Amy Slocombe – Page 9 – Australian Citizen Science Association

05May 2020 by Amy Slocombe No Comments

Bushfire recovery Project Finder is live

Collaboration & partnerships, Communication & promotion

In mid-April CSIRO officially announced its partnership with ACSA and the Atlas of Living Australia in producing the Citizen Science Bushfire Project Finder. CSIRO’s Chief Executive Larry Marshall and Minister for Industry, Science and Technology Karen Andrews were both quoted in the media release with Minister Andrews reiterating her commitment to citizen science “Despite the challenges we are facing, the Australian spirit remains strong and it is obvious that our citizens are eager to do their part in the bushfire recovery process.” The Bushfire Project Finder features a geographic filter enabling users to identify available projects in their area. It can be accessed here. The media release prompted a number of media inquiries with some great publicity resulting from this work. Have a listen to ALA’s Director Andre Zerger on ABC’s Goulburn-Murray (time stamp 2.19) or ACSA Chair Erin Roger followed by the Australian Museum’s Paul Flemons on ABC…

20Apr 2020 by Amy Slocombe 4 Comments

Citizen science and COVID-19

Collaboration & partnerships

Just as ACSA responded to the bushfire crisis earlier in the year, we would also like to contribute to how the Australian community can stay positive, share experiences and contribute to science and learning in the context of COVID-19 social distancing, flattening the curve and mitigation. Doing more together While physical isolation guidelines are being implemented globally, this doesn’t mean we need to feel isolated and powerless during this challenging time. Indeed citizen science is all about the power and potential of ‘scale’ and that by working together we can do more. Many in our community are finding comfort in continuing with their daily citizen science activities and the sense of connection and purpose it provides. Whether that is recording species in our backyards, monitoring our rain gauges or helping…

20Apr 2020 by Amy Slocombe 1 Comment

Australian Citizen Science Association statement on 2019/20 bushfires

Collaboration & partnerships, Engaging citizens

The unprecedented Australian fires are devastating. They have led to the loss of lives, homes, habitats and livelihoods. Members of the Australian Citizen Science Association extend our deepest sympathies to those affected personally and also recognise the ecological grief that may be prompted by the scale of this crisis. In this time of extreme loss, we are also buoyed by the extraordinary response of individuals and communities in a time of crisis. We believe there is a role for citizen science to assist across multiple disciplines, in many research and monitoring capacities. ACSA is a member-based community that supports, informs and develops citizen science. With this in mind, we are seeking to support conversations and plans that help further connect the citizen science community to contribute to the extraordinary and…

09Apr 2020 by Amy Slocombe 1 Comment

“Join Flutracking” Prof Paul Kelly urges Australians

Collaboration & partnerships, Communication & promotion, Engaging citizens

On 6 April 2020 Professor Paul Kelly, Deputy Chief Health Officer, encouraged all Australians to join Flutracking to help track the spread of COVID-19. Following this Dr. Craig Dalton, co-ordinator of Flutracking.net reached out to ACSA and asked for our assistance in spreading this message far and wide. Participating in this citizen science project is easy, and will provide incredibly valuable information that can help us track COVID-19 and other illness in real time. Join Flutracking at https://info.flutracking.net/ and complete a simple 30 second survey once a week. Join Flutracking now.

09Apr 2020 by Amy Slocombe No Comments

City Nature Challenge is GO!

Communication & promotion, Engaging citizens

“Imagine how many species we could document if everyone in Australia just spent a few hours a day for four days documenting the biodiversity in their own backyard!” Sick of staying indoors? Have you heard about the biggest backyard bioblitz Australia has ever seen? For the first time ever the City Nature Challenge is being contested by four Australian cities. Due to COVID-19, the City Nature Challenge (Australian organisers) are also encouraging everyone in Australia to join in the fun and bioblitz their own backyards (or balconies) in the name of science! It all takes place from the 24th to 27th April inclusive, but there are also daily challenges leading up to the big event, so get the kids involved too! Please note: the iNaturalist app is rated as ages…

09Apr 2020 by Amy Slocombe No Comments

Welcome to Global CitSciMonth!

Collaboration & partnerships, Communication & promotion, Engaging citizens

Citizen Science Month offers thousands of opportunities for you to turn your curiosity into impact. There’s something for everyone, everywhere! If you are #HomeSchooling, #StayAtHome or just having a #Staycation you can join a project or event from wherever you are to help scientists answer questions they cannot answer without you. There is something on every day (and night) during CitSciMonth and most are suitable for students to join in online. Check out the calendar for more information here such as the Grey Mangrove Hunt or join the ACSA team in the Stall-A-Thon where we will be helping to find a cure for Alzheimers with Stall Catchers. Note: Check the time zones before you sign up for web events as this is a global events month. Is your favourite citizen science project…

09Mar 2020 by Amy Slocombe No Comments

Are you ready to BioBlitz?

Communication & promotion, Engaging citizens

With less than 50 days until the 5th City Nature Challenge (CNC) the four Australian cities competing are busy training citizen scientists and getting the word out on social media. International founders and organisers, Lila Higgins (Natural History Museum of LA County) and Alison Young (California Academy of Sciences), anticipate more than 40,000 people worldwide will make & share over 1 million observations of nature in over 230 cities from the 24th to 27th of April inclusive. All Australian iNaturalist research-grade observations are added to the Atlas of Living Australia via the iNaturalist Australia node. You can read more about that here. Philip Roetman and ACSA SA recently hosted their first CNC training session. Part one of "Using iNaturalist" can be found on the Adelaide City Nature Challenge YouTube channel…

05Mar 2020 by Amy Slocombe No Comments

ACSA Bushfire Response projects audit and promotion

Collaboration & partnerships, Engaging citizens

Early in the new year we were waking up to the realisation of how awful and extensive all the bushfires across Australia were. We were also seeing a huge response from the public who wanted to contribute, to do something to help affected wildlife which we were seeing perhaps surviving the bushfires but subsequently in real problems because of a lack of water, food and shelter/cover. We also realised that none of us knew what citizen science we could usefully do that would help scientists and natural resource managers with information about what was happening. We also needed to be guided as to what to look for so as to begin to understand the destructive and regenerative processes we were observing around us. ACSA established an informal working group to…

05Mar 2020 by Amy Slocombe No Comments

Entries to the 2020 Eureka Prize for Innovation in Citizen Science are now open!

Communication & promotion

Are you involved in a citizen science project that is building STEM knowledge or skills, empowering greater community engagement in STEM, or changing attitudes towards STEM? Sponsored by the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources the Eureka Prize for Innovation in Citizen Science is awarded for demonstrated excellence in citizen science practice, through an innovative research and community engagement project. Who can enter? The prize is open to individuals and teams. People can either enter themselves or be nominated by others. Projects of all sizes and scopes – from localised community focused projects to national scale initiatives – are welcome to enter. Activity entered for the prize must have taken place in the past 5 years It’s a brilliant opportunity to get your project noticed; finalist representatives will be…

13Feb 2020 by Amy Slocombe No Comments

Adelaide takes on the Challenge!

Communication & promotion, Field-based citizen science, Meetings and Events

Have you heard of the City Nature Challenge? Last year, 159 cities were involved globally, with more than 35,000 participants, but none in Australia. We are changing that this year, with four cities representing our nation: Greater Adelaide Area (SA), Geelong (VIC), Redland City (QLD) and Sydney (NSW). We are involved in an international competition to find and document plants and wildlife in cities across the globe. We hope you can make a contribution! How to get involved: You can participate as an individual and we hope you can spread the word to get friends and colleagues involved, too! When? Any time from April 24 to April 27 – you can participate for four minutes or four days (any time you can spare)! How? Find wild plants and wildlife in…

Author: Amy Slocombe