We love Citizen Science here at HQ, and indeed all across the Landcare landscape, so that’s why we have compiled some great Citizen Science Projects to keep the summer holidays ‘I’m bored’ comments down to a minimum.
StreamWatch & Waterwatch
Waterwatch is a national citizen science program, involving landholders, community groups and schools, and aims to engage communities in monitoring and protecting the health of local waterways.
Streamwater is a citizen science water monitoring program in the Greater Sydney region that enables community groups to monitor the quality and health of local waterways.
Participants can take an active role in monitoring the health of their local catchments by conducting monthly water quality testing and optional seasonal surveys of aquatic macroinvertebrates, to understand and monitor the health of their rivers, and provide quality assured data, which is uploaded to an online database. With the data they collect, communities can influence the management of their local waterways and take direct action.
If you are in Greater Sydney click here to register your interest
If you are in all other part of NSW click here to register your interest
WetlandSnap
WetlandSnap is a photopoint monitoring citizen science initiative designed to engage and mobilise communities in public and private areas to capture to help track environmental conditions at wetlands and rivers and how they change over time. Images and spatial information from WetlandSnap sites and one-off snapshots from other sites are intended to be openly available for visualisation, outreach, research, and other purposes.
You will need a camera
To register your interest click here https://wetlandsnap.com/
Hungry Parrots Project
This project helps collect data on the natural & novel diets of wild parrots in Australia, especially in the aftermath of the recent bushfires, when native food supplies are low.
Whenever you see a parrot feeding on something, stop and take a photo! Also take a photo of the food item (i.e. the tree species) and the foraging residue left behind (i.e. the dropped fruit pieces).
You will need: Something to take photos (phone or camera), something to upload the data (phone or computer), a notebook, a GPS
To participate in this project contact Erika Roper at erikamroper@gmail.com
Waterbug Blitz Training Survey
If you are interested in rivers, streams, wetlands, ponds, oxbows or even farm dams, then join the Waterbug Blitz as they figure out how many of Australia’s waterways are in good nick, and how many need a bit more TLC.
Simply using a net and an app to have a closer look at your local waterways. By identifying the littler animals (waterbugs) that live in them, you can learn a lot about freshwater ecology, and also how healthy these water bodies are.
To find out more click here
National FrogID
FrogID is a national citizen science project that is helping the Australian Museum learn more about what is happening to Australia’s frogs. All around the country, people are recording frog calls with nothing more than a smartphone.
Australia has over 240 known species of frog, almost all of which are found nowhere else in the world. Some species are flourishing, like the Striped Marsh Frog. But others have declined dramatically since the 1980s, and four have become extinct.
To get involved click here
Fairy Wren Project
Do you see fairywrens? Fair Wren Project are looking for citizen scientist partners across Australia to help collect observations of fairywrens and their plumages. Whether you’re a serious twitcher or enjoy seeing fairywrens in your garden, your observations help!
When you see fairywrens, submit an eBird checklist to check how many individuals of each plumage type you saw in the species comments, separating codes with a space:
b = bright male, i = intermediate male, d = dull male, f = female, j = juvenile, u = unknown dull
For more information and the register click here https://fairywrenproject.org/participate/
