JOIN THE CONSERVATION CRUSADE

from your phone ***

Being a “citizen scientist” is as simple as snapping a pic of a plant or animal and uploading it to a crowdsourced database. With thousands of people contributing from around the country, these apps provide far more information than scientists could ever collect by themselves. “There are all these cool stories about citizen scientists discovering new species, and there’s never been a more important time to do that,” says Grarock. Get involved by downloading these apps:

INATURALIST: Take a pic and inaturalist will help you identify plants and animals – plus the data feeds into the Atlas Of Living Australia, a collaboration between the CSIRO, museums, universities and the government that collects information about different species, helping scientists further understand and protect nature. You can also record signs of bushfire recovery. FROGID: This app from the Australian Museum will identify frogs if you upload a recording of their croaking. It then uses that info to track changes in their habitat, which helps monitor the health of particular environments. CLIMATEWATCH: From Earthwatch, this app tracks the effects of climate change over time, thanks to its users recording animal and plant observations. QUESTAGAME: Turn animal- and plant-spotting into a competition by playing this game, with challenges, quests and correct identifications gaining you points and adding to scientific knowledge. As the tagline puts it: “Your mission: saving life on earth.”