Collaboration & partnerships – Page 6 – Australian Citizen Science Association

20Apr 2020 by Amy Slocombe 4 Comments

Citizen science and COVID-19

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

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…

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…

03Feb 2020 by Amy Slocombe No Comments

Citizen Science Bushfire Response Project Audit

Collaboration & partnerships, Communication & promotion, Engaging citizens

The unprecedented continental scale of the current Australian bushfires is devastating. They have led to the loss of lives, homes, habitats and biodiversity on a huge scale. In this time of extreme loss, we are buoyed by the amazing response of individuals and communities in this time of crisis. We believe there is a role for citizen science to assist across multiple disciplines, at scale, in many research and monitoring capacities to contribute to important and valuable science that is needed now and into the future. ACSA is seeking to support conversations and plans – both short and long term - that help further connect the citizen science community to contribute to the complex efforts required to learn from and understand the impact of the bushfires (see ACSA bushfire response).…

09Dec 2019 by Amy Slocombe No Comments

ACSA Seed Grant Winners

Collaboration & partnerships, Engaging citizens

Congratulations to the recipients of ACSA's Seed Grants for 2019! The Seed Grants were designed as a way of giving back and investing in our members, with two $1,000 grants available to ACSA members to seed their professional or project's growth in line with ACSA's strategic goals of Participation and Practice. And the winners are: Dr Erinn Fagan-Jeffries - Pupils for Parasitoid Wasps: The 'Pupils for Parasitoid Wasps' project involves school children running insect traps to collect parasitic wasps in their local environment, and being involved in naming and describing newly discovered species. Jodie Valpied - Bachhus Marsh Platypus Alliance: The Seed Grant will help provide the necessary resources to the new Bacchus Marsh Platypus Alliance community group to begin a citizen science project on platypus habitat health, and to facilitate community engagement in…

12Nov 2019 by Amy Slocombe 1 Comment

Meet ACSA’s new host

ACSA development, Collaboration & partnerships

We are thrilled to formally announce that ACSA's new host institution for the next three years is The University of Sydney. The University of Sydney was founded in 1850 and is Australia's first University. Citizen Science is a burgeoning area of growth in both research and practice at the University of Sydney, and one that is set to expand over the next decade. ACSA will be housed with the Faculty of Science, which is also home to Inspiring Australia NSW. This will be fantastic for strengthening our ties with Inspiring Australia going forward. ACSA will also work closely with the newly formed Citizen Science Node at the University, which oversees all the projects across the university that fall under the citizen science banner. The node's co-director, Dr. Alice Motion, was featured recently…

02Nov 2019 by Amy Slocombe 1 Comment

Q&A with ACSA’s Patron…Dr Geoff Garrett AO

Blogs, Collaboration & partnerships

One of our Member's recently mentioned that they'd like to know a little bit more about ACSA's Patron Dr Geoff Garrett AO, and the work he is doing behind the scenes for ACSA. What follows here is an amusing, honest and engaging account of the years since citizen science first crossed Geoff's radar (which was not as early as you might have expected for a Chief Scientist!) But perhaps that is just testament to the times that were. Not anymore! Read on to find out a little more about our Patron. [caption id="attachment_16591" align="alignleft" width="960"] Geoff and his avid birdwatcher wife, Janet[/caption] ACSA: How did you get interested in Citizen Science? And why? Geoff Garrett: To my considerable embarrassment, during my time as CSIRO’s Chief Executive and, thereafter, as Queensland’s…

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…

Category: Collaboration & partnerships