FEATURE STORY
WORDS Jane Miller | PHOTOGRAPHS Blue Razoo
CONNECTING PEOPLE
TO NATURE THROUGH
CITIZEN SCIENCE
THE City of Salisbury is rich with places where people can experience and
learn about their local natural environment.
Counting koalas, bringing in bugs, and monitoring magpies are just
some of the ways that ‘citizen scientists’ have been involved since
the University of South Australia began undertaking large scale
ecological science projects involving the community in 2007. Now
it’s the turn of Salisbury’s residents to get involved!
Under a new partnership being coordinated through UniSA, residents
of Salisbury will have the opportunity to become ‘citizen scientists’,
and partner with researchers in activities that engage them with
their local, natural environment.
It’s all part of an international push to create biophilic communities.
These are communities that actively promote public participation in
projects that cultivate people’s connection and pride in their local
community and natural environment.
Past projects providing opportunities for people to reconnect with
the environment and gain a greater understanding of their local flora
and fauna have included:
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Operation Bluetongue (2007) which collected data about six
different bluetongue lizard species across South Australia; and
information about how people interact with them in their
gardens;
Operation Magpie (2009) which collected behavioural
observations of Australia’s magpies and information about
participants’ attitudes to private gardens;
Bring us your Bugs (2009) which included two one-day events
where around 3,000 people brought in approximately 2,000
invertebrate specimens; and
The Great Koala Count in 2012 which was a one-day count of
koalas around SA, with around 1,500 koalas reported.
These large scale projects have been designed to involve members
of the public in local issues where there is a need for research,
education and engagement, providing opportunities for them to
understand their local flora and fauna better.
“We typically see or hear wildlife every day, but often we don’t take
much notice,” said UniSA Project Leader, Dr Roetman. “When people get
involved in citizen science projects it raises their interest and they learn
new things. That interest and knowledge stays after the projects.”
UniSA Project Leader, Dr Roetman
14 | SUMMER 2013 | SALISBURY AWARE | www.salisbury.sa.gov.au
Maintaining and enhancing the natural environment and encouraging
a sense of community are priorities for Salisbury Council. “We’re
really excited to be involved in this project,” said Salisbury’s Mayor,
Gillian Aldridge. “Wetlands, biodiversity, parks and reserves are a key
part of our city’s make-up, but I wonder how many residents get the
chance to really connect with nature in a meaningful way?”