Science Week: Exploring nature through citizen science

Celebrate National Science Week at Waverley Library by delving into the world of Citizen Science, with the recently published book, Exploring Nature Through Citizen Science, as our guide! Citizen science is the collaboration between everyday people and professional scientists to conduct real research - anyone can do it.

We're excited to bring authors Cam Slatyer and Thomas Mesaglio to Waverley Library, for an evening of scientific opportunities and new discoveries. They'll share insights from the book including the various types of projects available, how to get involved, what data and photos to collect and best practices. This lively discussion hopes to ignite the scientist within!

About the book

Exploring Nature through Citizen Science introduces citizen science and showcases its benefits, with a focus on Australia, including urban environments. The book explores the various types of projects available, explaining how the data is used to create real-world impact and offering practical guidance on what photographs to take and which data to record for different groups of organisms. Example projects from across Australia range from activities you can do in your home to active data collection in more remote areas, making it easier than ever for people to get involved in citizen science. With its friendly, accessible approach and many photographs, this book serves as a must-have guide for anyone looking to understand how best to get involved in citizen science in Australia.

About the authors

Cam Slatyer manages the scientific name backbone of the Atlas of Living Australia. He's been lucky enough to work in a variety of science and biodiversity roles in government as well as the Australian Museum which have taken him to some spectacular parts of Australia. He created BushBlitz, a public - private partnership that has run for sixteen years and continues to link scientists, industry and citizen scientists in discovering species new to western science. He was recently luck enough to be included in a scientific paper on the discovery of a new Australian fossil fish, mainly because as a volunteer he found the first fossil of it's bottom!

Thomas Mesaglio is a botanist and naturalist based at the University of New South Wales Sydney. He has a PhD in biodiversity informatics, and is currently a postdoctoral fellow working on the flora of Western New South Wales. Thomas is a curator and site administrator on the citizen science platform iNaturalist and loves writing books; he has published scientific field guides on seashells, fishes, and scientific etymology. He received the 2022 Eureka Prize for Innovation in Citizen Science for his work on bushfire recovery.