Grants – Australian Citizen Science Association

19Nov 2024 by Lisa Evans - ACSA No Comments

2024 ACSA Seed Grant Winner

Communication & promotion, CS Project, Grants, Social research in CS

ACSA is very pleased to announce that the 2024 ACSA Seed Grant has been awarded to Kelly Sheldrick and the Conservation Council of WA. This year, the Seed Grant is a combination of $2,000 in financial support, along with additional benefits to be discussed - such as mentoring, grant writing support, promotion, or other non-financial assistance. This grant will go towards "quantifying the power of citizen science to change perspectives of an historically unloved taxa, bats, and collectively identifying effective conservation actions to support bats in a sprawling city". Participants in a training session for surveying bat populations Conservation Council of WAKelly SheldrickThe negative perception towards bats has impacted their conservation and research. This has led to bats being missed from grassroots initiatives and land management plans, as well as…

29Sep 2024 by Lisa Evans - ACSA No Comments

Seed Grants 2024 – Call for applications!

Communication & promotion, CS Project, Grants, Showcasing science outcomes

What’s in it for you? $2,000 in seed funding to help kickstart your citizen science initiative, covering essential project costs such as equipment, materials, or participant outreach, or assist with publication costs for an open access journal. Social Media Promotion: Dedicated promotion of your project and organisation across our social media platforms, giving your work increased visibility and helping you engage a wider audience in your research journey. Mentoring (optional): Access to experienced professionals who will provide personalized guidance, helping you overcome challenges and maximize your impact. Training in Grant Writing (optional): Specialised workshops that will equip you with the skills and knowledge to pursue further funding opportunities, helping you sustain and expand your project beyond the seed phase. Motivation to initiate something you have always wanted to do. A…

19Jun 2024 by Lisa Evans - ACSA No Comments

Exploring the Power of Citizen Science and Nature Connection: The Great Southern Bioblitz Journey

Blogs, CS Project, Engaging citizens, Field-based citizen science, Grants, Social research in CS

Authors: Larissa Braz Sousa, Nicole Miller, Seamus Doherty, Peter Crowcroft, Michelle Neil, Stephen Fricker Across the globe's diverse landscapes, a quiet revolution is taking place. It's a movement where everyday people, armed with curiosity and a passion for nature, are driving scientific discovery forward. This revolution is citizen science, and at its core are initiatives like the Great Southern Bioblitz (GSB), celebrating the awe-inspiring biodiversity of the southern hemisphere—from the majestic eucalyptus trees to the intricate beauty of tiny species. The GSB is a citizen science initiative designed to observe as many species as possible during the Southern Hemisphere's spring. Launched in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic and devastating bushfires in Oceania and South America, the GSB was inspired by the City Nature Challenge. Beginning in Australia, it quickly spread…

29Nov 2023 by Lisa Evans - ACSA No Comments

2023 ACSA Seed Grant Winner

CS Project, Grants, Showcasing science outcomes

ACSA is very pleased to announce that Adelle Mansour has won the 2023 ACSA Seed Grant of $2,000 to be put towards publication of a citizen science related paper in an open access journal. Adelle presented a pre-recorded talk about her project at the CitSciOz23 conference, detailing the fascinating work she will be doing for her PhD at the University of Melbourne. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DXduWSnXOA Watch Adelle's talk from the #CitSciOz23 conference University of MelbourneAdelle MansourIn the face of the climate crisis, housing plays a critical role in protecting the health and wellbeing of its occupants – for example, by keeping them cool during heatwaves. Yet, our housing stock in Australia is increasingly unable to both withstand and mitigate the impacts of environmental hazards (e.g. floods, temperature extremes). Improved housing policies are…

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…

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…

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…

06Jun 2022 by Amy Slocombe No Comments

Seed Grants 2022 OPEN- Call for applications!

Grants

Two $1000 Grants available - apply now! ACSA is excited to announce its fifth round of Seed Grants. As a way of giving back and investing in our members we are offering grants of $1000 each to two ACSA members to seed their professional growth or their project’s growth, or assist with publication costs for an open access journal.Applications are now open for the 2022 Seed Grants. What’s in it for you? $1000 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: Samantha Beckmann2 Bent RodsFor a video & QR…

06Jun 2022 by Amy Slocombe 2 Comments

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…

Category: Grants