Koalas, cameras and a primary school: Obtaining ecological insights for land management through a mini-citizen science project with young students.
Koalas are an endangered species in Eastern Australia and the management of habitat revegetation sites is essential for the marsupials survival. This report summarises the results of a partnership between revegetation managers and a local primary school that connected children to real world scientific practice. Ten infrared motion sensor cameras were installed on a five-year-old revegetation offset site in south-east Queensland, Australia to capture movements of koalas and other fauna. Primary school students screened images from these cameras for animal presence in a mini-citizen science project through an easy-to-use website created specifically for this project. Aspects of these results were used to modify the lands management by site supervisors. This report outlines processes involved in having Queensland primary school students participate in a mini web-based citizen science project, presents some of the ecological results obtained through the investigation and makes recommendations for future projects of this type.