Meet the 10 projects that received Citizen Science funding

The Citizen Science Fund has awarded $1.31 million in grants to help fund 10 large-scale projects that seek to improve our understanding of the environment through scientific research.

The South Australian Government has established a Citizen Science Fund to encourage and support the community to carry out scientific research about environmental conditions.

2024 Citizen Science Fund grant recipients

Congratulations to the following grant recipients:

• Northern and Yorke Landscape Board will monitor ecosystem health by collecting macroinvertebrate and habitat data from multiple sites through the Waterbug Bioblitzes and Waterwatch SA program
• Australian Citizen Science Association Inc are developing a training program to address and bridge the existing skill gaps among leaders of citizen science projects in South Australia
• Nature Glenelg Trust will run a Limestone Coast community bird monitoring program
• Austland Management Pty Ltd are improving understanding of how arid woodland responds to natural disturbances
• Flinders University are investigating which introduced marine species and cryptogenic species are living in Eyre Peninsula waters, from Port Augusta to Coffin Bay.
• Fungimap Inc are studying whether fungi groups are reliable indicators of ecosystem health across the Mount Lofty Ranges
• Nature Conservation Society of SA are training citizen scientists on bird identification, biology and ecology
• Burrandies Aboriginal Corporation are gathering data on turtle populations in wetland and swampy areas of the Limestone Coast
• BirdLife Australia are training citizen scientists in beach-nesting bird recovery, including Hooded Plovers
• Trees For Life are supporting landowners to monitor and evaluate the condition of native habitats on land they manage

Learn more about the Citizen Science Fund here.

What is citizen science?

Citizen science is when people volunteer their time to partner with researchers to increase scientific knowledge.

Citizen scientists collect data, make discoveries and explore nature for projects that help researchers by:

• observing where and when plants, animals or fungi are present
• transcribing information from museum collections to make data accessible digitally
• identifying animals in photos.

Want to learn more about citizen science or get involved this citizen science month? Visit https://www.environment.sa.gov.au/topics/science/citizen-science.