Conservation Week - Healthy nature, Healthy people

Our natural environment is a toanga. Our status as an Enviroschool reflects this importance and the responsibility we all have to the sustainability of our world.

Wikimedia Commons: Recording Mountain Goat Surveys, Siyeh Pass (Citizen Science)

As part of highlighting Conservation Week (November 1-8), I thought I would invite you to explore the role of a citizen scientist. Citizen scientists are volunteers who participate in scientific projects. When involved in environmental projects this can include collecting data by observation, monitoring, tagging and measuring. Research scientists receive data from the volunteers for analysis.

NatureWatchNZ has a number of projects that you could get involved in. A household in Palmerston North has created their own project documenting observations on their section. View here.

Marine Metre Squared  where you can participate in the monitoring of your local seashore.

If butterflies interest you, take part in the Big Backyard Butterfly Count happening in November. Or become involved in the Monarch Butterfly Tagging Programme.

Flickr Katja Schultz_Tagged Monarch butterfly-CC by 2.0

If you are adventurous you could take part in DOC's National Geocaching Challenge and be in to win great prizes from Air New Zealand and Macpac. Or take part in the Find a Whio competition.

Find out what happening in the Manawatu area for Conservation Week at Events

For more details on how and where you can get involved as a citizen scientist or environmentalist, visit the display in the library during Conservation Week.