With citizen science you can not only learn about the world just outside your window you can also lend a helping hand to some real science projects across Australia or even across the world! We are big fans of citizen science here at Backyard Buddies so here are just a few of our favourite apps, websites or projects to get you started.
If you find anymore that you love let us know on our Facebook page so that everyone else can join in too. That’s what citizen science is all about!
Are you a bird nerd? WE ARE! Every year you can be part of the Big Aussie Bird Count in October, or every day you can find out what bird is making that noise, flying over head or eating the dogs food!
The Birds in Backyards bird finder is great for beginners to learn all about the birds in their backyards. Head to Birds in Backyards now to take part in their Autumn bird survey.
Habitat loss, climate change and pollution are large causes of declining frog populations around the world. Frog populations in Australia are declining at an alarming rate. Learn what you can do to help conserve frog populations in Australia through the Australian Museum’s national citizen science project: FrogID.
Not sure where to start? Then start by taking a look at the Australian Citizen Science Association’s website. They have a database of hundreds of citizen science projects across Australia. There is bound to be one near you!
You can help catalogue the museums amazing collections by becoming a digivol. They also have some great projects lilke the Cockatoo Wing Tag project that helps scientists track cockatoos around Sydney.
Echidnas are found across Australia and although they are just one of the two monotremes found in Australia (other being the platypus) there is still relatively littel known abot them. Help the team at EchidnaCSI find out more about these amazing and spoky creatures. Download Echidna CSI
Are you ready to set off on a wild adventure? Join WilderQuest today and become a WilderQuestRanger. Discover amazing places, play games, earn points and more!
The WilderQuest program includes a website, an iPad App and links to Ranger tours and activities in national parks across NSW. It provides opportunities for families to experience nature and Aboriginal culture, online, in classrooms, at events and in National Parks.
And there is a Teacher portal: ‘WilderQuest Learning’. Fun bug hunts, playground prowls, invertebrate investigations and Aboriginal bush lessons are just a few schoolyard activities from the environmental online learning portal called WilderQuest Learning (WQL) designed for primary school teachers and their students.
Have you explored WilderQuest as a family? Come and meet Ranger Sam, Pug, Spot and the rest of the gang in a national park near you. During the school holidays, NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service run WilderQuest ranger-guided tours for kids to discover the hidden mysteries of our national parks. You can discover our wonderful coastline on a sea creatures treasure hunt, become a waterbug detective, or join an Aboriginal ranger on a bush tucker workshop. There’s heaps of exciting adventures for the whole family. Keep an eye on the website to find out about WilderQuest tours in your region.
