Published in

Springer, Urban Ecosystems, 3(25), p. 741-752, 2021

DOI: 10.1007/s11252-021-01187-3

Links

Tools

Export citation

Search in Google Scholar

Citizen science in cities: an overview of projects focused on urban Australia

Journal article published in 2021 by Erin Roger ORCID, Alice Motion ORCID
This paper is made freely available by the publisher.
This paper is made freely available by the publisher.

Full text: Download

Green circle
Preprint: archiving allowed
Orange circle
Postprint: archiving restricted
Red circle
Published version: archiving forbidden
Data provided by SHERPA/RoMEO

Abstract

AbstractCitizen science offers a unique opportunity to connect urban-dwellers with the often hidden natural world upon their doorsteps and to contribute to authentic research that increases knowledge of urban ecology and biodiversity. With the majority of Australia’s population residing in large cities, this diverse potential pool of participants in science creates a significant opportunity to increase the spatial and temporal scale of research. Herein, we provide an overview of Australian urban citizen science projects based on an analysis of the projects listed in the Australian Citizen Science Association’s Citizen Science Project Finder. We draw out key features (such as those with research questions specific to cities such as reintroduction and persistence of species in urban environments) from urban citizen science projects that make them suitable for the urban environment and use these features to suggest recommendations for further expansion and development of this important subset of projects. We conclude that the number and diversity of urban citizen science projects is relatively low in Australia, and advocate for an increase in initiatives that can tap into a large pool of potential participants for the benefit of science and society.