Calling all citizen scientists!
Published on 18 December 2025
Community members are being encouraged to help monitor the health of Panalatinga and Serpentine Creeks through a new initiative that turns everyday walkers into citizen scientists.
As part of the Urban Creek Resilience and Recovery Project – funded by an Australian Government Urban Rivers and Catchments Program grant – 15 permanent photo stands have been installed along the 5.3km creek corridors.
Each stand includes a QR code that lets visitors take and upload images, contributing to a growing visual record of seasonal and environmental changes.
City of Onkaparinga’s Nature Conservation Project Officer Nikola Manos, who developed the concept, said the idea was inspired by global examples showing the power of long-term visual monitoring.
“As part of the grant reporting requirements, we need to track how the creeks change over 5 years, and show how the project has helped the community to connect with nature,” she said. “A picture can show what words can’t – thousands of photos will tell a story of transformation over time.”
Installed between August and September 2025, the photo stands complement other creek monitoring including water quality testing, weed mapping and wildlife surveys. Together, they help build a clearer picture of how these waterways respond to restoration works.
The creeks currently face challenges common to urban environments, such as ageing concrete channels, vegetation loss, weed invasion, erosion, silt build-up and localised flooding. The aim of the broader Urban Creek Resilience and Recovery Project is to address these issues through more natural construction methods and habitat restoration.
“We hope to see healthier water, more frogs, waterbugs and fish, and maybe even the return of species that have disappeared from the area,” Nikola said. “It would be amazing to spot a Short-beaked echidna or a Sacred kingfisher along these creeks again.”
The initiative has already attracted interest from local schools, Scouts groups and regular trail users. About 500 photos have been uploaded so far, with the Serpentine Creek bridge near Banff Court, Happy Valley, emerging as the most popular location.
“One of the strengths of this project is accessibility,” Nikola said. “Anyone with a smartphone can be part of it. After a big storm, it would be amazing if regular walkers could capture the high flows so we can see how the creek responds.”
Although the photo-point program is not planned to expand to other locations beyond the nominated creek corridors, it will continue to support the 5-year restoration effort at Panalatinga and Serpentine.
The Urban Creek Resilience and Recovery projects is restoring waterway health and enhancing the natural environment along Panalatinga Creek, Serpentine Creek, Sauerbier Creek, and Homestead Creek, as well as some of their tributaries in the suburbs of Happy Valley, O’Halloran Hill, Reynella East, Old Reynella, Woodcroft, and Aberfoyle Park. Learn more at Your Say Onkaparinga.