USING your selfie skills could help save local wetlands as a new citizen science project has just launched.
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Protecting lagoons is a top priority for University of New England (UNE) ecologists Dr Deborah Bower and Dr Manu Saunders.
But they need your help.
The pair are calling upon locals to snap pictures of the local ecosystems and upload them to social media to help build understanding and guide research about dynamic lagoon systems.
Photo points have set up at Dangars Lagoon near Uralla and Little Llangothlin Lagoon near Guyra, due to their highly variable and fluctuating water levels.
Dr Saunders said these lagoons were chosen because of their dynamic and fast-paced wet to dry cycles.
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"They respond very quickly to rainfall and lack of rainfall," she said.
"We want to know more about those changes."
The two lagoons are also considered endangered because they have been modified or damaged through grazing, dams or drainage.
To help the ecologists find out more, New England residents have been been given the simple task of stopping and taking a photo each time they drive past the lagoons.
Dr Bower said everyone getting involved was an important part of the project.
"Science alone won't conserve the integrity of the lagoons," Dr Bower said
"We need the community to rally behind conservation efforts to ensure these ecosystems are protected."
After snapping the picture, the photo will need to be uploaded to social media using the #dynamiclagoons hashtag.
While the photos will provide the ecologists with a visual record of the lagoon fluctuations to help with conservation research, they also hoped it would get the community to explore and appreciate the local wetlands.
"I think a lot of people might have driven past these lagoons every day and not realised how special they are," Dr Saunders said.
Both photo points include signs with all the information about how to participate and upload the photos either to social media, or for those without an account, the Dynamic Lagoons website.
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