How retirees, beachcombers and communities help scientists track everything from threatened species to algal blooms

By Katie Irvine, TERN Surveillance Communication Lead, Adelaide University
Ben Sparrow, Associate Professor and Director - TERN Ecosystem Surveillance, Adelaide University

How healthy are Australia’s ecosystems? To answer that, scientists need data. But Australia is huge – and the number of professional scientists is limited. That’s where citizen science can help.

Every winter, thousands of grey nomads take to the roads and head north. Families return to familiar campgrounds for school holidays. Bushwalkers move through forests and along coastlines. School students catch invertebrates in rivers to learn about waterway health.

Each of these groups – and many more – can collect data vital to conservation efforts. When a citizen scientist uploads…

Read complete article

~	Cuba: Exile of Afro-Cuban artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara underscores years of injustice

~	‘Like someone whacking a piñata’: orcas explode sunfish by ramming them at high speed

~	Employment surges in June, leaving the door open to further interest rate rises

~	At a time of harder borders and ‘ruthless’ rhetoric, the Refugee Convention is more important than ever

~	Will cough lozenges, syrups or medicated hot drinks make my cough go away?

~	Domestic violence isn’t a ‘two-way street’. The evidence shows it’s gendered and often deadly

~	UAE: International Cycling’s Top Team Risks ‘Sportswashing’

~	Niger: 3 Years of Military Rule Deepens Human Rights Crisis

~	India: Excessive Force Used Against Student Protesters

~	Philippines: Rights Advocates in Mining Areas Face Prosecution