We all want to do our part to future-proof the planet but we don’t always know where to start. Here, travel writer Jessica Wynne Lockhart hops on board Coral Expeditions’ annual Citizen Science Cruise to do her bit. As the sun set over Queensland’s coastline, I stood on the sun deck of the 72-passenger Coral Discoverer and waved goodbye.
In the distance, the Sunshine Coast’s Glass House Mountains drifted past, their silhouettes dark against the orange-pink simmer—a perfect colour match for the aperol spritz I sipped. With the bon voyage cocktail cool in my hand, it was easy to forget that the trip I was embarking on from Brisbane to Cairns wasn’t just another pleasure cruise. As a passenger on Coral Expeditions’ annual Citizen Science Cruise, I’d be spending the next 10 days learning about coral science, observing reef restoration, and helping to monitor the health of the reef at snorkel and dive sites along the way.
READ MORE: How to preserve the Great Barrier Reef for future generations Citizen science — which refers to when the general public makes observations or helps collect data for use by scientists, often submitted through apps — is far from a new concept. However, it’s only been in the last decade that it’s been more widely embraced by tour operators, who are increasingly recognising the potential of travellers to help conduct research at scale. This is particularly true for expedition cruise companies like Coral Expeditions, which frequent w.
