Do you manage a project? Add yours to the finder today! Are you looking to get involved in citizen science? Give the finder a search! Feel free to share your thoughts about the finder and what you are hopeful to see in the future by emailing Amy at info.acsa01@gmail.com.

How to submit a contribution to the listing:
Submitting a contribution can be done by sending an email to acsa.pubs.list@gmail.com with the following information:

• title
• author’s names and addresses (or affiliations)
• abstract
• the journal/proceedings/book with a link to the published document

Please only submit those publications where you are the author (to prevent duplication) and only include those that have been ACCEPTED for publication so that our listing does not become a preprint server.

If you have any questions or suggestions on how the publication list can be improved, please let us know at acsa.pubs.list@gmail.com.

We are looking forward to hearing about all the great work that everyone is doing!

An 18 August 2015 editorial in Nature incited vigorous commentary on the citizen science discussion e-list, given that the piece closed on a note of suspicion regarding volunteers’ motives and potential conflicts of interest. While the piece, entitled “Rise of the citizen scientist,” opens with positive attention to the growing contributions of citizen science, many expressed that citizen science was unfairly singled out with a critique that should be fairly leveled on all scientific endeavors.

This points to a troubling issue for the field – that the diligent and often cutting-edge work done by citizen science practitioners (volunteers and professionals alike) to ensure data integrity is not sufficiently understood or appreciated. This may be a call to action for CSA, along with the European Citizen Science Association and Australian Citizen Science Association, to help raise awareness of ways this concern is addressed – and impetus for all in this community to reveal and share the methods and procedures used to this end.

Inspired by these concerns, individual members and leaders from all three Associations jointly submitted a Letter to Nature in response. While not accepted for publication in the journal itself, the letter is now posted as a direct response to the article online – as are many other thoughtful comments from various viewpoints. The comment thread is still open.

For convenience, a PDF of the letter is also available for download here.

The new BioBlitiz Guidelines are available HERE

Our brief for the design of the ACSA graphic identity was that it needed to reflect:

• that we are an Australia-wide connected network of people
• any kind of science
• growth and spread

We also said it should be bright and appealing across all types of media and formats (websites, brochures, social media etc).

Holly Webber our designer has responded very well to this brief, giving us something that has already evoked a wide range of responses, “flowers, fish, and fractals” have been first responses from the first sight of the logo, people only seeing the people element later. Some other elements that come out are:

• the central star/flower has 8 elements – reflecting the 8 Australian States and Territories
• some of the dots are like eyes – the inquisitive nature of citizen science
• the people are big and small – the wide range of people and organizations involved in citizen science
• the perceptual illusion of switching between the white and orange shapes and spaces – that what we see in the world can be interpreted in more than one way

We hope you like it too and look forward to seeing it on websites, publications and T-Shirts in the near future.

All good wishes,

Libby Hepburn and Stephanie von Gavel

Holly Webber was the designer, and she can be contacted via the email hw.design@iinet.net.au

For the PDF of results click here: survey results