Curious Minds constellation
- Parallel programs section on background reading
- Waterline Scripts — in preparation
Field practice
- FlagWatch Encounter Note — type: Community contact
- Note who’s regularly at the bay, who already knows about the birds
What you’ll record
The conversations that happened. Who’s at the bay regularly, what they already know, and what they’d know if given the chance.
Some Stewards know from the start that interpreting at the waterline is for them. Some find it grows on them once the birds are familiar and a conversation opens up. Some never want it, and that’s fine. Reading is the foundation; interpreting is a personal choice, not a stage in a ladder. Use Gazza as a sounding board on this if it helps.