Australian Citizen Science Association

This National Volunteer Week, we recognise the contributions of volunteers who are advancing environmental monitoring and strengthening community-based science through citizen science 🌿

Volunteering in citizen science programs provides opportunities to develop practical skills in ecological monitoring, contribute to real-world environmental datasets, engage with like-minded participants, and participate directly in conservation research and decision-making processes.

Whether you’re completely new to volunteering or already passionate about nature, our community events are designed for everyone to get involved. A chance for you to become a citizen scientist!

Join us at one of our upcoming citizen science events:

Fraser Street Tiny Forest Monitoring: Glen Waverley, VIC
📅 Sunday 24 May
Register: https://buff.ly/RIaqbri

Saltmarsh Survey: Bluewater Round 2
📅 Saturday 13 June
Register: https://buff.ly/7OzlZkp

Saltmarsh Survey: Oonoonba Round 2
📅 Sunday 14 June
Register: https://buff.ly/7OzlZkp

From monitoring biodiversity to surveying coastal wetlands, Earthwatch volunteers help collect valuable environmental data that supports long-term conservation outcomes across Australia.

Thank you to all the volunteers making environmental action possible.
Read more about the benefits of volunteering via our blog: https://buff.ly/f7NPJN8

Image: Bendi Media

ReefBlitz is an annual marine citizen science event between 1-8 June for sharing and increasing knowledge on marine species of Queensland. Join us for a webinar Reef Conversations- Reef Blitz 2026 at 11am Monday 1 June. World Ocean Day MOUA / Museum of Underwater Art Adrenalin Dive Mission Beach Dive Pleasure Divers Magnetic Island Australian Coral Reef Society JCU: James Cook University, Australia Master Reef Guides Australian Coral Reef Society Australian Citizen Science Association

In case you missed it...

Earlybird registration *now open*. Earlybird registrations close 30 June 2026.
www.qoc2026.org

Lunch, morning and afternoon tea will be provided. Those keen to wake up early can join for a bird-walk in the morning.

The conference brings together local and national experts and enthusiasts on Australian avifauna to share and discuss the latest bird research and conservation.

Im case you missed it...

Ht Raptor Refuge and Citizen Science Show

Costa Georgiadis Official
Raptor Vision
BirdLife Tasmania
Bob Brown Foundation

🦅 Meet the man who swapped a 1.5-tonne fishing net for two cartons of beer and used it to build the largest raptor flight aviaries in the Southern Hemisphere.

Craig Webb started with a backpack, a surfboard, and a joey named Nigel. Today, he runs Raptor Refuge in Kettering, Tasmania home to 50+ birds of prey, four threatened species, and one of the most passionate conservation stories you'll ever hear.

In our latest episode of the Citizen Science Show, Craig shares:

🏹 The incredible story of Cupid the Wedge-tailed eagle shot with an arrow, tracked across Tasmania by the public, and released on Valentine's Day

⚡ The hidden crisis killing 100+ eagles a year in Tasmania (and the $5 fix that could stop it)

🦅 What it really takes to rehabilitate a Sea Eagle, including teaching one to do cardio

🌿 Why he believes a developing nation like South Africa is doing MORE for wildlife than Tasmania

And he reveals the secret that every display bird at Raptor Refuge is quietly keeping. 🤫

👇 Listen now and share — these birds need all the voices they can get.

🔗 https://open.spotify.com/episode/0rKUBNlVyGPtbsjvStKh40?si=cBozf84nQ1G8BX0-oVsGOw

📞 Dead or injured raptor in Tasmania? Call 1800 Raptor Refuge
💛 Become a member or book a tour at Raptor Refuge — every dollar goes directly to the birds.



Australian Citizen Science Association
SciStarter
Raptor Refuge

Out Of The Blue Question:

Which citizen science project was your first?

"You can't just sit back and watch it happen."

In case you missed it from Citizen Science Show

You can't just sit back and watch it happen.

For more than three decades, Graeme Sawyer has been one of the Northern Territory’s most recognisable voices in citizen science and environmental education.

A former Lord Mayor of Darwin and founder of Frogwatch NT, Graeme has spent much of his life connecting people — especially children — with the wildlife of the Top End.

But alongside the wonder of frogs, wetlands and night walks has come another story: the slow devastation caused by invasive cane toads.

Speaking on The Citizen Science Show Podcast with host Dani Lloyd Prichard, Graeme reflects on the environmental changes he has witnessed firsthand since the late 1980s — and why he still believes people power remains the strongest force for conservation.

Listen to the episode for free on your favourite podcast app
https://shows.acast.com/citizen-science-show

Australian Citizen Science Association
SciStarter
NT Field Naturalists' Club Inc

🌏 *Great Southern Bioblitz (GSB) 2026 – Organisers Wanted!*

The Great Southern Bioblitz is returning from *27–30 November 2026*, and is now inviting organisers from across the Southern Hemisphere to register their regions and join this growing global celebration of biodiversity.

In 2025, the GSB recorded:
📸 *282,261 observations*
🌱 *37,550 species*
👥 *9,993 observers*

Whether your area is a city, municipality, district, province, island, national park, or community group, all are welcome to be involved!

As a volunteer regional organiser, you'll help showcase local biodiversity, engage your community with nature, and contribute to one of the largest citizen science biodiversity events in the Southern Hemisphere using the iNaturalist.org app or website.

📅 *Observation Period:* 27–30 November 2026
📅 *Upload & Identification Period:* Until 14 December 2026

👉 Register as an organiser:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdTyGN2ntZaL5DoS_BJkJOaKrvC71DsdUyqefaGnefwMIkGZg/viewform

🌐 Learn more:
https://www.greatsouthernbioblitz.org/

🔗 Follow all of the GSB worldwide accounts & stay connected:
https://linktr.ee/gsbioblitz

We encourage all of Australia's Regional and Remote LGAs, Landcare Australia, 'Friends of' groups, Scouts Australia, Girl Guides Australia,

We look forward to watching the *GSB 2026* grow into the biggest and most successful Southern Hemisphere event yet!



HT Costa Georgiadis Official, Citizen Science Show, Citizens of the Reef, Citizen Science New Zealand, Citizen Science South Africa, SciStarter, ABC Science, CSIRO, Atlas of Living Australia, National Parks Association of Queensland, National Parks Association of NSW, National Parks Association of the ACT, National Parks and Wildlife Service South Australia, Conservation Volunteers Australia, Department of Industry, Science and Resources.

gsbioblitz Official: Instagram, Facebook | Linktree Linktree. Make your link do more.

"Researchers at UNSW are now encouraging property owners across Australia to participate in programs like New South Wales’s Land Libraries project, which provides training and equipment specifically to help landowners document biodiversity on their own properties and contribute to the scientific record. "

From the InterstellarKinetics community on Reddit: DISCOVERY: A Bird Ba**er in the Australian Outback Photographed a Strange Shrub and Uploaded It to iNaturalist, Accidentally Rediscovering a Plant That Scientists Had Believed Was Extinct Since... Explore this post and more from the InterstellarKinetics community

Introducing Spencer from Save Sunrise Glossies. Check out his story of how going birding has made him into one of the most well-known young environmentalists of our time in the latest podcast from Citizen Science Show
Ht
Costa Georgiadis Official


https://www.facebook.com/share/p/18wcB9V4pm/

Spencer believes meaningful environmental change begins with "Observe, Learn, Protect".

At just fifteen years old, Spencer Hitchen has become one of Australia’s most recognisable young conservation voices — not through political slogans or social media trends, but through patient observation, powerful photography, and an unwavering commitment to protecting nature.

From the Wallum woodlands of Noosa on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, Spencer has transformed a childhood fascination with glossy black cockatoos into a global conservation movement. Along the way, he has launched World Stand Up For Nature Day, contributed to campaigns influencing environmental protections, produced award-winning wildlife photography, and inspired thousands of young people to reconnect with the natural world.
But for Spencer, the journey began with a single bird.

Falling in Love with the Glossies

Spencer was only six years old when he first joined a local environment group and met a conservationist known as “Glossy Bob”, who had spent more than two decades observing glossy black cockatoos in the Noosa region.

Together, they would visit a local waterhole where the cockatoos gathered each evening.

Spencer quickly became captivated by the birds — their calls, their behaviours, and the fragile ecosystem that sustained them.
“I just fell in love with them,” Spencer said.

He returned almost every afternoon, photographing and observing the flock so closely that he learned to recognise individual birds.

But the joy of discovery soon collided with a devastating reality.
Standing beneath a black sheoak tree — a critical food source for the cockatoos — Spencer learned the surrounding 5.8-hectare habitat was scheduled for destruction.

For the young conservationist, the moment became life-changing.

Listen to this podcast episode for free on your favourite podcast app.
https://shows.acast.com/citizen-science-show/episodes/a-voice-for-the-glossies-how-fifteen-year-old-spencer-hitche

Australian Citizen Science Association
SciStarter
BirdLife Australia
Hunter Bird Observers Club (HBOC)
Save Sunrise Glossies

have you heard about the Important Shark and Ray Areas - ISRAs project?

Its a global initiative led through the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Shark Specialist Group and relies on citizen scientists.

Really interesting podcast - check it out now from Citizen Science Show:

Marine conservationists around the world are racing to identify the ocean habitats most critical to the survival of sharks and rays before it is too late.

At the centre of that effort is the Important Shark and Ray Areas - ISRAs project, a global initiative led through the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Shark Specialist Group.

The project aims to pinpoint the breeding grounds, feeding hotspots and migration corridors essential to sustaining shark, ray and chimaera populations worldwide.

For Dr Rima Jabado, chair of the IUCN Species Survival Commission Shark Specialist Group, the project represents a major shift in marine conservation thinking.

“It’s not just about protecting the species anymore,” Rima said. “It’s about identifying the places in the ocean that are most important for those species to survive.”

Joining Rima on the Citizen Science Show podcast was marine scientist Dr Asia Armstrong, whose work in spatial ecology and threatened species conservation has made her a key contributor to the project.

Together, the pair described an ambitious global effort built not only on science, but also on the observations of ordinary ocean users.

Citizen science driving global conservation
One of the defining features of the ISRA project is its reliance on community data.

In many parts of the world, long-term scientific monitoring of shark and ray populations simply does not exist. To fill those gaps, the ISRA team actively gathers information from recreational divers, fishers, dive operators, photographers and citizen scientists.

“We reach out to anyone and everyone,” Asia said. “Dive centres, fishers, influencers, recreational clubs — anyone spending time in the water who might have useful observations.”

The project also mines online platforms such as iNaturalist, recreational fishing forums and social media posts for additional evidence.

According to Rima, seemingly anecdotal information can become incredibly valuable when repeated over time and supported by photographs or videos.

“People posting their pictures and experiences online is a huge help for us,” she said.

Dive logbooks have proven especially valuable, particularly when paired with photographic evidence that allows scientists to verify species identification.

Listen to this podcast episode for free on your favourite podcast app: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3ByE7H8ZoiZUTlObetmkBh?si=3T6NI4z2QkiKTOIR5Oom3A

Spot A Shark
Project Manta - The manta rays of Australia
IUCN
Important Shark and Ray Areas - ISRAs
Australian Citizen Science Association
SciStarter