Activating Citizen Scientists
- Stephen Fricker
- Feb 3, 2021
- 2 min read
Citizen Science Impacts on Health and Well-being in Older South Australians
We are looking for participants, over the age of 50 for a citizen science experience trial. Participants will complete questionnaires, wear physical activity measuring devices, and participate in a citizen science activity. This project stems directly from our previously completed study, ‘Activating Citizen Scientists’ for the Office for Ageing Well. In that study, we reviewed previously published evidence on the wellbeing benefits for older people participating in citizen science. In our previous trials, we investigated the biodiversity of 8 urban parks and revegetation sites (St Peters Billabong, Henry Codd Reserve & bikeway and the Dry Creek Trail) that are often bypassed for the more well known larger national parks in the Hills or not even noticed by the public. This could be considered a mistake by those of us interested in urban ecology and those interested in how we interact with the environment where we spend most of our time.
These areas held a surprising amount of biodiversity, often requiring the participants simply to slow down and take in the environment. This was in part due to the time of year with many smaller insects out and about, while nesting boxes and tree hollows were full. The Citizen science excursions introduced the participants to the iNaturalist platform which can be used as an app on a mobile device in addition to a web site accessed via a computer. To gain an understanding of the events please have a look at our blogs covering our previous excursions.
The final excursion will coincide with the 'City Nature Challenge' a global event investigating the biodiversity of urban environments and their surroundings. Last year 244 cities joined the challenge with more than 41, 000 participants, from 244 cities across the globe. In 2020 Greater Adelaide area joined for the first time with 198 participants making nearly seven thousand observations. This will be an amazing end to our citizen science schedule.
If you are considering getting involved, please contact us through the main page or email Kylie Dankiw (Kylie.Dankiw@unisa.edu.au). We are looking forward to seeing you.
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