EMCR Lunchtime Seminar 1 - Pat Bonney
Channel: Australian Citizen Science Association
Date: 2021-03-18

Early and Mid-Career Researchers Citizen Science Lunchtime Seminar #1 featuring Dr Pat Bonney (Federation University)


Since settlement, Australia's freshwater environments have been heavily degraded - from historic overexploitation and unsustainable land management practices to new and often 'hidden' pollutants and the growing impacts of climate change. Although solutions are not always clear, citizen science has long been recognised as a critical part of our collective efforts to protect and restore these precious natural resources. 


In this presentation Dr. Bonney reflects on the history of freshwater citizen science, its current practices, and future trajectories, drawing on his research and experience working across a diverse set of projects. The insights he has gained suggest that a core challenge for new and existing projects is less to do with obtaining scientific advances and rather more to do with meaningful and lasting citizen science hinges on building the necessary relationships and political will at the interface between science, policy, and practice. It is these social dimensions that will require greater attention as the field of citizen science grows - both theoretically and practically - in the pursuit of positive social and environmental change.