CitSciOz23 – Listen to the podcasts recorded at the conference

CitSciOz23 – Listen to the podcasts recorded at the conference

Communication & promotion, Conferences, Engaging citizens
Ian Campbell, Christine Kemeny and Nadine Gaffney from CitizenScience.Show attended the CitSciOz23 conference last month and recorded a series of interviews about citizen science from multiple different perspectives - including ACSA representatives, citizen scientists, practitioners, and a very insightful discussion with the wonderful Costa Georgiadis. Many of the podcasts have now been released, with more to come... so watch this space, and subscribe to them if you can so you don't miss any episodes! Follow this link to find all the podcasts on Spotify, or go to your favourite podcast app and search for "Citizen Science Show". So far you can hear from: Michelle Neil - ACSA Costa Georgiadis - Landscape Architect and TV Presenter Clare Hawkins - Bookend Trust, NatureTrackers and University of Tasmania Alex Chapman - ACSA WA,…
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Citizen Science: Theory and Practice – Call for abstracts for a special collection

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.
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Citizen Science in QLD Schools 

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…
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Citizen science – there’s something for everyone, everywhere

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…
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Read about ACSA Community Achievements via our Annual Report for 2021-2022

Read about ACSA Community Achievements via our Annual Report for 2021-2022

ACSA development, Collaboration & partnerships, Communication & promotion, Conferences, Engaging citizens, Meetings and Events
The Australian Citizen Science Association community had diverse achievements throughout the 2021-2022 financial year, and we are delighted to share an overview of them in our ACSA Annual Report! You can read about our efforts to support our community and broaden the reach of citizen science at local, national, and international levels. Check out the suite of incredible activities our state- and territory-based Regional Chapters have been delving into. Reminisce about the inspiring online national citizen science conference - #CitSciOz21. Learn how our burgeoning consulting endeavours and broader partnerships are continuing to grow. It is evident that we have an incredible community doing a wide variety of remarkable things that empower people with science! We hope our members enjoy perusing the report! If you have feedback or questions after reading…
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Free webinar: How to use drones to monitor ecosystems

Free webinar: How to use drones to monitor ecosystems

Collaboration & partnerships, Communication & promotion, Data management, Meetings and Events
When: Monday July 18, 2022 | 7:30 - 8:25pm AEST Online event: Zoom link will be delivered upon registering for this event Hosted by: GeoNadir & ACSA As you already know, our precious ecosystems are under threat. Fortunately, technology is advancing to the point where citizen scientists like us can contributeto real solutions. One of those solutions involves using drones to capture imagery of our local ecosystems. Through the use of drones and the associated technology, we can contribute to solving thechallenging global problems we are all facing. We have partnered up with Technical Lead and Co-Founder of GeoNadir, Dr Karen Joyce. Shewill be presenting a webinar all about how to use drones to monitor ecosystems. Dr Joyce is a scientist, academic, and educator. During her time as Senior Lecturer…
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2021 Seed Grant – MYOCOmmunity Applied Mycology Progress Report

2021 Seed Grant – MYOCOmmunity Applied Mycology Progress Report

Communication & promotion, CS Project, Grants
By Ema Corro, winner of a 2021 ACSA Seed Grant Our project aims to use citizen science to rapidly increase knowledge of fungal taxonomy and ecology. As part of this we have been training volunteers to record sightings of fungi using iNaturalist, to take and describe herbarium specimens and do microscopy and DNA work on fungi. The equipment we bought with the ACSA grant has allowed us to show volunteers how to extract DNA from mushrooms and environmental samples for sequencing and tests for environmental DNA. For the next stages of our project we are planning to study the effects of storm damage on soil fungi and do some pilot runs sequencing environmental DNA in animal scats. We are also developing tests to look for invasive as well as endangered species of…
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2021 Seed Grant – 2 Bent Rods Progress Report

2021 Seed Grant – 2 Bent Rods Progress Report

Communication & promotion, Grants
By Samantha Beckmann, winner of a 2021 ACSA Seed Grant We are so grateful to have won an ACSA Seed Grant to help promote the use of the 2 Bent Rods free fishing app, where recreational & professional fishers can upload photos and contribute data about the size and health of fish in their catch.  Currently we have about 500 fishers using the app. We also use the app to help in the management of our fishing competitions, which encourage fishers to take a photo of native fish and release them, or in the case of pest fishing competitions, help to keep track of pest numbers before disposal. With users sharing their catches, we will be able to gain an understanding of the main fish caught from shore based fishers.…
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ACSA Membership to align with financial year

ACSA development, Communication & promotion
Over the next little while we will be transitioning the ACSA membership program to align with the financial year, rather than having a rolling membership program. Synchronising membership has a number of benefits including administrative efficiencies, the ability for membership drives and the simplification of automatic renewals. It will also allow us to manage our brand new members-only Facebook group (see below for details). All new memberships and renewals that commence from now will have an expiry date of 30 June 2023 (or 2024 if you select a 2 year term). What this means for existing members Your current membership will expire 12 months from your most recent purchase date. Upon renewal, your membership will automatically be converted to the new membership period (1 July – 30 June) and a…
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CitSciOz21 videos now available

CitSciOz21 videos now available

Communication & promotion, Conferences, Meetings and Events, Showcasing science outcomes
Six months have passed since our 3rd National Citizen Science Conference CitSciOz21, which means that all the conference content - talks, workshops, keynotes and symposiums - are now available on our YouTube channel for general viewing! Our amazing social media guru Michelle Neil has been busy uploading all the videos and you will see the CitSciOz21 playlist continue to grow until she's done them all. Huge thanks to Michelle for her countless and dedicated hours to ACSA. So jump on in and revisit some of the wonderful presentations, or for those of you who didn't attend the event, check them out for the first time! CitSciOz21 - YouTube Playlist
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