Citizen Science Show

Australia has roughly 25 to 30 freshwater turtle species, depending on the day’s taxonomy debates, and Ricky Spencer's work centres on these inland species found in almost every river, dam and creek.Among the most fragile is the Bellinger River turtle, which came close to disappearing ten years ago when a virus reduced a population of more than four thousand to just sixteen survivors.Those rescued turtles continue to breed under human care, yet the road to recovery is long.Meanwhile, species that are still widespread are also declining.Long-neck turtles, familiar to many Australians, have dropped by around ninety per cent over three decades despite their apparent abundance.More Informationhttps://www.turtlesat.org.au/turtlesat/https://1millionturtles.com/Photo CreditDr Donald McKnightIf you enjoy this podcast, please like and subscribe to our show wherever you get your podcasts.Leave us a comment and share this show with your friends.It really helps us to reach more citizen scientists, like you.Contact the ShowWe are always looking for more guests to tell us about interesting citizen science projects, research and events.You can email us at: info@citizenscienceshow.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alicia McArdle’s work in conservation has been shaped by community from the beginning.Early in her career, not long after university, she was employed by Save Our Waterways in Brisbane, helping coordinate a project to restore an entire creek system. Local residents carried deep knowledge of their waterways, and working alongside them showed her how powerful citizen-driven stewardship can be.That experience stayed with her, just as her first sight of the Great Barrier Reef at age twelve on Green Island did.The colours, marine life and the fleeting shock of spotting a moray eel set her on a path toward marine biology.More Informationhttps://citizensgbr.org/If you enjoy this content, please like and subscribe to our show wherever you get your podcasts.Leave us a comment and share this show with your friends.It really helps us to reach more citizen scientists, like you.Contact the ShowWe are always looking for more guests to tell us about interesting citizen science projects, research and events.You can email us at: info@citizenscienceshow.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Clare Buswell’s career weaves together political science, cultural history, and speleology in a way that makes perfect sense once she begins to explain it.Her early academic work on colonial gender dynamics in Kenya led her to examine cultural interpretations, dreamings and social relationships—perspectives that later helped her understand the significance of Australia’s karst landscapes and the First Nations stories etched into them.For Clare, the subterranean world reflects the same human and environmental connections found above ground, only preserved in stone, charcoal and silence.More Informationhttps://caves.org.au/If you enjoy this content, please like and subscribe to our show wherever you get your podcasts.Leave us a comment and share this show with your friends.It really helps us to reach more citizen scientists, like you.Thumbnail Photo Credits:Mr Neville SkinerClare BuswellContact the ShowWe are always looking for more guests to tell us about interesting citizen science projects, research and events.You can email us at: info@citizenscienceshow.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

At the Australian Museum, citizen science has grown from a niche concept into a vibrant, community-driven force.Managing the Centre for Citizen Science, Paul Flemons oversees three major programs that have transformed how the public engages with scientific research.Frog ID is perhaps the most familiar, inviting thousands to record and monitor frogs across Australia.DigiVol allows volunteers to digitize invaluable collections from institutions worldwide, including natural history, cultural artifacts, and council libraries, from the comfort of their homes.Australasian Fishes collects data on fish distributions, helping to track environmental changes and shifts in ocean temperatures.More Informationhttps://australian.museum/get-involved/citizen-science/volunteer-with-us/https://citizenscience.org.au/citscioz25/About The Citizen Science Show PodcastThis episode of the Citizen Science Show podcast is coming to you from CitSciOz25 the Australian Citizen Science Association conference, in Melbourne Connect, a world-class innovation precinct at The University of Melbourne.If you enjoy this content, please like and subscribe to our show wherever you get your podcasts. It really helps us to reach more citizen scientists, like you.Contact the ShowWe are always looking for more guests to tell us about interesting citizen science projects, research and events.You can email us at: info@citizenscienceshow.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kelly Sheldrick has been working with communities across Perth to uncover the hidden world of the region’s tiny microbats—animals so small and quiet that most people never realise they are part of the local landscape.Through her projects with the Conservation Council of Western Australia, volunteers use active acoustic detectors along transects in City of Wanneroo bushland, watching echolocation calls appear on screens while listening to slowed-down chirps.This real-time sensory experience often transforms how participants think about bats, shifting them from distant concepts to lively nocturnal neighbours.More Informationhttps://www.ccwa.org.au/bat_monitoring_programhttps://citizenscience.org.au/citscioz25/About The Citizen Science Show PodcastThis episode of the Citizen Science Show podcast is coming to you from CitSciOz25 the Australian Citizen Science Association conference, in Melbourne Connect, a world-class innovation precinct at The University of Melbourne.If you enjoy this content, please like and subscribe to our show wherever you get your podcasts. It really helps us to reach more citizen scientists, like you.Contact the ShowWe are always looking for more guests to tell us about interesting citizen science projects, research and events.You can email us at: info@citizenscienceshow.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I met Jock Mackenzie at the CitSciOz25 conference in Melbourne, where he spoke about Mangrove Watch and his role as Senior Program Manager for wetlands, coastal and marine environments at Earthwatch Australia.He founded Mangrove Watch in 2008 in response to declining mangrove and saltmarsh health, and he explained how these tidal-zone trees protect fisheries, store carbon, filter water and shield the reef, all while remaining extremely vulnerable to climate change.Australia hosts about forty-six mangrove species, more than half the global total, and citizen scientists continue to make surprising discoveries, including the critically endangered Bruguiera hainesii found in Cairns—one of only about two hundred individuals in the country.Later I spoke with Shannon Bredeson from CAFNEC, who explained how the local action plan model emerged in 2022 after communities asked for ways to act on the problems they were documenting.Workshops brought together scientific findings and community knowledge, and participants voted on which threats to address first. Some projects are simple to launch, such as the Mulgrave catchment’s education program linking students with the mangroves that surround them.Others are more complex, like the Hinchinbrook plan using drone surveys and coastal engineers to design erosion control structures along the Cardwell foreshore. Initial seed funding of about seven thousand dollars helped early projects take off, and additional support comes through the Great Barrier Reef Foundation.More Informationhttps://earthwatch.org.au/research/mangrovewatch-community-eventshttps://citizenscience.org.au/citscioz25/About The Citizen Science Show PodcastThis episode of the Citizen Science Show podcast is coming to you from CitSciOz25 the Australian Citizen Science Association conference, in Melbourne Connect, a world-class innovation precinct at The University of Melbourne.If you enjoy this content, please like and subscribe to our show wherever you get your podcasts. It really helps us to reach more citizen scientists, like you.Contact the ShowWe are always looking for more guests to tell us about interesting citizen science projects, research and events.You can email us at: info@citizenscienceshow.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

At CitSciOz25, Frank Grutzner reflected on how far echidna research has progressed and how crucial community involvement has become to that progress.As a genetics professor at the University of Adelaide, Frank focuses on the DNA of Australia’s native species.When he arrived in the country 25 years ago, he quickly became fascinated by the platypus and echidna.Their biology is unlike that of any other mammals, yet studying them in the field is notoriously difficult.Frank often jokes that he could spend an entire day searching without success, only to find an echidna digging up his backyard when he returned home.More Informationhttps://www.adelaide.edu.au/environment/research/diversifying-citizen-science-and-public-engagment/echidna-csihttps://citizenscience.org.au/citscioz25/About The Citizen Science Show PodcastThis episode of the Citizen Science Show podcast is coming to you from CitSciOz25 the Australian Citizen Science Association conference, in Melbourne Connect, a world-class innovation precinct at The University of Melbourne.If you enjoy this content, please like and subscribe to our show wherever you get your podcasts. It really helps us to reach more citizen scientists, like you.Contact the ShowWe are always looking for more guests to tell us about interesting citizen science projects, research and events.You can email us at: info@citizenscienceshow.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Speaking with Elizabeth Irvine at CitSciOz25 revealed just how much energy is driving the next chapter of citizen science in Australia.Even midway through the conference the enthusiasm was palpable, and hearing her perspective on Earthwatch Australia’s programs showed why so many people feel inspired.As Head of Programs, she sees firsthand how community engagement shapes the organisation’s work and how citizen scientists help tackle major environmental challenges.More Informationhttps://earthwatch.org.au/https://citizenscience.org.au/citscioz25/About The Citizen Science Show PodcastThis episode of the Citizen Science Show podcast is coming to you from CitSciOz25 the Australian Citizen Science Association conference, in Melbourne Connect, a world-class innovation precinct at The University of Melbourne.If you enjoy this content, please like and subscribe to our show wherever you get your podcasts. It really helps us to reach more citizen scientists, like you.Contact the ShowWe are always looking for more guests to tell us about interesting citizen science projects, research and events.You can email us at: info@citizenscienceshow.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

At CitSciOz25, I found myself immersed in the world of bogong moths with Dr Eleanor Drinkwater, whose enthusiasm for these small, unassuming insects is contagious.She explained how these moths, despite their size, undertake one of the longest insect migrations on the planet.They emerge in northern New South Wales and travel hundreds or even thousands of kilometres to the Snowy Mountains, where they crowd into caves and aestivate through the hottest months before returning as temperatures fall.More Informationhttps://www.bogong.org/https://www.eleanordrinkwater.com/https://invertebratesaustralia.org/https://mothtracker.swifft.net.au/https://citizenscience.org.au/citscioz25/About The Citizen Science Show PodcastThis episode of the Citizen Science Show podcast is coming to you from CitSciOz25 the Australian Citizen Science Association conference, in Melbourne Connect, a world-class innovation precinct at The University of Melbourne.If you enjoy this content, please like and subscribe to our show wherever you get your podcasts. It really helps us to reach more citizen scientists, like you.Contact the ShowWe are always looking for more guests to tell us about interesting citizen science projects, research and events.You can email us at: info@citizenscienceshow.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Presenting at CitSciOz25 gave me the chance to share a project that has reshaped how I think about science, trust and the way people connect with their local environment.The Great Australian Wildlife Search began as a collaboration between the Murray–Darling Basin Authority, the Odonata Foundation and EnviroDNA, but it quickly grew into something far bigger once communities stepped in.Our aim was simple: gather a broad biodiversity snapshot across the vast Murray–Darling Basin using environmental DNA and the enthusiasm of people who know their waterways best.More Informationhttps://www.mdba.gov.au/https://citizenscience.org.au/citscioz25/About The Citizen Science Show PodcastThis episode of the Citizen Science Show podcast is coming to you from CitSciOz25 the Australian Citizen Science Association conference, in Melbourne Connect, a world-class innovation precinct at The University of Melbourne.If you enjoy this content, please like and subscribe to our show wherever you get your podcasts. It really helps us to reach more citizen scientists, like you.Contact the ShowWe are always looking for more guests to tell us about interesting citizen science projects, research and events.You can email us at: info@citizenscienceshow.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Andrew Stempel is the president of the Australian Speleological Federation,. He leads a community of nearly a thousand volunteers exploring and protecting Australia’s vast underground landscapes.Formed in 1956 in Adelaide, the federation—soon to be rebranded as Caves Australia—unites 26 clubs across the nation. Every caver contributes to a growing digital archive, preserving decades of handwritten expedition reports that map the unseen beneath our feet.Andrew became president in January 2025. Originally from the United States, he moved to Australia in 2014, discovered caving in 2018, and has since spent more than 4,000 hours underground.With a background in molecular cell biology, he left the laboratory for outdoor education and now merges both worlds through citizen science. This month, he begins a PhD studying ancient DNA from the strange creatures of Australia’s caves.More Informationhttps://caves.org.au/https://citizenscience.org.au/citscioz25/About The Citizen Science Show PodcastThis episode of the Citizen Science Show podcast is coming to you from CitSciOz25 the Australian Citizen Science Association conference, in Melbourne Connect, a world-class innovation precinct at The University of Melbourne.If you enjoy this content, please like and subscribe to our show wherever you get your podcasts. It really helps us to reach more citizen scientists, like you.Contact the ShowWe are always looking for more guests to tell us about interesting citizen science projects, research and events.You can email us at: info@citizenscienceshow.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

At Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria, mycologist Dr Tom May devotes his work to exploring the vast and often unseen world of fungi. His focus is taxonomy—identifying, classifying, and cataloguing the remarkable diversity of fungal species across Australia.Within the Gardens’ Fungarium, Tom oversees a collection of more than 100,000 preserved specimens, one of the largest in the Southern Hemisphere.Each sample is carefully documented, its data shared with the Atlas of Living Australia, ensuring that this vital record contributes to the nation’s broader understanding of biodiversity.More Informationhttps://fungimap.org.au/https://citizenscience.org.au/citscioz25/About The Citizen Science Show PodcastThis episode of the Citizen Science Show podcast is coming to you from CitSciOz25 the Australian Citizen Science Association conference, in Melbourne Connect, a world-class innovation precinct at The University of Melbourne.If you enjoy this content, please like and subscribe to our show wherever you get your podcasts. It really helps us to reach more citizen scientists, like you.Contact the ShowWe are always looking for more guests to tell us about interesting citizen science projects, research and events.You can email us at: info@citizenscienceshow.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

At the CitSciOz25 conference in Melbourne, Kara-Mae Coulter-Atkins spoke about her work with the Healthy Waters Partnership for the Dry Tropics, an organisation that connects government, industry, research institutions, and citizen scientists to protect waterways around Townsville and the Great Barrier Reef.Kara-Mae describes her role as a data end user—someone who turns raw data collected by others into meaningful tools for decision-making.Each year, her small team analyses more than thirty thousand data points to produce a catchment-wide report card, combining indicators such as coral, seagrass, and fish health with water quality results to present a single, comprehensive picture of the region’s ecosystems.More Informationhttps://www.drytropicshealthywaters.org/https://citizenscience.org.au/citscioz25/About The Citizen Science Show PodcastThis episode of the Citizen Science Show podcast is coming to you from CitSciOz25 the Australian Citizen Science Association conference, in Melbourne Connect, a world-class innovation precinct at The University of Melbourne.If you enjoy this content, please like and subscribe to our show wherever you get your podcasts. It really helps us to reach more citizen scientists, like you.Contact the ShowWe are always looking for more guests to tell us about interesting citizen science projects, research and events.You can email us at: info@citizenscienceshow.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

At the CitSciOz25 conference in Melbourne, one presenter stood out not just for his enthusiasm but for his age. Twelve-year-old David Mabb, the youngest speaker at the Australian Citizen Science Association event, has already spent half his life immersed in the world of BioBlitzing. His fascination with nature began when his mother, Michelle, took him along to one of her own citizen science events, and it has grown ever since.More Informationhttps://mrccc.org.au/find-a-frog-in-february-2025/https://citizenscience.org.au/citscioz25/About The Citizen Science Show PodcastThis episode of the Citizen Science Show podcast is coming to you from CitSciOz25 the Australian Citizen Science Association conference, in Melbourne Connect, a world-class innovation precinct at The University of Melbourne.If you enjoy this content, please like and subscribe to our show wherever you get your podcasts. It really helps us to reach more citizen scientists, like you.Contact the ShowWe are always looking for more guests to tell us about interesting citizen science projects, research and events.You can email us at: info@citizenscienceshow.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

At the CitSciOz25 conference, Dr Jack Nunn presented a discussion paper created in collaboration with the Australian Citizen Science Association and the Australian Academy of Science’s Theo Murphy Institute. Using participatory methods, the team explored the challenges within citizen science and identified ways to improve it.Over fifty contributors provided more than sixteen thousand words of input, which were analysed using STARDIT—Standardised Data on Initiatives—an open platform hosted by Wikimedia Australia.The tool allows users to document who did what, which methods and funding were used, and what outcomes were achieved. By gathering this information across many projects, researchers can begin to identify effective practices and move towards truly evidence-informed approaches.More Informationhttps://scienceforall.world/https://citizenscience.org.au/citscioz25/About The Citizen Science Show PodcastThis episode of the Citizen Science Show podcast is coming to you from CitSciOz25 the Australian Citizen Science Association conference, in Melbourne Connect, a world-class innovation precinct at The University of Melbourne.If you enjoy this content, please like and subscribe to our show wherever you get your podcasts. It really helps us to reach more citizen scientists, like you.Contact the ShowWe are always looking for more guests to tell us about interesting citizen science projects, research and events.You can email us at: info@citizenscienceshow.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

At the Citizen Science Conference in Melbourne, Gregory Andrews spoke with both urgency and hope. A Dharawal man from southwest Sydney, Gregory describes his deep connection to Country, believing that every Australian shares a similar bond when they live respectfully with the land. His totem, the lyrebird, guides his life’s work. Like the lyrebird that speaks many languages, Gregory has spent his career building bridges between cultures, communities, and the natural world.More Informationhttps://www.lyrebirddreaming.com/https://citizenscience.org.au/citscioz25/About The Citizen Science Show PodcastThis episode of the Citizen Science Show podcast is coming to you from CitSciOz25 the Australian Citizen Science Association conference, in Melbourne Connect, a world-class innovation precinct at The University of Melbourne.If you enjoy this content, please like and subscribe to our show wherever you get your podcasts. It really helps us to reach more citizen scientists, like you.Contact the ShowWe are always looking for more guests to tell us about interesting citizen science projects, research and events.You can email us at: info@citizenscienceshow.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After more than two decades in the university sector, Fiona Sutton Wilson realised that middle management no longer fulfilled her desire to make a tangible difference. Surrounded by policy and research, she felt drawn toward work that would more directly benefit the environment. A turning point came during a week-long bush retreat with a group of women, where the quiet of nature reawakened her childhood love of the natural world—memories of exploring with her botanist father and discovering native orchids resurfaced, reigniting her environmental passion.More Informationhttps://earthwatch.org.au/https://www.climatewatch.org.au/https://citizenscience.org.au/citscioz25/About The Citizen Science Show PodcastThis episode of the Citizen Science Show podcast is coming to you from CitSciOz25 the Australian Citizen Science Association conference, in Melbourne Connect, a world-class innovation precinct at The University of Melbourne.If you enjoy this content, please like and subscribe to our show wherever you get your podcasts. It really helps us to reach more citizen scientists, like you.Contact the ShowWe are always looking for more guests to tell us about interesting citizen science projects, research and events.You can email us at: info@citizenscienceshow.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

At the Australian Museum, Nadiah Roslan coordinates FrogID, a citizen science project that has transformed the understanding of frog conservation since its launch in 2017. Supported by Inspiring Australia and IBM, FrogID began with a simple idea—use smartphones to listen to frogs and turn their calls into valuable scientific data. Each frog species has a unique sound, making acoustic monitoring an effective, non-invasive way to study biodiversity across Australia. By pointing a phone toward a calling frog, anyone can contribute meaningful information to science.More Informationhttps://www.frogid.net.au/https://citizenscience.org.au/citscioz25/About The Citizen Science Show PodcastThis episode of the Citizen Science Show podcast is coming to you from CitSciOz25 the Australian Citizen Science Association conference, in Melbourne Connect, a world-class innovation precinct at The University of Melbourne.If you enjoy this content, please like and subscribe to our show wherever you get your podcasts. It really helps us to reach more citizen scientists, like you.Contact the ShowWe are always looking for more guests to tell us about interesting citizen science projects, research and events.You can email us at: info@citizenscienceshow.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dr. Megan Halcroft never imagined that her fascination with bees would begin while studying horticultural science after years of working as a nurse. What started with a unit on apiculture evolved into a lifelong commitment to understanding and protecting Australia’s native bees.Megan started Australian Pollinator Week which was launched in 2015 with 26 events, gaining recognition from the Environmental Trust.Pollinator Week has become far more than a scientific outreach program. Across the country, communities host creative and educational events, from workshops to art installations inspired by pollinators. One project built chandeliers from clay leaves in tribute to leaf cutter bees, while another turned bamboo into musical wind-chime sculptures. These activities highlight how art and science can work together to connect people to nature.More Informationhttps://www.beesbusiness.com.au/https://www.facebook.com/groups/beeawareofyournativebeeshttps://www.australianpollinatorweek.org.au/count/Contact the ShowWe are always looking for more guests to tell us about interesting citizen science projects, research and events.You can email us at: info@citizenscienceshow.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From the Mediterranean to the icy waters of the Southern Ocean, the sea has shaped every chapter of Lucia Morillo’s life. Raised between Barcelona and Minorca, she grew up with a profound respect for the ocean and its inhabitants. That early connection guided her path through academia, where she earned a PhD in genetics and molecular biology. After completing her thesis, Lucia decided that her knowledge should serve a greater purpose. Two weeks later, she boarded the Age of Union, a Sea Shepherd vessel in Namibia, to join the fight against illegal fishing. She has been at sea ever since.More Informationhttps://www.seashepherdglobal.org/Contact the ShowWe are always looking for more guests to tell us about interesting citizen science projects, research and events.You can email us at: info@citizenscienceshow.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.