One Person and a Camera: a relatively non-intrusive approach to Koala citizen science

Abstract

The value of the ‘collective’ nature of citizen science to wildlife monitoring, data collection and conservation is well established. However, one person’s practice can also be valuable to citizen science projects and is often overlooked in the literature. This paper explores and critically evaluates one person’s novel approach and contribution to Koala citizen science in Central Queensland and argues that her practice is doing much to advance knowledge on the identification of individual koalas and their condition as well as to promote Koala welfare and conservation. Employing an ethnographic method, the paper describes and evaluates Charley Geddes’ practice of learning to identify individual koalas and create detailed and longitudinal records of their location, health and the threats that they and their habitats face. These records are kept on the public database BioCollect, run by the Atlas of Living Australia, and are used by Koala ecologists. Through this constructed portrait of citizen science practice, the paper also highlights the considerable threats faced by Koala populations in parts of Central Queensland, which have previously not been well documented.