Citizen Science and the Environment

GAIA RESOURCES
Citizen Science and the Environment
A source of quality spatial data?
Piers Higgs
Gaia Resources
Presented at ISDE7 2011, 24th August, 2011

OVERVIEW
Topics covered
Overview of Citizen Science
Four Examples
Lessons learned
Where to from here?
Questions

CITIZEN SCIENCE & THE ENVIRONMENT
Why bother?

Who cares?
In 2007-08, 82% of adults in Australia reported thatthey were concerned about at least one environmental problem…
Over half said they thought the natural environment was declining
Source: ABS 2007-08 Environmental Views and Behaviour Survey http://tinyurl.com/3bqeydp

What can you do?

What about Citizen Science?

What is Citizen Science?
People
Connect
Problem
Solution!

EXAMPLES

EXAMPLES
Safecast www.safecast.org

EXAMPLES
Climatewatch www.climatewatch.org

EXAMPLES
Biodiversity Snapshots www.biodiversitysnapshots.net.au

EXAMPLES
Dieback Information Delivery & Management System

LESSONS LEARNED
Risks and Opportunities
Workforce
Software
Hardware
Data
Intellectual Property & Copyright

LESSONS LEARNED
Workforce
Do you really have a workforce issue?

LESSONS LEARNED
Engaging your workforce
Think about gaming theory…
Use an experience system
Multiple long & short term aims
Reward effort
Rapid feedback
Uncertainty
Windows of enhanced attention
Other people
http://tinyurl.com/28mvx7v

LESSONS LEARNED
Software
Deploy well tested, designed apps and systems
Search?

LESSONS LEARNED
Hardware
Don’t deploy single-platform solutions

LESSONS LEARNED
Data
Use sensible tools for validation, including spatial

LESSONS LEARNED
Copyright and Intelletual Property
Who owns a record that is entered to a citizen science project?
Can you even “own” a piece of data?
Creative commons, Right to Information, AusGOAL and other initiatives are providingsolutions for these issues

LESSONS LEARNED
Risks?
An inexhaustible supply of garbage?
A way to alienate people?
A source of rubbish data?
A way to lose money?
A way to lose quite a bit of money?
Yes!

LESSONS LEARNED
Opportunities?
An inexhaustible supply of labour?
A way to engage with people?
A source of free data?
A way to save money?
A way to get money?
Yes!

WHERE TO FROM HERE?
What’s the next technology…

WHERE TO FROM HERE?
What’s going on in our industry…
vs

Questions?
If you want to know more, please contact me
piers@gaiaresources.com.au
(08) 9227 7309
0411 754 006
Web site:
www.gaiaresources.com.au

Citizen Science and the Environment

by piers_higgs on Aug 25, 2011

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