Volunteers honoured for commitment to dolphins

Almost 600 volunteers monitor the Swan Canning Riverpark’s dolphins but the two local volunteers were among four honoured at a special ceremony.

Swan River Trust River Guardians program manager Marnie Giroud said the two Mt Pleasant volunteers had made an invaluable contribution.

Ms Klessens received the 2013 Chief Scientist’s Citizen Scientist Award and Ms Harper was named the Dolphin Watch Photographer of the Year.

Ms Klessens was handpicked because of the detail in her reports.

‘Trudy’s reports not only contained presence and absence data, but she always went a step further to include information on weather conditions, dolphin behaviour and whether people were present,’ Ms Giroud said.

‘Ms Harper has been reporting for the project since 2010 and has often accompanied her reports with dolphin photos. In the last couple of years, Susan has honed her photography skills and has provided some fantastic photos for the project.’