Citizen Science
Piers Higgs, Gaia Resources
In recent times, there has been a growing awareness that the general public can be a major source of biodiversity data. Projects and programs such as Climatewatch, Rabbitscan, Birddata and the Great Australian Shark Count have all amassed data from the public about a range of Australian species.
The Atlas of Living Australia has a role to play in this ‘citizen science’ space. The data gathered through citizen science activities can be used to supplement biodiversity data gathered by professionals, adding considerable knowledge to our understanding of Australia’s environment.
One of the key areas where the Atlas can assist these projects is in the collection of data. The Atlas has proposed the development (in conjunction with other developments being undertaken in other areas of the Atlas) of web-based toolsets that can help these citizen science projects collect data. Initial discussions indicate that web-based software tools would be useful – although many challenges still face the project to deal with the wide range of functionality and data that would be required.
In addition to providing ways to help collect data, the Atlas is also investigating ways in which the proposed tools can mobilize citizen science data to a wider audience. These tools will use standards developed by Biodiversity Information Standards (TDWG) group for the exchange of biodiversity information, allowing the data from citizen science projects to be mobilized through the Atlas.
In order to investigate the citizen science space further, the Atlas has asked Piers Higgs from Gaia Resources in Western Australia to co-ordinate a requirements analysis project. This project will review some of the citizen science efforts already underway in Australia, and then to look in depth at the requirements of several ‘exemplar’ citizen science projects, and to identify ways in which the Atlas can help projects to gather and mobilize this data. Finally, opportunities with other organizations will also be investigated to look at partnerships, the long term viability and sustainability of the tools, and ways to implement these tools.
The project is currently wrapping up the final stages of the requirements gathering, with Piers heading to Canberra for a workshop with organizations interested in one of the exemplar projects. The report will be completed by the end of November.
