Our recent screening of OCEAN with David Attenborough, hosted by Dolphin Research Australia | Ocean Education & Conservation, brought together a passionate audience united by one clear message: our oceans matter — and they need stronger protection.

 From Inspiration to Action

The evening went beyond awareness. Attendees learned how they can be part of the solution — from supporting marine sanctuary campaigns to getting involved in citizen science and local conservation through the Byron Tweed Hope Spot Ocean Champion Program.

Following the screening, our community came together in a powerful show of support — standing side by side holding signs calling to “Save Our Sanctuaries” and backing the urgent need to protect at least 30% of our oceans by 2030 (30×30).

This event formed part of a statewide series of screenings across New South Wales — including at Parliament — calling for stronger marine protection. Together, these events are amplifying a clear and growing public voice for improved and expanded marine sanctuaries.

These grassroots actions are critical to driving real change.

Why It Matters

Marine sanctuaries are one of the most effective tools we have to protect ocean biodiversity, restore ecosystems, and safeguard critical habitats for dolphins, whales and other marine life.

Yet many areas remain under-protected — and community support is essential to drive stronger protections.

A heartfelt thank you to everyone who joined us and stood up for our oceans.

Together, we are building momentum for change — and showing that local communities can help shape a healthier future for our blue planet.

Together, we can turn the tide.

Enjoy stalls and information from local ocean protection organisations, be inspired by some incredible films and talks from ocean experts with a Q&A Panel with some very special guests, enjoy music and fun ocean theme activities!

We will have our  marine discovery station set up,where you can learn about the local marine biodiversity of the Byron Bay Hope Spot and help in a citizen science microplastic survey of our local beaches. We will also have a workshop stall where you can turn surfboard manufacturing waste into a usable and personalised object for your home! With more workshops to be announced!

There will be face painting & special kids activities where they can learn about the wonders of nature.

There’s also great prizes to be won! Including your chance to WIN a surfboard from Joel Fitzgerald!

This event is organised and brought to you by:
Dolphin Research Australia, Surfing to Survive & Surfers for Climate

The Hope Spot marine discovery station, Q&A Panel, and surfboard waste to useful household object activity is part of our Byron Bay Hope Spot Ocean Champions Program supported by Patagonia 1% for the Planet program and Splendour in the Grass Community Grants.

For more information & tickets, head to our Humanitix Future Blue Fest page HERE

Read more about our Ocean Champion program.

Over 20 attendees helped to clean-up around the Fishery Creek Boat Harbour in West Ballina, and over 1890 pieces of trash, weighing 174kg! The items were documented to provide important data about sources of waste, with plastic packaging and pieces being the most common, as well as fishing debris, rope and cigarette butts.

The afternoon was spent at Australian Seabird and Turtle Rescue (ASTR) where attendees heard about our Healthy Waterways-Healthy Dolphins project work and progress in the Richmond River from our own Dr Liz Hawkins. We also heard from Professor Kirsten Benkendorff about her fascinating, and slightly terrifying, work on pollutants and oysters and the research findings of her team at Southern Cross University. ASTR’s Amanda Philp also shared some insight into how local wildlife such as seabirds and turtles are impacted by plastic pollution & fishing debris on the river. Attendees learnt about the many generations of bottlenose dolphins who call the Richmond River home, as well as about the 21 potentially harmful chemicals (primarily herbicides and pesticides) found in oysters along the waterway.

Local organisations Ozfish Unlimited (who supported the event through their Keep It Clean campaign) and Richmond Riverkeeper also shared their current projects to restore dolphin and fish habitat and regenerate the river. This involved many exciting community projects such as bringing back local oyster populations using ROBs (Robust Oyster Baskets) and hardy local oyster subspecies, working with traditional custodians, riparian restoration, tackling litter, citizen science and creating river and waterway custodians in our community.

Each one of us can be an Ocean Champion and make a difference to improve the health of our Richmond River. From reducing plastic waste, using earth friendly herbicides, pesticides and cleaning products, to picking up litter, it all makes a difference! Here’s a few ways we can help:

• Support local organisations (volunteer or donate) like Dolphin Research Australia, Ozfish Unlimited & Richmond Riverkeepers
• Shop organic and avoid heavily sprayed foods
• Be mindful of your own chemical use at home, in gardens & agriculture
• Pick up rubbish on our riverbanks & coasts
• Be a custodian for our waterways
• Advocate for better regulation of agricultural chemical use
• Restore riverbanks by planting natives
• Support community projects like oyster reef and saltmarsh restoration that help improve water quality and increase biodiversity.
• Organise community clean up events in your local area

A huge thank you to Professor Kirsten Benkendorff from Southern Cross University, Richmond River Keepers, OzFish Unlimited, Australian Seabird and Turtle Rescue and our Dolphin Research Australia team for sharing your work and helping to shed light on the issues and solutions! Additional thanks to Australian Seabird & Turtle Rescue for providing a meeting space and our funding supporters; Patagonia’s 1% for the Planet program and Splendour In The Grass via FEAT’s ‘Solar Slice’ initiative.

The Richmond River: Pollution & Solutions day was part of a series of workshops running throughout the year as part of the Byron Bay Hope Spot Ocean Champions program organised by Dolphin Research Australia supported by a grant from Patagonia’s 1% for the Planet program. The workshops each address key threats facing our marine wildlife and grass-roots actions to promote positive change and improved protection.

Despite wild weather and raging seas, Byron’s ocean loving community came out in force to document the plants, animals and fungi that inhabit our coastline. From March 8^th -17^th, hundreds of people explored the rock pools, beaches, headlands and estuaries from Brunswick Heads to Ballina in a quest to document as many species as possible. This 10-day community driven survey of marine life along our coastal waterways provides a valuable snapshot of our local biodiversity within the Byron Bay and Ballina region, particularly relevant in the face of changing climate and warming seas.

Over 67 observers made 1700 submissions to iNaturalist, an online citizen science database for flora and fauna. 647 species were identified from the marine bioblitz including 22 threatened species. Incredibly, critically endangered beach stone curlew were seen in two separate locations. Endangered species such as the hawksbill turtle, koala, day waterlily and sooty oystercatcher were also documented. There were also some incredible sightings of unique and fascinating creatures like the blue dragon nudibranch (or sea swallow), fiddler rays, bubble snails, octopus and pineapple fish.

“It was incredible to see the community getting behind this initiative and getting out there to discover different species in our salty backyard,” said Alice Forrest, Byron Bay Hope Spot Coordinator at Dolphin Research Australia, who organised the event.

“This marine bioblitz is the first of its kind here in Northern NSW and provides a much-needed open-access record of marine and coastal biodiversity in our region, the data will help to inform conservation and management decisions into the future,” said Alice.

Citizen science participant, Karin Taylor documented hundreds of sightings and said, “It was wonderful to take part and I’ve learned so much. I think that the highlight of my 10 days must be seeing so many migratory birds resting on our shores who come from faraway places like the Arctic and Shetland, Scotland… We truly must protect our precious wildlife that is under threat and create as much awareness about them as possible.”

Community events involving local organisations and businesses were held as part of the bioblitz and included presentations about local citizen science programs and networking opportunities, dolphin watching, bird watching, and a mangrove walk.

The community can continue to get involved as citizen scientists and record observations of marine life throughout the year via the Byron Bay Hope Spot project on iNaturalist.

The marine bioblitz is the first in a series of workshops running throughout the year as part of the Byron Bay Hope Spot Ocean Champions program organised by Dolphin Research Australia supported by a grant from Patagonia’s 1% for the Planet program. The workshops will each address key threats facing our marine wildlife and grass-roots actions to promote positive change and improved protection.

The Bioblitz was just the beginning, and anyone can be involved in citizen science in the future through the ongoing iNaturalist group Byron Bay Hope Spot. If you’d like to be part of documenting our local marine species and helping us to understand more about our incredible coastal wildlife then just sign up to iNaturalist and join the group to add your submissions!

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