Eco Barge Clean Seas Inc. was established in Airlie Beach to engage the community to protect the precious marine life and aquatic environment of the Whitsunday Region.
This was initially undertaken with the Whitsunday Marine Debris Removal Program to remove marine debris from the highly impacted beaches of the Whitsunday Islands. It now also includes reducing the amount of debris that enters our waterways through the Clean Streets and Creeks Program as well as responding and caring for sick and injured marine turtles at the Whitsunday Turtle Rescue Centre and recycling the marine debris collected and transforming into reusable products.
Eco Barge also undertakes education and awareness activities within the community concerning the issue of marine debris, the importance of thoughtful waste disposal and what should be done in the event that a sick or injured marine turtle is encountered.
Eco Barge Clean Seas Inc. is a not-for-profit organisation with a passionate and dedicated committee, 55 members and a register of over 1600 volunteers.
If you find an injured animal, remember that it is wild – probably suffering from shock and in pain – MINIMAL HANDLING is a must to avoid additional stress.
You can be a wildlife carer simply by caring for our native wildlife’s habitat. We have some tips on our website so that you can be a backyard buddy. 
We are all stakeholders in our community and we believe that it is important to think about and discuss local issues in a mature and inclusive manner. We should not be afraid of change and development in Airlie: the town has changed and grown significantly over the past 10 years but future growth needs to be carefully planned and managed.
We believe that future development must not lose sight of the qualities that make Airlie Beach what it is. Airlie Beach is a community that relies heavily on tourism and visitors come to the region because it’s different to other destinations, not because it’s trying to be the same. The architects of the future Airlie Beach township should be seeking to build on these strengths – not to recreate the past mistakes of other regions.
Mackay and District Turtle Watch Association is a volunteer group dedicated to monitoring and protecting marine turtles across the Mackay region.
Mangrove Watch was set up over 15 years ago to monitor local mangrove forests over the long-term. This is done by measuring the growth and productivity of selected sites on a quarterly basis. The data collected is used to determine the current health of the mangroves as well as highlight any problems caused by human impact. Many of the volunteers are kids from the local primary and high schools.
Tangaroa Blue Foundation is an Australian-wide not-for-profit organisation dedicated to the removal and prevention of marine debris, one of the major environmental issues worldwide.
What do Indian Myna birds look like?
Design and create an enriching and engaging space for people to gather to grow food and reconnect with where food comes from and each other. Be an example to the community to include species suited to growing in our tropical climate. Educate the community about organic gardening practices, permaculture and other regenerative gardening practices that encourage and use environmentally friendly methods. Be active in holding working bees to complete larger projects. Facilitate workshops to include composting, cooking/preparing tropical species, organic gardening, permaculture, natural building methods, bee keeping etc.
Whitsunday Seagrass Volunteers are a local volunteer citizen science group, active since 1998, who monitor the health of seagrass habitats in the Whitsunday region. We collect scientifically valid data using the Seagrass Watch methodology. The data that we collect goes into the Seagrass Watch Global Monitoring Database, which is available for researchers and managers to use. Our data also contributes to the annual Healthy Rivers to Reef Regional Report Cards.
At present we monitor 3 sites in the Whitsunday Region twice per year, over 3 consecutive days every May and September. The dates of monitoring activities are determined by the tides; we conduct the monitoring by walking out to the meadow on very low tides. The activity usually takes a couple of hours, plus travel time. All equipment is provided and our regular volunteers will show you what to do. If you’d like to get involved, all you need to bring along is your curiosity, some closed shoes that you can get wet & muddy, and a water bottle.