Amy Slocombe – Page 11 – Australian Citizen Science Association

04Sep 2019 by Amy Slocombe No Comments

Nominate for a role on the ACSA Committee!

It's an election year for ACSA, which means that ACSA Members are eligible to nominate for a position on our Management Committee! We have two General Member positions coming up in November. We are looking for motivated, enthusiastic people who have a little bit of time available to dedicate to growing ACSA and helping us achieve our strategic goals. Skills or experience in fundraising, grant writing, graphic design and/or Wordpress would be advantageous! And the perks are that you get to work with a group of motivated citizen science lovers and shape the future direction of ACSA! For more information about what being on the Management Committee entails, please refer to our Terms of Reference. If you would like to nominate, please click here to access the nomination form. Nominations…

04Sep 2019 by Amy Slocombe No Comments

Tell us more – updating your ACSA member profile

ACSA development, Engaging citizens

Two of the key findings from the Member Survey we conducted last year are: people are seeking a community through ACSA, and members are most interested in exchanging knowledge & experiences, and building a professional network. To help facilitate these wishes, we've expanded the 'My ACSA Profile' section on our website and invite you to enter additional information about yourself and your citizen science experience / engagement. We hope that this will help foster that sense of community and enable you to learn more about other members interests and skill sets, which may help achieve that goal of building a professional network. This information will only visible to other ACSA members who are logged in to the membership portal. We are also working on a search function, which we hope,…

04Sep 2019 by Amy Slocombe No Comments

Get that job! CV & Cover Letter tips and tricks

Communication & promotion, Education

I want that job. What should my CV look like? What do I include in my cover letter? Presenting an exclusive opportunity for ACSA members only, this training will help you understand what Government and other employers are looking for when reviewing job applications. Presented by our Chair Erin and Vice-Chair Stephanie, who between them have 26 years' experience in the government sector, you will learn how to best structure, format and present your CV and cover letter to give you the best chance of being selected for interview. Sound good? Please register your interest and we'll contact you with further details soon. Not yet a member? You can sign up here!

20Aug 2019 by Amy Slocombe No Comments

Rise of the citizen scientist: ACSA Chair featured in Sydney Morning Herald

Communication & promotion

"With the growing need for scientific data and the barrier to entry lower than ever, researchers are increasingly turning to citizen science to help drive their projects" ACSA Chair Erin Roger featured in an excellent article by the Brisbane Times on August 19, about the rise of citizen science and the increasing movement toward using people power to drive research. The article was then picked up by The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age! The message is spreading. You can read the full article here.

12Aug 2019 by Amy Slocombe No Comments

How Cooloola Coastcare hatched Cooloola TurtleCare with a seed grant from the Australian Citizen Science Association

Blogs, Collaboration & partnerships, Communication & promotion

By Lindy Orwin, Cooloola Coastcare Worldwide, marine turtles are at risk. But on the Cooloola Coast in the Gympie region of Queensland, where several endangered, vulnerable and threatened species (including the green, loggerhead, hawksbill and flatback turtles) live, there are some extra challenges. This is an area of dynamic sand movement and many 4WD tourist vehicles use the beach daily, especially during school holidays, because the beach is a gazetted ‘road’. Young hatchlings whose nests survive the king tides and storm surge of the crazy Queensland storms, have to run the gauntlet to survive. The Cooloola Coast turtle breeding beaches urgently need monitoring and the community needs education about marine turtle behaviour if the turtles trying to nest in this area are to be successful. These beaches and those to…

12Aug 2019 by Amy Slocombe No Comments

SA Science Excellence Awards – congratulations Philip!

Communication & promotion, Meetings and Events

A huge congratulations to our former Chair, Dr. Philip Roetman, who on Friday 9 August was awarded the "Unsung Hero of Science Communication" at the South Australian Science Excellence Awards. Dr Roetman founded Discovery Circle, a major citizen science initiative based out of the University of South Australia, which delivered projects to understand certain animal species. He was one of the driving forces behind last years #CitSciOz18 Conference and continues to be an active and valuable member of our South Australian Chapter. Watch  Congratulations Philip on a well deserved award.

09Aug 2019 by Amy Slocombe No Comments

Member Spotlight: Tess Hayes

Blogs

Name: Tess Hayes Role: Masters student; Vice Chair - ACSA Victoria; formally Citizen Science Officer, EPA Victoria Citizen Science Program How long have you been an ACSA member?: Since December 2017 Why did you join ACSA?: I have always been extremely grateful for the community that exists among citizen science practitioners. There is a willingness to collaborate, to share ideas and come together with a solution focus to unpack common challenges that confront citizen science projects. I joined ACSA in late 2017 in order to attend the upcoming conference. After being involved for a while in an informal citizen science group in Victoria, it seemed a logical next step in widening my citizen science circle. What do you love about citizen science?: The thing I love most about citizen science projects…

05Aug 2019 by Amy Slocombe 2 Comments

Seed Grants 2019 – Call for applications!

Collaboration & partnerships, Communication & promotion

What’s in it for you? $1000 to seed your professional development or your project’s growth. Exposure for your project and/or organisation. Motivation to initiate something you have always wanted to do. Quick and easy application process (online application form). ACSA is excited to announce our second round of Seed Grants. As a way of giving back and investing in our members we are offering grants of $1000 each to two ACSA members to seed their professional growth or their project’s growth. Last year, three ACSA members won ACSA Seed Grants: Jodi Salmond of Reef Check Australia – Life coaching to work more effectively with volunteers Geetha Ortac of Bellingen Riverwatch – Printing of training manuals Dr Lindy Orwin of Cooloola Turtlecare – Training of a certified carer Could you be…

05Aug 2019 by Amy Slocombe 2 Comments

Engaging and Retaining those elusive volunteers…

Blogs, Collaboration & partnerships, Communication & promotion, Education, Engaging citizens

By Jodi Salmond, Reef Check Australia Volunteer engagement and retention have long been an issue for the not for profit sector. Organisations reliant on unpaid workers have substantial investments in time, training, and financial input, as well as an ongoing mentoring/upskilling programs to ensure volunteers feel both valued and supported, in addition to having the right skills to conduct the tasks required of them. Despite this, some volunteers still cancel last minute, or cease to show up at all- leaving organisers stretched, frustrated, and unable to meet funding milestones. We all invest a lot in all our volunteers. I believe that overall, we are great at supporting them; we train them, we guide them, we answer their questions, we thank them for, validate their efforts and make sure everyone feels…

05Aug 2019 by Amy Slocombe No Comments

Quality training manuals thanks to ACSA grant

Blogs, Collaboration & partnerships

By Geeta Ortac, Bellingen Riverwatch I still remember the excitement when I saw the email from ACSA announcing an opportunity for a small grant. The timing couldn’t be better! Bellingen Riverwatch was gaining momentum and we really needed support to print out some good quality copies of our volunteer training manual. Bellingen Riverwatch is a water quality monitoring citizen science project supporting recovery actions for the critically endangered Bellingen River Snapping turtle (Myuchelys georgesi). These manuals were incredibly important as they served as an ongoing reference and training guide for our volunteers. The manuals aided data collection and ensured volunteer safety at sites. As the manuals were intended for frequent use (mostly in outdoor settings), it was recommended that they should be printed and bounded with good quality materials to…

Author: Amy Slocombe