Turtle conservation program named Eureka Prize finalist
A national citizen science program focused on turtle conservation has been named among the finalists for the prestigious 2023 Department of Industry, Science and Resources Eureka Prize for Innovation in Citizen Science.
The 1 Million Turtles (1MT) Community Conservation Program (opens in a new window), led by ecologists and social scientists including Associate Professor Ricky Spencer from Western Sydney University in collaboration with the community and partners, engages citizens in turtle conservation and connects them with nature.
Facilitating a hands-on approach to conservation, the highly successful program involves individuals and community groups participating in activities such as nest monitoring, turtle rescues, and habitat restoration.
At the heart of 1MT is the TurtleSAT app where the community can report sightings including turtles moving along roads, turtles found basking at different water bodies, or signs of nest disturbance, with the data collected informing a number of the program’s conservation and education initiatives.
Co-lead Associate Professor Ricky Spencer from the School of Science said 1MT is raising awareness about the importance of turtles in our ecosystems and the threats they face, while encouraging the community to engage in conservation.
“By empowering citizens of all ages to become citizen scientists and take an active role in conservation, the program has changed attitudes toward Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and is encouraging more people to get involved in scientific research while enjoying and caring for their local environment,” said Associate Professor Spencer.
In 2015, citizens voiced their concerns over hundreds of turtles found deceased around the Bellinger River in Northern NSW. In response, Associate Professor Spencer established a breeding program for this species, but the threats to the other 30 freshwater turtle species in Australia persist.
Later that year, the Bellingen Riverwatch program was conceptualised and the TurtleSAT app launched for people across the country to report real-time turtle sightings to help avoid potential catastrophes such as what occurred in the Bellinger River. The evolution of the TurtleSAT app into a data capture, visualisation and education tool was central to the creation of 1MT.
Most recently, 15,000 turtle sightings reported via the app were used to develop a world-first nesting location predictive tool.The predictive tool shows nesting locations for a range of turtle species across Australia giving researchers, conservationists, and the community an even greater opportunity to take action to monitor and protect turtle nests from predators.
As part of a real-world application, data from the tool has identified the area around the new airport at Badgerys Creek as prime nesting habitat for both long- and short-neck turtles offering the opportunity to advocate for proactive planning, integration of turtle-friendly design elements, and recognition of their significance in environmental impact assessments.
1MT is a collaboration between researchers, conservation Non-Governmental Organisations (Aussie Ark, Foundation for National Parks and Wildlife), universities (Western Sydney, La Trobe, Sydney, Murdoch, New England, Ohio University), government agencies (Murraylands and Riverland Landscape Board, Transport for NSW, Department for Industry, Science, Energy and Resources), wildlife organisations (WIRES), communities (including Turtles Australia and Turtle Rescues NSW) and schools.
The Australian Museum Eureka Prizes are the country’s most comprehensive national science awards, honouring excellence across the areas of research and innovation, leadership, science engagement, and school science.
Winners of the 2023 Eureka Prizes are to be announced during a live, broadcast event on Wednesday 23 August.
ENDS
19 July 2023
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