Community Appreciation of Moreton Bay

Moreton Bay Quandamooka is a culturally rich and unique biodiversity hotspot. Population growth and development have long placed increased pressure on the Bay’s natural systems, and continue to do so. Support from an informed community that understood and appreciate the Bay’s exceptional values has been recognised as essential to effecting positive change and improving stewardship.

An important step toward change has been to identify how members of the community understood and appreciated Moreton Bay. Community understanding and appreciation of the diverse values of Moreton Bay – pathways to strengthen community appreciation for Moreton Bay’s natural and cultural heritage examined the community’s understanding of the Bay and its willingness to take action to protect it.

Investigators used quantitative and qualitative research approaches to identify gaps in understanding and the social factors influencing stewardship across different community segments. The project also developed tools for use in future awareness and stewardship campaigns. The Marine Protected Area Policy Unit of the Department of Environment and Science expressed interest in using the resulting data to inform the Moreton Bay Marine Park review and strategy development.

The Community Appreciation project was led by Dr Angela Dean, with participation from Professor Helen Ross, both of The University of Queensland, and Dr Paul Maxwell, environmental scientist and Adjunct Senior Fellow at Griffith University, General Manager of EcoFutures, and Research Manager at Alluvium.

Data collection was supported through an existing partnership between Dr Dean and Healthy Land & Water. At the time, Dr Dean managed the annual social survey for Healthy Land & Water’s social monitoring program, providing an opportunity to build on the existing survey platform to collect the new data.

This is one of two related projects providing information about how Moreton Bay users and the broader community appreciate and understand the unique natural and cultural values of Moreton Bay. This insight helps TMBF and Bay managers engage purposefully with the community and work together to ensure sustainable use of the Bay. The second project– Recreational Boater Use and Values –is also available.