It is important to change the narrative of disappointment when it comes to looking at the future of the natural world, to one where we can imagine the possibilities we can create together.
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That is the message from Dr Greg Summerell, who was the presenter at the Bournda Environmental Education Centre's 42nd World Environment Day Dinner, held in Tathra on Wednesday.
An ex-Quaama Public School student who is married to his Bega High sweetheart, Dr Summerell works with the NSW government's environmental agency and the directorate of science.
During his presentation to the crowd, he said there had been a shift within the government to identify a knowledge gap, look for data to fill it, collect information, form knowledge then make information accessible, form a unity of thought and create an ownership of ideas; and to do that it was pivotal to involve the community.
Science can bring trust, he said, and while there was a lot of information out there it could be difficult to know what to trust, that was where the government came in.
He said if you have trust you can get people involved in collecting data, then people get engaged.
Engagement makes the activity part of our culture, which brings longevity and with longevity we can make changes normal.
One example Dr Summerell gave as a project occurred after a January 2013 bushfire burnt 88 per cent of the Warrumbungle National Park, west of Tamworth, in which the overwhelming determinate of the blaze was the weather.
The positives of the fire came through the recovery, as 97 per cent of the eucalyptus survived and 15 new native plant species were recorded in the park, including a fire-germinated orchid.
"So we had the positives, but we needed to bring the community with them," Dr Summerell said.
This was done by encouraging the community to take photos of the park's recovery, which resulted in "volumes of data", he said.
Another way the government obtained trusted data through citizen scientists was through a Office of Environment and Heritage wildlife survey.
It was set up to look for koalas, but was not only about reporting koalas.
"With people out there looking, you get a lot further understanding," Dr Summerell said.
If a citizen scientist reports they have not seen a koala in the region they are surveying, that is still helpful to researchers.
Encouraging people to report more-likely seen animals such as foxes in the survey encourages them to be involved and still provide trusted data.
When responding to questions from the crowd, Dr Summerell said a way to stay positive in the world despite dire reports of challenges around the world could come through encouraging people to embrace new technology.
"It keeps people stimulated and it keeps it relevant," he said.
"We've got to make it accessible, relevant, easy and provide feedback so people know any information was used, so people feel they are part of the solution."
For anyone interested in becoming a citizen scientist, he recommended looking for activities with environmental education centres, universities, community movements, apps to download on your phone, or visiting the Office of Environment and Heritage website.
An idea from the audience he responded positively to was a re-branding of grey nomads to "green nomads", encouraging older travellers who had time to become citizen scientists and conduct surveys as they travelled.
Albert McKnight
Journalist at Bega District News.
Journalist at Bega District News.
