Underwater seaweed forests are disappearing at alarming rates from many subtropical and temperate reefs around the world, including the Sunshine Coast, where seaweed forests disappeared due to coastal development. Just like land forests, seaweed forests provide critical habitat and food to many fish, produce oxygen, and draw down carbon dioxide. The loss of seaweed forests has severe environmental, economic, and social impacts. Restoring seaweed forests could help address climate change through carbon draw-down and increase the resilience of marine ecosystems via biodiversity enhancement.

Most young people are experiencing some level of ‘eco-anxiety’ or ‘ecological grief’ from the loss of habitats such as underwater forests, due to climate change and other human impacts. This grief can often motivate young people to take constructive action against climate change and other destructive processes. Ecological restoration is an example of positive action that individuals can participate in as citizen scientists to contribute to solutions and reduce their eco-anxiety.

While recruiting citizen scientists can be challenging, social media offers a way for researchers to engage with and recruit volunteers from the community and can provide novel insights into the unique contributions made by young citizen scientists. This study deployed a 2-week campaign testing various content types and platforms to ascertain which will be most successful in signing-up youth as citizen scientists for seaweed restoration purposes.