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Collabinar: Citizen Science for Biodiversity Education in South Africa

November 7th, 2018

The Center hosted another CCS Collabinar event on Wednesday, November 7th, from 9:00-11:00am— with Dr. Palesa Mothapo! 

Dr. Palesa Mothapo is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Stellenbosch University, South Africa and a current Mandela Washington Fellow who researches the impacts of invasive species on natural and human environments. She presented her work, ”Tshotshi101, Ants in my Backyard: A case study of citizen science for biodiversity education in South Africa,” then we workshopped some of her questions about using citizen science to monitor invasive species distribution, abundance, and notable impacts.

Specifically, we discussed the following:

  • Methods for validating data received from citizen scientists 
  • Strategies for measuring the impact of citizen science on participants, especially children who become inspired to study science after engaging in citizen science

CCS Collabinar: The Center for Community and Citizen Science developed the CCS Collabinar to collaborate with others on exciting challenges and opportunities in community and citizen science. It will be an informal, occasional series for people to present their work, engage with each other, and get feedback. Our guests will give brief presentations on their work, but the focus of the Collabinar will be working through challenges and design opportunities, while exploring mutual learning and potential collaboration. To stay informed about upcoming collabinars, please sign up here

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