Seagrass Flower Collection

Next date: Saturday, 24 October 2026 | 07:30 AM to 04:30 PM

CQUniversity is calling on community volunteers to collect seagrass flowers from Pelican Banks in Gladstone.

Calling All Ocean Lovers:

No matter your age – we’re calling on members of the Gladstone community to help collect seagrass flowering shoots!

Join CQUniversity's Coastal Marine Ecosystems Research Centre (CMERC) in making a difference to progress global seagrass research and to restore your local seagrass meadow

Where?

South End, Curtis Island, via the Curtis Ferry.

When?

Saturday 24 October 2026

Meeting time is 07:30am at Coastal Marine Ecosystems Research Centre, 213 Alf O'Rourke Drive, Callemondah.

We will walk over to catch the Curtis Ferry Service to Pelican Banks (tickets will be on us for all registered participants).

On arrival, spend the morning exploring the island at your own leisure.

We will meet up again at 12:30pm at the meeting point and head down onto the meadow.

You’ll come back on the afternoon ferry service, departing Curtis Island at 03:30pm, arriving back in Gladstone around 04:30pm.

What to bring?

Long sleeve shirt and pants,
Sun protection (hat, sunscreen, sunglasses),
Water bottle,
Shoes/wet suit boots that can get wet (and muddy),
A snack or lunch for yourself, and
Your best flower spotters.

What do I do?

Meet us at our CMERC facilities, 213 Alf O'Rourke Drive, register and head next door to the Curtis Island Ferry. We will pay for your ticket and board for the ride across the harbour.

Our CQUniversity CMERC team of scientists will deliver a talk and give you an introduction to seagrass and flower collection on the ferry ride over.

When you arrive on Curtis Island, you will have free time to explore the island! Have a look around Curtis Island, grab a bite to eat and prepare for the picking!

We will let you know what time we will meet back up before heading down to the seagrass meadows.

When the time comes, meet up at the meeting point! Our CMERC team of scientists will meet back up with you and will be on-hand to answer any of your questions. When the tide is right, we'll go get picking!

Why are we doing this?

Multiple pressures affect the health of seagrass ecosystems, which may result in the decline and fragmentation of seagrasses across a meadow.

We will be collecting seagrass flowers to obtain seagrass seeds for:

Experiments aimed at optimising seed transition into resilient adult plants;
Increasing seagrass abundance and genetic variability in our large-scale seagrass restoration nursery;
Conducting restoration experiments to investigate how to upscale and increase the effectiveness of current seagrass restoration methods.

This event is proudly supported by SANTOS GLNG.