Last week, I (North Central CMA River Detectives coordinator Nicole Howie) attended the three day biennial Australian Citizen Science Association conference in Melbourne representing the statewide program. It was attended by citizen science programs from across the country and even overseas with hundreds of passionate people either running their own programs or wanting to run their own programs.
I learnt SO MUCH but I also shared the River Detectives story. I was accepted to present a short 15min ‘themed talk’ on day one. There were around 50 people in the room.
The theme of the conference was “Citizen science as a catalyst for change” so I gave a brief background about the RD program but the main focus of my presentation was highlighting the great examples of how schools involved with the program have used it for their own ‘catalyst of change’ and stepped into the advocacy / change-making space.
You may be interested in a PDF of my slideshow and the notes that guided my talk.
The session generated quite a lot of interest!
Throughout the conference, the importance of citizen science and making it available to young people was a key focus. I was very proud of our program and what we are achieving in this space.
Thanks for all that you do! Storytelling is so important to promote the importance of citizen science and to keep providing hope in times of climate change. I love telling your stories!!
