Lisa Evans – ACSA – Australian Citizen Science Association

05Sep 2023 by Lisa Evans - ACSA 1 Comment

Seed Grants 2023 – Call for applications!

Grants

ACSA is excited to announce our sixth round of Seed Grants! As a way of giving back and investing in our members we are offering a grant of $2000 to an ACSA member to seed their professional growth or their project’s growth. What’s in it for you? $2000 to seed your professional development or your project’s growth, or assist with publication costs for an open access journal. 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). Last year our two ACSA Seed Grant winners were: PlantingSeedsDr Judy Friedlander A national school BioBlitz, held in National Biodiversity Month, to generate STEM skills and biodiversity data, with associated resources, curriculum links and workshops for teachers. Read their…

05Sep 2023 by Lisa Evans - ACSA No Comments

2022 Seed Grant – PlantingSeeds progress report

CS Project, Education, Field-based citizen science, Grants

By Dr Judy Friedlander, winner of a 2022 ACSA Seed Grant The awarding of an ACSA Seed Grant to PlantingSeeds Projects in 2022 enabled the organisation to kick-start the National School Citizen Science B&B BioBlitz and generate interest and engagement in schools around Australia. The BioBlitz attracted educational institutions from every Australian State and Territory and saw over 60 schools participating, with over 2,300 observations and 635 species recorded. Student citizen scientists taking images during the B&B BioBlitz Most schools are located in urban areas, which makes them particularly valuable sites for scientific research. Many threatened plant and animal species live in urban areas, yet only 5% of citizen science projects in Australia are urban-based. The National School Citizen Science B&B BioBitz involved students taking images of plant and animal…

11Aug 2023 by Lisa Evans - ACSA No Comments

AI-powered photos to help predict catastrophic Australian bushfires

Blogs, CS Project, Engaging citizens, Field-based citizen science

The National Bushfire Resilience Network (NOBURN) is a citizen science project empowering people to use their mobile phones to collect information that will help predict bushfire hotspots and minimise their impact. The project is the culmination of two years’ research through an alliance of world-renowned researchers in artificial intelligence, forestry, human factors and science communication at the University of the Sunshine Coast and University of Adelaide’s Australian Institute for Machine Learning, in partnership with Noosa Shire Council and funded through the Federal Department of Industry, Science and Resources. NOBURN was developed in the wake of the 2019-20 bushfires that burned more than 10 million hectares of forest, destroyed 2000 homes and claimed dozens of lives. For more information, check out their 2-minute video from researcher, Dr Sam Van Holsbeeck, or…

11Aug 2023 by Lisa Evans - ACSA No Comments

Citizen Science: Theory and Practice – Call for abstracts for a special collection

Communication & promotion, Showcasing science outcomes, Social research in CS

The open-access, peer-reviewed journal Citizen Science: Theory and Practice is seeking a range of papers including research papers, review and synthesis papers, case studies, and essays for their special collection AI and the Future of Citizen Science. Abstracts should be submitted by September 8, 2023 Visit the CSA announcement for more details about the special collection and how to submit your abstracts.

29Jun 2023 by Lisa Evans - ACSA 3 Comments

Citizen Science in QLD Schools

Blogs, Communication & promotion, Education, Engaging citizens

In June our social media moderator, scientist, keen citizen scientist and #CitSciOz23 Conference co-convener, Michelle Neil was invited to present to over 150 Queensland primary and secondary school students and their teachers at the 2023 Sustainability and Science Schools Showcase hosted by Queensland’s Office of the Chief Scientist at Queensland Museum’s The Edge. How do you galvanise the next generation of citizen scientists into action? How do you explain citizen science in fewer than 7 slides and under 3 minutes? Introducing the tools of citizen science Have you seen our citizen scientists’ t-shirts? The pictures represent the tools of a citizen scientist. You might use one tool for your project or all of them – there really is no limit. The tools include; a computer mouse and mobile phone to…

29Jun 2023 by Lisa Evans - ACSA No Comments

Citizen science – there’s something for everyone, everywhere

Blogs, Communication & promotion, Education, Engaging citizens, Meetings and Events

ACSA-WA member Dr Tegan Douglas was thrilled to be able to present to the Lesmurdie branch of the University of the Third Age (U3A) earlier this month. True to the Noongar season of Makuru, the weather was cold and blustery, but not even hail was enough to stop this group of curious minds and life-long learners from gathering at Falls Farm in Lesmurdie to hear about how easy it is to get involved with citizen science. Photo courtesy of Heidi Pember Tegan introduced the group to ACSA, demonstrated how citizen science worked, and the benefits that science and society can get from it. Using her background in bird conservation, she drew examples of how the power of citizen science can track population trends in native and introduced bird species, and…

25Jun 2023 by Lisa Evans - ACSA No Comments

ACSA’s partnership with the National Landcare Network

Uncategorized

This post is from the National Landcare Network website, explaining about the recent partnership between ACSA and NLN. Citizen Science is a global movement that involves people from all walks of life in real science that matters to them. The Australian Citizen Science Association and the National Landcare Network announce their partnership celebrating people-powered science. The partnership puts community-led science in the spotlight, bridging knowledge gaps for effective land management and biodiversity conservation. The National Landcare Network (NLN) and Australian Citizen Science Association (ACSA) are peak bodies invested in efforts to support people across Australia in understanding natural environments and fostering a more environmentally sustainable future. Landcare is a 40-year-old community-led movement working from the ground-up restoring the environment and fostering sustainable agriculture. The Australian Citizen Science Association has the mission…

02Jun 2023 by Lisa Evans - ACSA No Comments

ACSA-SA and Cosmos Science collaboration launch

Blogs, Collaboration & partnerships, Engaging citizens, Meetings and Events

By Isabella Wilson and Katie Irvine of ACSA-SA To celebrate a new collaboration between the South Australian Chapter of ACSA and Cosmos Science we teamed up to hold a launch event 'How to Become a Citizen Scientist' at RiAus @ The Science Exchange, Adelaide, in May. Project coordinators displayed flyers, posters, and banners and enjoyed the nibbles and company. The event aligned with the submission date for the South Australian Government Citizen Science small grants applications - so everyone was ready to let their hair down and celebrate! Cosmos Science is now endeavouring to publish weekly Citizen Science content and is on the hunt nationally for stories for publication. Click here to submit your story Cosmos has 1.5-2 million readers each month online, a little over half of whom are…

17Mar 2023 by Lisa Evans - ACSA No Comments

New insect species discovered by high school citizen scientists!

Blogs, CS Project, Education, Grants

This is an exciting story you may have seen in the news lately. Beerwah State High School students in Queensland have recently announced the discovery of a new insect species, which was found by Year 8 students participating in the Insect Investigators project. This makes Beerwah SHS the latest out of 8 schools who have discovered previously unidentified insects since this project began. They announced the discovery on their Facebook page: After almost 12 months, the DNA tests and study by University of Adelaide (@uniofadelaide) taxonomists Mollie-Rosae Slater-Baker (a PhD candidate) and Dr Erinn Fagan-Jeffries, show that we have discovered a new species of wasp.It is a tiny parasitic wasp in the genus Mirax which lay eggs in caterpillars which then eat the caterpillar from the inside-out!Beerwah SHS Facebook page…

31Oct 2022 by Lisa Evans - ACSA No Comments

Notice of the 2022 ACSA AGM

Meetings and Events

This notice is to advise members of the Australian Citizen Science Association Inc. (ACSA) of the upcoming Annual General Meeting. The details of this meeting are as follows: Date:21 November 2022Time:AGM will commence at 12:00 AEDT (following a presentation by Hugh Possingham scheduled 20 minutes beforehand) Place:Online via Zoom teleconference softwareRSVP:Please submit this online form ASAP to help us ensure we meet quorum requirements Linked here are the following documents for review and download: an agenda for this meeting minutes of the last annual general meetinga form you can download and email to appoint a proxy to attend on your behalf (signature required)an online form where you can:RSVP to attend the online ACSA AGMindicate your intent to appoint a proxy to attend the AGM on your behalf (also see proxy appointment details below),…

Author: Lisa Evans - ACSA