Below are citizen science projects that may interest you.
Chart Your Fart
Whether they're loud, smelly, or just downright hilarious or embarassing, everyone has their own unique relationships with flatulence. We get it and that's why CSIRO has developed "Chart Your Fart", a fun and informative way to delve into the fascinating world at the bottom end of the diet.
Our CSIRO team has done a lot of work in diet and gut health. Bloating and changes in gas production are common complaints and talking points. As part of our ongoing efforts in health and wellbeing research, the Chart Your Fart project aims to gather valuable insights into the flatulence patterns of Australians. We want to hear it - even the silent ones.
By recording them through our app with as much detail as possible - from stench levels to linger time - you'll be contributing to a ground breaking citizen science initiative that allows us to answer the question we hear time and time again, "how often do people fart?"
Ready to join the fart tracking revolution? Join our citizen science community and download the Chart Your Fart app.
Spread the word, not myrtle rust
'Spread the Word, Not the Rust' is an initiative led by the Atlas of Living Australia with support from partners in government and academia to help researchers better-understand the spread of myrtle rust across the country.
Myrtle rust is an invasive fungus that infects plants in the Myrtaceae family, including more than 1,500 species of Australian native trees and shrubs such as tea trees, bottlebrushes, paperbarks, and lily-pillies.
Through this initiative, we are encouraging Australians to identify and record observations of myrtle rust so we can build a map of its potential impact.
The most distinct symptom of myrtle rust is bright yellow spores on new leaves, stems, flowers, or fruit on plants in the Myrtaceae family.
How to report myrtle rust sightings
- Install a citizen science app such as iNaturalist or NatureMapr and take a photo and load the observation.
- Use the ALA Myrtle Rust Reporting Guide to help you identify and capture the critical information to report possible myrtle rust sightings.
- Don’t touch! Follow best practices to avoid accidentally spreading pathogens like myrtle rust!
- Check out citizen science projects like the iNaturalist project Gum Tree Guardians to connect with experts and learn more about myrtle rust in Australia.
The Great Eggcase Hunt
The Great Eggcase Hunt is an initiative of UK-based charity The Shark Trust. It began in the UK 20 years ago and has since recorded more than 380,000 individual egg cases from around the world.
CSIRO has teamed up with The Shark Trust to launch The Great Eggcase Hunt Australia.
We've contributed information to help people identify the egg cases of Australian species by looking at the size, shape and different features.
The Great Eggcase Hunt is suitable for everyone from children to seasoned beachcombers and divers. Record your sightings via The Shark Trust citizen science mobile phone app ( Android or Apple) or through the project website.
Eye on Water Australia
Water colour is a very informative indicator of the ecological state of marine and fresh-waters. Until recently, it has only been measurable with specialist scientific instruments.
Eye on Water Australia uses citizen sourced data to create a big picture of global water quality. By simply snapping a photo of the water, uploading it to the mobile app and comparing it to a colour chart, citizen scientists can help researchers monitor changes to Australian waters such as algae blooms, seasonal changes and sediment.
AirRater
Run by the University of Tasmania, the AirRater app monitors air quality, temperature and pollen levels and allows users to track physical symptoms, such as sneezing, itchy eyes and shortness of breath. AirRater combines the symptoms the user has entered with the environmental conditions at the time to build a picture of potential environmental triggers. In addition, app users can report their health symptoms as well as the presence of smoke during bushfires to measure the impact of smoke events on people with asthma. These data can be used to support community-wide air pollution health advisories, heatwave forecasting and alerts, and fire weather mapping to assist firefighters, landowners and government.
Update to AirRater app launched on 1 November, 2021.
You can read the media release, "Can you see or smell smoke? New tools harness citizen science to reduce the impacts of bushfire smoke on our communities", to find out about the new feature of the popular AirRater smartphone app, developed by the University of Tasmania's Menzies Institute for Medical Research.
AirRater App for Asthma health - biocollect.ala.org.au
Critterpedia
The tool allows users to take photos of a snake or spider from their smart device. A system trained with an algorithm then classifies it, providing information on the family, genus or species. The artificially intelligent (AI) platform considers not only these images, but also additional information, like GPS location.
The application aims to provide education and awareness for all Australians. And, as a wildlife safety tool, could ultimately save human and animal lives.
Global Plastic Pollution monitoring
CSIRO has developed an online national marine debris database where you can contribute data you collect about litter at your local beach. Together, we can contribute to the improved understanding of the types, amounts and sources of debris that arrives on Australia’s coastline.
CSIRO National Marine Debris Portal
We're also integrating it into initiatives around the world such as Earth Challenge 2020. Users can upload images of pollution to the free Earth Challenge 2020 app. These images will feed into a global database to provide scientists and global governing bodies with information on all things rubbish. This data includes where it’s found, the different types, and how much there is. The Earth Challenge 2020 project will build on our research analysing what rubbish there is on land versus the seafloor. It will inform future research projects and assist local authorities to develop targeted waste management strategies. All to reduce the impact of pollution on the environment. The Earth Challenge 2020 app will expand our datasets to paint a picture of the plastic pollution problem worldwide.
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