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The Poo Power! Global Challenge

November 25, 2013 By Chandra Clarke Leave a Comment

The following is a guest post by Mia Cobb.

Students and classes will be pitched against each other to see who can identify the most and largest dog waste ‘hotspots’ in their local neighbourhood in the “Poo Power! Global Challenge.” Participants use a GPS-enabled iPhone to download the free Poo Power! App from the App Store. Their task is to identify and map dog poo “hotspots” in dog parks and public spaces from their neighbourhood from Monday 25 November 2013.

This eyebrow-raising initiative is a collaboration between dog poo entrepreneur Duncan Chew from Poo Power! and Mia Cobb from the Anthrozoology Research Group, recent winner of I’m a Scientist, Get Me Out of Here! in Australia. The collected information will be uploaded onto the Global Poo Map and provides a platform for students to discuss the scientific, social and environmental issues of dog waste. The students are then encouraged to write a letter to their local Government representative of their findings and recommendations.

“From our research only 3% of Australians see uncollected dog waste as an environmental concern,” explains Duncan Chew. “When it rains, uncollected dog poo gets washed down drains, effecting water quality and habitat for native animals, as well as making rivers and creeks unpleasant for us to visit.”  Mia Cobb echoes her enthusiasm for the initiative: “This is a great way to utilise the prize money from winning the I’m A Scientist – Get Me Out of Here! competition; to raise awareness of new sustainable energy sources, environmental issues and responsible dog ownership, all while increasing student engagement in a unique citizen science activity.”

The collated information has the poo-tential to identify sites for biogas-powered lights for parks as proposed by the Melbourne-based project, Poo Power!, currently in development. The methane that is released from the dog waste as it breaks down inside a ‘biogas generator’ can be used as a viable renewable energy source.

Competition prizes and giveaways are up for grabs for the two students with the most photo submissions received between 25th November and 9th December 2013. After this initial competition period closes, the project will continue to run, collecting ongoing hotspot data worldwide.

Full instructions on how to participate via www.poopower.com.au, or available here.
To contextualise the material for classroom lessons, teachers can download the Poo Power! Study Guide.

About Mia

Mia Cobb is a zoologist and current PhD candidate at Monash University, researching working dog welfare. She has worked in animal shelter, stable and kennel facilities for 20 years. Mia thinks helping scientific research jump out of the academic journals and into the laps of everyone is fun and important. She blogs about canine science at Do You Believe in Dog? and co-hosts the Human Animal Science podcast. Mia is a founding Director of the Working Dog Alliance and recently won her zone in the national I’m a Scientist, Get Me Out of Here! competition in Australia – an American Idol-style competition for scientists, where students are the judges.

About Duncan and Poo Power!

Did you know that the 4.2 million dogs in Australia will generate 6.3 million tonnes of poo over their lifetimes? That’s a mountain’s worth that we dump in landfills or leave uncollected to pollute our rivers and beaches. Duncan Chew is the man behind Poo Power! – a Melbourne Water supported project that shines a light on this innovation. Through his website, iPhone app and other outreach activities Duncan shows Australians that we can keep our cities and waterways clean while producing renewable energy to light our dog parks. Duncan is the owner of two Boxers – Sally (14) and Diesel (7).

Competition details

Individual student prizes include 2 iPod Shuffles and 4 Doggie Doo games.
For each competing class, teachers will receive a copy of the ‘Dog Poo – The Truth At Last’ on DVD.

Photo by Riley Crawford on Unsplash

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You ought to bee in pictures

June 27, 2013 By Chandra Clarke Leave a Comment

If you ever needed proof that bees were important, and that bee-related citizen science projects were hot right now, then look no further. Waitrose, a grocery chain the UK, and in association with The Crown Estate has recently backed a “bee app” by the Earthwatch Institute.

The app, called “Bee-friend Your Garden” wants you to record the insects that visit your garden to build an understanding of which plants are most attractive to these insects.

The app allows you to photograph and record details of the pollinating insects, plot these results to see which of your plants is the most popular, and most importantly, upload the data to a central database.

The app is available to iPhone and iPad users and to Android users as well.

The data will go to researchers at University of Sussex, specifically the Laboratory of Apiculture and Social Insects (LASI).

Photo by Roberto Lopez on Unsplash

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About Hummingbirds

May 16, 2013 By Chandra Clarke 2 Comments

I’ve always had a soft spot for hummingbirds; they are tiny, pugnacious, fast, and beautiful. They are tough too; many hummingbirds migrate incredibly long distances.

All of that comes at a cost, however: hummingbirds must eat several times their weight in nectar daily to stay alive. This means they may be especially vulnerable to climate change, as changes in local flower crops can mean starvation for the bitty birds. Recent studies suggest that there could be a mismatch between flowering times and the arrival of hummingbirds in their breeding areas.

The Audubon Society wants to know how this may be impacting the hummingbirds. To that end, the organization has started Hummingbirds@Home and it wants you to help. All you need to do is register with the site, find a patch where hummingbirds are likely to visit, and observe it regularly. Then you can report your data via an iPhone or Android App, or simply visit the main website and login there. There is no cost to download or join, and you don’t need to have a hummingbird feeder either.

The project will also help you to learn about hummingbirds and flowers, as the program provides images of the most likely species you will see in your observations. As data starts coming in, the Society will build an interactive map that you can explore as well. The project is likely to continue over several seasons as well.

And hey — in addition to helping science, this project provides another excuse to get out in your garden this spring. What more could you ask for?

Photo by Zdeněk Macháček on Unsplash

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What’s that sound?

January 22, 2013 By Chandra Clarke Leave a Comment

ComplexSoundWave
Most people know that what they eat can affect how they feel. For example, you might know from experience that too much caffeine makes you jittery, and too much turkey makes you sleepy. But do you know your local soundscape affects you?

As we lead increasingly urban lives, that question takes on more importance. The constant thrum of traffic, for example, might impact how we cope with stress. Living with daily emergency services sirens might affect how we respond to people in trouble.

The Sound Around You project aims to learn more about sonic influences. Researchers are asking people around the world to use their iPhone to record clips from different sound environments, and to upload them to a map. Participants are also invited to post their opinions of the clips and why they chose to record them.

To get involved, search for “isay” in the Apple App Store, and install the free app on your phone. Then record your environment and send the clip to the Sound Around You project. You can also visit the website to browse the map.

Image Credit: justin evans via Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA

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