Welcome to CitSciNZ!
The Citizen Science Association of Aotearoa NZ (#CitSciNZ) was formed in August 2019. We are part of a growing number of associations around the world dedicated to progressing the field of citizen science in our respective countries. #CitSciNZ is a nation-wide network of citizen science researchers, coordinators, and practitioners all passionate about citizen science. We represent a cross-section of fields and sectors including education (primary, secondary, and tertiary), environmental management, terrestrial and marine sciences. We work for community trusts, NGOs and government agencies as well as schools, universities and museums. We embrace diversity!
What we do
- Promote the growth and development of all forms of citizen science in Aotearoa New Zealand
- Support networking and information exchange between citizen science participants, partners and stakeholders
- Assist citizen science data sharing and re-use opportunities through open access repositories, data quality and interoperability initiatives
- Support technical innovations that enable the collection, visualisation, communication, sharing and re-use of citizen science-generated data
- Encourage the development of government and agency policies and plans that promote and support citizen science projects, programmes and their outputs
#CitSciNZ TEAM
CSAANZ Co-Chairs
Lisa’s introduction to citizen science was coordinating AstroQuest, a radio astronomy citizen science project in Western Australia. She has been involved with the Australian Citizen Science Association (ACSA) since 2020 and joined CSAANZ in 2023 after moving to Dunedin. She has a passionate interest in serious games and engaging the public in science using interactive technologies. Lisa currently works at the University of Otago as project manager for a team investigating the effects of space weather.
Ash has been a CSAANZ Committee member since 2019. She is an environmental educator, science communicator, and tour guide based in Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington. She currently works for Te Reo o te Taiao Forest & Bird as their Youth Network Support Coordinator, supporting rangatahi aged 14-25 in conservation and environment. Her core areas of expertise include wildlife and conservation education, education programme and resource development, volunteer management, and community engagement.
CSAANZ Secretary
Aless has been involved in CSAANZ intermittently since 2018 after she first engaged with citizen science through the Marine Metre Squared (Mm2) project. Aless went on to use Marine Metre Squared as a focus for her master’s research at the University of Otago before stepping into project coordinator for Mm2. Aless moved into the marine biosecurity team at the Northland Regional Council and along with the Top of the North partnership, developed content and resources to educate, encourage and promote awareness of marine biosecurity issues and best practices. She has recently moved to the Northern Territory in Australia however is still keen to grow citizen science, particularly in the marine environment, in Aotearoa New Zealand.
CSAANZ 2024 Committee
Shane is an aquatic landscape ecologist working on the conservation & restoration of aquatic environments and resources. Alongside lending support to community & citizen science initiatives he specialises in land-water boundaries, protected areas planning, and building resilience to natural hazards and climate change. He works as an independent consultant at Waterlink and Adjunct Research Fellow at the University of Canterbury.
Carolynne is a Lecturer and the Director for Geospatial Data Science in the School of Earth and Environment at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch. She collaborates on spatial methods to support local disaster and conservation groups. She also works with national and international institutions to advance the use of citizen-generated data in monitoring for disasters and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Nathan is a Senior Researcher at Manaaki Whenua–Landcare Research in Lincoln, where he researches the application of quantitative methods to model the soil and terrain. His work supports S-map, New Zealand’s national digital soil map. He has contributed to citizen science and other collaborative projects, especially iNaturalist, for the last fifteen years.
Elise is the Chair of MAIN Trust, developing ideas for remote electronic monitoring and mapping. She maintains resources and datasets for research and education through platforms like CitSciHub wiki and Moodle. She is also involved in Taranaki’s Kororā census, CatMap, Seachange paua monitoring, and pest monitoring.
Emily is the Strategic Lead for Te Whānau Toroa, a community-based project safeguarding shorebirds, seabirds and their habitats around the Taranaki coastline. She is also currently working for Te Kāhui o Taranaki on the Wai Connection project. Previously Emily worked for the Taranaki Regional Council as Environmental Education Lead and Marine Ecologist and for Swansea University as a Marine Biology Lecturer.
#CitSciNZ 