B&B Schools BioBlitz results

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…
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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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Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources Eureka Prize for Innovation in Citizen Science 

Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources Eureka Prize for Innovation in Citizen Science 

Communication & promotion, Meetings and Events, Showcasing science outcomes
A huge congratulations to AUSMAP,  Total Environment Centre and Macquarie University, for taking out the 2021 Eureka Prize for Innovation in Citizen Science! The Australian Microplastic Assessment Project (AUSMAP) is a world-first, national citizen science program that empowers people of all ages to document microplastic pollution. An immersive experience, participants are educated on the prevalence of microplastics around our waterways and trained to collect scientifically valid data that is used to design effective mitigation strategies for plastic pollution. Learn more
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From Seed Grant to published paper!

From Seed Grant to published paper!

ACSA development, Collaboration & partnerships, Field-based citizen science, Showcasing science outcomes
Primary school sting nets new wasp species ACSA is so pleased that the Seed Grant awarded to Erinn Fagan-Jeffries in 2019 has allowed her to complete her dream project!! Four regional schools in South Australia collected insects using Malaise traps, and all four found and named new species of parasitoid wasp! Dr Erinn Fagan-Jeffries helping students to check whether there were any insects flying inside the newly set-up Malaise trap at Ramco Primary School. Erinn's paper has been published in Zootaxa and you can read a summary by the University of Adelaide here. Congratulations Erinn!
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Insect Investigators – a school-based citizen science project discovering and documenting our biodiversity

Insect Investigators – a school-based citizen science project discovering and documenting our biodiversity

Blogs, Collaboration & partnerships, Communication & promotion, Field-based citizen science, Showcasing science outcomes
By Erin Fagan-Jeffries My goal is to get the community more involved in the process of how we document and describe our biodiversity – I believe we all should be part of this process to better understand what is living in the environment that we call home. The seed grant from the Australian Citizen Science Association allowed me to top up the amount available from my broader postdoctoral funding to allow four trials of a citizen science project that connected school groups to the process of species discovery. So far, trials of a project have been underway at four school across South Australia: Macclesfield Primary School in the Adelaide Hills, Cowell Area School on the Eyre Peninsula, and Waikerie and Ramco Primary Schools in the Riverland. Each school set up…
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Elysia australis – The Elusive Australian

Elysia australis – The Elusive Australian

Field-based citizen science, Showcasing science outcomes
It was Sunday the 10th of February 2018. The day dawned a great deal cooler that the previous 40⁰C we had been experiencing in Adelaide that week. A small bus load of tired but happy delegates headed out to visit Aldinga Reef, home of one of ReefWatch SA’s longest running citizen science projects, on the final #CitSciOz18 Road Trip. Approximately 40 minutes later we arrived at Aldinga Beach where we were met with light winds, sunny skies and our citizen scientist hosts; Neville Hudson and Thelma Bridle. [caption id="attachment_7009" align="alignnone" width="960"] Hard rolled ball of seaweed at Aldinga Beach (pic: Michelle Neil)[/caption] After a brief chat we donned our old sneakers or aqua shoes and headed down the long winding raised path to the sand below. Once on the sand…
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