Sea Spurge Remote Area Teams (SPRATS) is an environment care group founded in 2007, using a volunteer adventure conservation model. The initial primary purpose of the group, made up of a number of teams, is to remove the invasive sea spurge flowering plant. The group was founded by Dr Jon Marsden-Smedley, a research fellow at the

University of Tasmania The University of Tasmania (UTAS) is a public research university, primarily located in Tasmania, Australia. Founded in 1890, it is Australia's fourth oldest university. Christ College, one of the university's residential colleges, first prop ...

's School of Geography and Environmental Studies. As of 2017, SPRATS have removed over 14 million plants. It is regarded as the "way of the future for community conservation" by the Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife Service.

Motivation

Sea spurge has a toxic sap, and critically the plant changes the shape and ecology of the coastal dunes, pushing out shore nesting birds, and also negatively impacting Aboriginal heritage sites. The Tasmanian target area is a key area for the

hooded plover The hooded dotterel or hooded plover (''Thinornis cucullatus'') is a species of bird in the family Charadriidae. It is endemic to southern Australia, where it inhabits ocean beaches and subcoastal lagoons. There are two recognised subspecies whi ...

pied oystercatcher The pied oystercatcher (''Haematopus longirostris'') is a species of oystercatcher. It is a wading bird native to Australia and commonly found on its coastline. The similar South Island pied oystercatcher (''H. finschi'') occurs in New Zealand. ...

, and

sooty oystercatcher The sooty oystercatcher (''Haematopus fuliginosus'') is a species of oystercatcher. It is a wading bird endemic to Australia and commonly found on its coastline. It prefers rocky coastlines, but will occasionally live in estuaries. All of its fea ...

. It is also a key feeding zone for the migrating

orange-bellied parrot The orange-bellied parrot (''Neophema chrysogaster'') is a small parrot endemic to southern Australia, and one of only three species of parrot that migrate. It was described by John Latham in 1790. A small parrot around long, it exhibits sex ...

. The

little tern The little tern (''Sternula albifrons'') is a seabird of the family Laridae. It was formerly placed into the genus ''Sterna'', which now is restricted to the large white terns. The genus name is a diminutive of '' Sterna'', "tern". The specific ' ...

is also adversely affected.

Objectives

SPRATS aimed to establish and maintain an eradication zone for sea spurge (''Euphorbia paralias'') and

marram grass ''Ammophila'' (synonymous with ''Psamma'' P. Beauv.) is a genus of flowering plants consisting of two or three very similar species of grasses. The common names for these grasses include marram grass, bent grass, and beachgrass. These grasses ar ...

(''Ammophila arenaria'') along of southwest and southern

Tasmanian ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

coastline from

Macquarie Harbour Macquarie Harbour is a shallow fjord in the West Coast region of Tasmania, Australia. It is approximately , and has an average depth of , with deeper places up to . It is navigable by shallow-draft vessels. The main channel is kept clear by th ...

to Cockle Creek. The initial programme had a 10 year duration.

Achievements and awards

In 2009 SPRATS received the Tasmanian Award for Environmental Excellence in the Community section. In the first 3 years to 2010, 80 volunteers had contributed 2000 person days, removing 3 million sea spurge plants. As of June 2010, SPRATS expect to have cleared sea spurge from 90% of the shore between Strahan and Cockle Creek, 25% of Tasmania's coast. Another SPRATS group is operating on the east coast of Tasmania. The SPRATS approach is also used in northern Tasmania on King Island. SPRATS have also worked on Tasmanian islands. By 2015 the partnership between SPRATS and the Tasmanian Parks & Wildlife Service had resulted in nearly 14 million plants have been removed, mainly by hand. In 2017, after 11 years, SPRATS have removed over 14 million plants. For their work the group has been awarded a Froggatt Award by the Invasive Species Council. As of January 2017, empowering bushwalking volunteers adventurers who also want to contribute to the environment, has turned $223,000 worth of state and federal government grants into $1.4 million worth of volunteer labour. SPRATS has also eradicated the few blackberry infestations found along the coastline, monitored for other weeds, recorded information on rare and threatened shorebird species, for example,

fairy tern The fairy tern (''Sternula nereis'') is a small tern which is native to the southwestern Pacific. It is listed as " Vulnerable" by the IUCN and the New Zealand subspecies is " Critically Endangered". There are three subspecies: * Australian fai ...

red-capped plover The red-capped plover (''Charadrius ruficapillus''), also known as the red-capped dotterel, is a small species of plover. It breeds in Australia. This species is closely related to (and sometimes considered conspecific with) the Kentish plover, ...

, and

, and Aboriginal cultural sites, for example,

petroglyphs A petroglyph is an image created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, or abrading, as a form of rock art. Outside North America, scholars often use terms such as "carving", "engraving", or other descriptions ...

, stone arrangements,

middens A midden (also kitchen midden or shell heap) is an old dump for domestic waste which may consist of animal bone, human excrement, botanical material, mollusc shells, potsherds, lithics (especially debitage), and other artifacts and ecofac ...

, and hut sites, and the usage of the area by other users. The estimated reduction in

clumps is over 95%. The SPRATS model of: * careful planning * community engagement * agency partnership has demonstrated and proven a highly successfully means of weed eradication in areas of difficult access. It is regarded as the "way of the future for community conservation" by the Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife Service. The SPRATS have been so successful that the concept is being generalised into adventure volunteering. Activity has also been organised to remove other infestations, for example

blackberry The blackberry is an edible fruit produced by many species in the genus ''Rubus'' in the family Rosaceae, hybrids among these species within the subgenus ''Rubus'', and hybrids between the subgenera ''Rubus'' and ''Idaeobatus''. The taxonomy ...

infestations. More broadly, adventure volunteering, or adventure conservation, is a very successful form of citizen science.

Formation and structure

SPRATS was formed as an outcome of a survey in 2006 and of a pilot programme undertaken in 2007 to support the Tasmanian Beach Weeds Strategy 2003. SPRATS are a group consisting of volunteers, and is part of the Tasmanian environmental organisation, Wildcare. Risk to volunteers is managed by their careful selection, operations safety assessments, and communications support. Predeployment briefings and postdeployment debriefings are held. Logistics costs are covered by

Australian Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Government ...

grants and by Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife Service operating funding. Other groups and organisations actively support and contribute personnel to SPRATS. Volunteers typically pay their own way to predeployment staging areas, and utilise their own personal time to contribute. Site access by teams is on foot. Remote area volunteers are deployed by helicopter, boat, or fixed-wing aircraft. Trips vary from eight days to three weeks. On the longer hauls food drops are used so that the volunteers only have to carry one week’s worth of supplies, they also have to bring their own hiking and camping gear. A day typically includes four to six hours of weeding, with the rest of the time left for birdwatching, snorkelling, exploring or just relaxing.

Science and methodology

A feature of the SPRATS work is the supporting science and formal processes. The volunteers: * collect information on site location, the weeds removed, time taken to weed sites * research the most effective treatment method, for example, based on plant maturity and seeding times Detailed maps of work sites and routes are prepared prior to deployment and GPS programmed. Optimisation of base camping and excursions has occurred for both new areas and for follow up treatment.

References

{{reflist , refs= {{cite web , url=http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2010/06/18/2931001.htm , title=Taking adventure weeding to the world , publisher=ABC Northern Tasmania , access-date=17 June 2017 , date=18 June 2010 , first=Richard , last=Pree {{cite web , url=http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/breakfast/volunteers-receive-award-for-work-removing-invasive-species/8228512 , title=Volunteers receive award for work removing invasive species , publisher=ABC RN Breakfast , access-date=17 June 2017 , date=1 February 2017 {{cite web , url=http://www.willowwarriors.org.au/adventure-conservation/120-tasmania-wilderness-sea-spurge-program-sprats , title=Tasmania Wilderness Sea Spurge Program - SPRATS , publisher=Willow Warriors , access-date=17 June 2017 , date=27 February 2017 A sample of other groups actively contributing to SPRATS: * Melbourne University Mountaineering Club {{cite web , url=https://www.mumc.org.au/trips/490-sprats-weeding-on-the-tasmanian-south-west-coast , title=SPRATS - Weeding on the Tasmanian South West Coast , publisher=Melbourne University Mountaineering Club , access-date=18 June 2017 , date=13 August 2012 , first=Allex , last=T * Birthday Bay Track Conservation Group {{cite web , url=http://www.landcaretas.org.au/birthdaybaytrackconservationgroup , title=Birthday Bay Track Conservation Group , publisher=Landcare Tasmania , access-date=18 June 2017 {{cite web , url=http://www.parks.tas.gov.au/index.aspx?sys=News%20Article&intID=3386 , title=An 'impossible' challenge accomplished by wilderness weed warriors , publisher=Tasmanian Parks & Wildlife Service , access-date=18 June 2017 , date=12 March 2015 {{cite web , url=http://dpipwe.tas.gov.au/Documents/DPIPWE-Sea-Spurge-Guidelines.pdf , title=Weed Management Guide - Sea Spurge (''Euphorbia paralias'') , publisher=Tasmanian Parks & Wildlife Service , access-date=18 June 2017 {{cite web , url=http://www.tasmaniantimes.com/index.php/pr-article/adventure-weeders-protect-tasmanias-entire-southwest-wilderness-coast-from- , title=Adventure weeders protect Tasmania’s entire southwest wilderness coast from alien invaders , publisher=Tasmanian Times , access-date=18 June 2017 , date=1 January 2010 , first=Geoff , last=Luscombe {{cite web , url=http://www.kingisland.tas.gov.au/webdata/resources/files/WKGDRAFTSea_Spurge_Management_Plan_for_King_Island.pdf , title=Sea Spurge Management Plan for King Island, Tasmania , publisher= King Island Natural Resource Management Group Inc , access-date=18 June 2017 , date=2010 {{cite web , url=https://invasives.org.au/blog/tasmania-sea-spurge-threat/ , title=Wilderness adventurers clean out Tasmania’s sea spurge threat , publisher=Invasive Species Council , access-date=18 June 2017 , date=12 January 2017 , first=Jonathan , last=Marsden-Smedley {{cite web , url=http://aciucn.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/29_Mooney.pdf , title=Community involvement in the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area , publisher=The Australian Committee for IUCN , access-date=18 June 2017 , date=29 September 2015 , first=Peter , last=Mooney {{cite web , url=http://www.themercury.com.au/news/tasmania/west-coast-weeding-war-14-million-weeds-in-nine-years/news-story/8b24615568629181bbcfeb29bdc09c19 , title=West Coast weeding war: 14 million weeds in nine years , work=The Mercury , publisher=News Corp , access-date=18 June 2017 , date=18 March 2015 , first=Bruce , last=Mounster {{cite web , url=http://epa.tas.gov.au/sustainability-site/Pages/2009-Tasmanian-Awards-for-Environmental-Excellence-Winners.aspx , title=2009 Tasmanian Awards for Environmental Excellence Winners , publisher=Tasmanian Environment Protection Authority , access-date=18 June 2017 , date=5 June 2009 {{cite web , url=http://islandarks.com.au/files/2014/01/State-of-Tasmanias-Islands.pdf , title=Tasmania: State of the islands , publisher=Tasmanian Land Conservancy , access-date=18 June 2017 , date=2014 , first=Sally , last=Bryant

External links

SPRATS official site

WildCare Tasmania official site
Volunteer organizations Environmental volunteering Volunteering in Australia 2007 establishments in Australia