People power: Spotlight on 3 amazing citizen science projects

What is cit­i­zen science?

Cit­i­zen sci­ence is when every­day peo­ple get involved in the col­lec­tion and analy­sis of data about the nat­ur­al world, often in col­lab­o­ra­tion with pro­fes­sion­al sci­en­tists. This approach allows sci­en­tists to mon­i­tor a wider range of loca­tions and fill in data gaps. Whether it’s sup­port­ing sus­tain­able agri­cul­ture, con­tribut­ing to research projects, or influ­enc­ing nat­ur­al resource man­age­ment, there are count­less ways to make a dif­fer­ence by par­tic­i­pat­ing in cit­i­zen science.

Cit­i­zen Sci­ence Small Grants

The Envi­ron­men­tal Cit­i­zen Sci­ence Small Grants sup­port projects that address research ques­tions or gath­er data about liv­ing organ­isms and the nat­ur­al envi­ron­ment, includ­ing plants, ani­mals, fun­gi and the dynam­ics of eco­log­i­cal com­mu­ni­ties. These grants also cov­er some key ele­ments of our nat­ur­al envi­ron­ment, such as soil, water and air.

These three projects high­light just how pow­er­ful com­mu­ni­ty involve­ment can be and the great work being under­tak­en by cit­i­zen sci­en­tists! To see all the oth­er suc­cess­ful recip­i­ents, vis­it the Depart­ment for Envi­ron­ment and Water page.

Project 1: Yab­bies as indi­ca­tors of ground­wa­ter health in Brown­hill Creek

Led by: Brown­hill Creek Asso­ci­a­tion Inc.

This inno­v­a­tive project, which began in 2023, is using yab­bies to help mon­i­tor the health of Brown­hill Creek’s ground­wa­ter-depen­dent ecosys­tem — and the local com­mu­ni­ty is cen­tral to its success.

Two gaug­ing sta­tions have been con­struct­ed: one upstream using a new­ly built weir and anoth­er at the his­toric Willaw­illa Kar­ra Kuu weir. Vol­un­teers from Friends of Parks and Nature group, Friends of Brown­hill Creek played a key role in the con­struc­tion and instal­la­tion of these sta­tions, and water lev­el log­gers are now active­ly record­ing data.

Phase 2 of the project involved schools tak­ing the lead in yab­by mon­i­tor­ing. In Novem­ber 2023, around 120 stu­dents from six schools joined an envi­ron­men­tal edu­ca­tion day, con­duct­ing exper­i­ments using pyra­mid and drop nets to com­pare bait types like sheep liv­er, dog fritz and pump­kin. The activ­i­ty was­n’t just about catch­ing yab­bies — it helped inform future sur­vey design and sparked hands-on learn­ing about bio­di­ver­si­ty and water quality.

Project 2: Wild Web­cap: shin­ing a light on South Australia’s fungi

Led by: Jes­si­ca Bamford

Jes­si­ca Bam­ford, along with a ded­i­cat­ed com­mu­ni­ty of fun­gi lovers began this project in 2024 to research fun­gi in the South­ern Mount Lofty Ranges. The pur­pose was to iden­ti­fy species, build a local phy­lo­ge­net­ic tree, and pro­duce a pub­lic-friend­ly iden­ti­fi­ca­tion guide. 

Fun­gi might be small, but they play a big role in healthy ecosys­tems — and they’re often over­looked. Wild Web­cap is putting the colour­ful, mys­te­ri­ous genus Corti­nar­ius under the spot­light in the Ade­laide Hills and beyond.

Since launch­ing, the project has:

• Sub­mit­ted spec­i­mens for DNA analysis
• Host­ed pub­lic webi­na­rs and forays
• Shared updates through social media, work­shops and new field guides
• Cre­at­ed draft ver­sions of an ID hand­book and field datasheets
• Planned sev­er­al com­mu­ni­ty engage­ment events in part­ner­ship with Friends of Parks and Nature Groups such as Friends of Waite Con­ser­va­tion Reserve and the Hills Envi­ron­ment Cen­tre.

Project 3: Restor­ing Cof­fin Bay’s lost oys­ter reefs

Led by: Emmanuel Lukingan-Katz

Once teem­ing with life, Cof­fin Bay’s native oys­ter reefs have faced seri­ous decline — but this project, which began in 2023 is bring­ing them back, with locals lead­ing the way. The pur­pose of this project is to improve local water qual­i­ty and marine biodiversity.

In 2023, more than 75 res­i­dents gath­ered at the Cof­fin Bay Yacht Club to kick off the ini­tia­tive, which has since evolved into a full-scale com­mu­ni­ty effort. High­lights include:

• Edu­ca­tion­al out­reach to over 100 stu­dents at local high schools
• The launch of a ded­i­cat­ed project web­site and podcast
• A div­ing schol­ar­ship pro­gram for stu­dents, offer­ing PADI Open Water certification
• Field exper­i­ments test­ing native oys­ter recruit­ment across sanc­tu­ary zones in Thorny Pas­sage Marine Park (first retrieval com­plet­ed April 2024)
• Bio­di­ver­si­ty mon­i­tor­ing in col­lab­o­ra­tion with Uni of Ade­laide students
• Children’s reef ram­bles with stu­dents aged 6 – 12 to spark curios­i­ty early

The project con­tin­ues to inspire through sci­ence com­mu­ni­ca­tion and hands-on marine conservation.

The impor­tance of cit­i­zen science

Cit­i­zen sci­ence brings togeth­er peo­ple of all ages and back­grounds to con­tribute to envi­ron­men­tal research and action — whether it’s count­ing yab­bies, sur­vey­ing fun­gi, or div­ing for oys­ter shells.

It builds sci­en­tif­ic knowl­edge, sup­ports con­ser­va­tion, and fos­ters a deep­er con­nec­tion to the places we care about. But per­haps most impor­tant­ly, it shows that any­one can make a difference. 

Park of the Month

For the month of April, Nation­al Parks and Wildlife Ser­vice is cel­e­brat­ing cit­i­zen sci­ence activ­i­ties in nation­al parks, as part of our reg­u­lar Park of the Month pro­gram. To see all the activ­i­ties on offer and to make a real dif­fer­ence to bio­di­ver­si­ty and con­ser­va­tion efforts vis­it parks​.sa​.gov​.au/​g​e​t​-​i​n​s​p​i​r​e​d​/​p​a​r​k​-​o​f​-​t​h​e​-​month!

Main image: Brown­hill Creek Project weir con­cret­ing team at gaug­ing sta­tion Marti