Lisa Evans – ACSA – Page 2 – Australian Citizen Science Association

29Jun 2023 by Lisa Evans - ACSA 4 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 2 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),…

25Oct 2022 by Lisa Evans - ACSA No Comments

B&B Schools BioBlitz results

Collaboration & partnerships, CS Project, Education, Engaging citizens, Field-based citizen science, Showcasing science outcomes

Here is latest news from Planting Seeds about the B&B Schools BioBlitz, which was supported by ACSA. Planting Seeds is also a recipient of a 2022 ACSA Seed Grant. Thank you to everyone who participated! The B&B BioBlitz blitzed biodiversity! Scheduled for September’s National Biodiversity Month, schools from every State and territory engaged in citizen science, took observations in their school grounds and uploaded the images to iNaturalist and the CSIRO’s Atlas of Living Australia.Over 60 schools participated recording approximately 2345 observations of 635 species. Our leaderboard shows St Monica's College in Melbourne took the most observations at a grand total of 213, followed by Wahroonga Adventist School (188) and Mulgoa Public School (153).Unusual species photographed included the Two-tailed Spider and there were beautiful images of bugs and birds including the…

18Oct 2022 by Lisa Evans - ACSA No Comments

2022 ACSA Management Committee nominations now OPEN!

ACSA development

Do you think it’s important to ensure everyone in the community can play a part in answering big questions and solving big problems using science? Are you interested in supporting the growth of a national not-for-profit that’s making this happen? If you answered yes to these questions, consider nominating yourself to join the Australian Citizen Science Association (ACSA) Management Committee! Joining the Management Committee is a great opportunity to offer your expertise in shaping the future of ACSA and the citizen science community. It also provides unique networking and learning opportunities about citizen science and ACSA. Management Committee positions are voluntary and are 2-year terms from November 2022 to November 2024. You can choose to self-nominate for one of five positions that are open in this year’s election: The Vice ChairThe TreasurerThe SecretaryTwo General…

07Oct 2022 by Lisa Evans - ACSA No Comments

International and Open Science updates

Collaboration & partnerships, Data management, International

ACSA international representative Libby Hepburn appointed to Vice-Chair of the Citizen Science Global Partnership On 3 October 2022, citizen science networks and practitioners from around the world welcomed the formation of the Citizen Science Global Partnership (CSGP), a newly established association which seeks to promote and advance Citizen Science for a sustainable world. The partnership’s mission is to coordinate the collaboration of existing citizen science practitioners with international organizations and governments, and support the use of citizen science data and tools as key contributor to the global effort towards sustainable development.). It will establish diverse and inclusive partnerships across geographies, cultures, and research domains, promoting citizen science as a unifying, enabling and multiplying force for change. At the partnership’s core is a network-of-networks of six citizen science associations that cover…

20Sep 2022 by Lisa Evans - ACSA 2 Comments

2022 ACSA Seed Grant winners

CS Project, Education, Field-based citizen science, Grants, Social research in CS

We are very pleased to announce that two great projects have been selected to receive our $1,000 seed grants. Ferox AustralisDr Larissa Braz SouzaLarissa’s grant will be put towards the costs of publishing a paper in the open-access journal Citizen Science: Theory and Practice. It will explore and publish the outcomes of the Great Southern Bioblitz, a co-created citizen science initiative.From their application:The Great Southern Bioblitz (GSB) is a co-created citizen science initiative to observe as many species as possible over spring in the Southern Hemisphere. As GSB is reaching its third year, we have identified the need to analyse its development and implementation, and assess challenges and opportunities to reach new areas. Thus, we propose using quantitative and qualitative methods to explore the GSB framework, outcomes and future directions resulting…

Author: Lisa Evans - ACSA