Awards night abuzz with praise for citizen science program
Insect Investigators Schools Liaison Dr Sylvia Clarke and Project Manager Dr Erinn Fagan-Jeffries, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Adelaide receive the Eureka Prize for Innovation in Citizen Science from Australia’s Chief Scientist Dr Cathy Foley AO PSM. Credit: Australian Museum/Mel Koutchavlis
School of Biological Sciences celebrates prestigious award win.
A citizen science program increasing the knowledge of Australia's diverse ecosystems has been recognised at the 2024 Australian Museum Eureka Prizes.
Insect Investigators, a collaborative partnership including the University of Adelaide, University of the Sunshine Coast, South Australian Museum, Queensland Museum, Western Australian Museum, Murraylands and Riverland Landscape Board and Western Australian Gould League, won the Department of Industry, Science and Resources Eureka Prize for Innovation in Citizen Science.
As part of the program, regional schools across South Australia, Western Australia and Queensland help to collect specimens of invertebrates using Malaise traps, which are then sent to expert taxonomists for identification.
When new species are found, the students are then given an opportunity to help name the specimens.
"There are more than 200,000 species of insect in Australia, but most don't have names and we don't know enough about them,"said Program Manager Dr Erinn Fagan-Jefferies, of the University of Adelaide's School of Biological Sciences.