Around 50% of records in Australia’s biodiversity data repository, the Atlas of Living Australia (ALA), now come from citizen scientists. But, the 2021 State of the Environment report, highlights the need for even more citizen science, as professionals and institutions alone cannot manage the required volume of research.

Citizen science extends beyond data collection; it fosters connections between people and nature, as well as within communities. The AEGN’s Nature Funding Framework (NFF) underscores the importance of citizen science in energising and involving individuals, from students to landholders, “enabling communities to engage, contribute and connect with nature and each other, on land and at sea.”

By doing so, citizen science effectively advances two of the NFF’s seven change levers (approaches that funders can support to protect nature): “participation and agency” and “science, research and monitoring”.

People and data

Beth Mellick, Executive Director of the Wettenhall Environment Trust, which supports grassroots conservation projects, highlights the importance of data collection as the foundation of any conservation effort.

“To gather the most reliable data, you need people who know their local habitat. Even the most high-level conservation programs worth millions of dollars rely on the collection of local species data,” Beth said.

She emphasises that even small projects can have a big impact by providing critical information that informs larger conservation efforts. According to Beth, a key ingredient in long-term successful projects is an effective system for engagement, and for recording and sharing data.

Fortunately, systems to support citizen science projects are becoming more sophisticated and coordinated, thanks to digital technology and the support of organisations that have been established over the last decade. These include the Australian Citizen Science Association, which works to increase capacity for citizen science projects around the country. In the digital realm, the ALA provides Biocollect, an online platform that hosts project-specific webpages and helps groups with data-collection protocols and data sharing.  

Beth has also observed positive changes at the grassroots level. “Local groups have become very well informed and strategic, often partnering with scientists and ecologists to establish protocols or for setting baseline parameters. We find that groups who partner well do the best job,” said Beth.

Impacts of citizen science projects

Some citizen science projects have a specific aim, such as monitoring a particular species or impact, while others are broader in scope. Most data from most citizen science projects, whether small or large, are uploaded to the ALA, and can be freely accessed by scientists, policy makers, industry, land managers and the public.

More than 100,000 citizen scientists are actively contributing to the many programs across Australia. As a nation, we are the third-biggest contributor to the global citizen science platform iNaturalist. The impact of citizen science includes:

• Disaster recovery and feral species monitoring. On Kangaroo Island, South Australia, thousands of volunteers from around the world have helped monitor wildlife recovery after bushfires, and are monitoring feral cats. This work is enabled by DigiVol, a crowdsourcing platform that allows volunteers to monitor camera footage from their homes.

• Mapping species distributions on land. BioBlitz events engage citizen scientists to survey as many species as possible within a specific timeframe and area. The data provides a snapshot of the health of local ecosystems, information about distribution patterns, and sometimes reveals new species.
• Mapping species distributions in the sea. The RedMap database enables anyone to share sightings of marine species. This data can be used to determine which species are extending their distribution range in response to changes such as ocean warming and can help researchers decide which areas to focus on.  
• Mapping entire orders of species. FrogID is a nation-wide database of frog calls to document the species diversity, distributions and breeding habits of Australian frogs. Fungimap records and maps fungi across Australia. Both FrogID and Fungimap feature the data needed to fed into threatened species assessments as outlined in this Conversation article.
• Capturing unusual behaviours. Citizen science program Wildtracker exhibited never before recorded behaviours in a photo competition from camera-trap images.
• Tracking invasive species and pathogens. The ALA’s new Biosecurity Alerts Service notifies authorities about invasive species, which are a major driver of biodiversity loss. Up until the end of 2023, 1441 occurrences of invasive species had triggered biosecurity alerts.
• Detecting vulnerable species in areas where habitat is threatened. Volunteer-led surveys of endangered greater gliders were instrumental in the Victorian Government’s decision to end native forest logging and are part of the campaigns in Queensland.
• Learning about rare or elusive species. A researcher at Charles Sturt University is asking the public to log sightings of the elusive rakali, or Australian water rat, to better understand the species. So far, more than 1200 submissions about the animal have been made.

Help fund citizen science today

Citizen science and community nature programs are at the coal face of conservation efforts – and they need funding.

Beth said, “It is incredibly rewarding to help projects and organisations who are out in the field. They can account for every dollar. There is no wastage or massive administrative overheads – they put petrol in their cars, feed and house their volunteers, buy equipment, update equipment, pay a coordinator, get insurance, pay ecologists, train in mapping software, upload data to sites and produce resources.”

By supporting citizen science initiatives, funders can double their impact, engaging communities in meaningful conservation efforts and at the same time contributing to scientific knowledge and environmental protection.

Projects to partner

AEGN members have funded various programs in the past from the Great Victorian Platypus Search using environmental-DNA in water samples to the Port Phillip Ecocentre micro plastics initiative that informed legal action for the protection of waterways.

Find citizen projects on the Project Clearinghouse, including:  

• WildTracker Citizen Science Program
• FrogID Project
• Great Reef Consensus

For more information, contact Margie Jenkin, AEGN Environment Program Manager — Nature.