One of our most popular citizen science projects gets a groundbreaking reboot as a science tool is made available for everyone.
‘Imagine if New Zealand had the best understood seashore of any nation’ . A first-of-its kind digital integration which just launched in New Zealand could help Aotearoa have the best understood seashore of any nation.
A digital tool used by scientists to efficiently survey our underwater realm in detail is now being used by school children taking a close look at New Zealand’s intertidal zone. Not just for the young generation, it’s also available to any individual, group or community that wants to play a part in caring for our marine environment.
Marking out a square metre of New Zealand seashore, be it rocky, muddy or sandy, is a proven survey method that comes to life in New Zealand as Marine metre2 widely used by school children, to support their education curriculum, since its inception ten years ago.
The new digital integration has come about through a partnership involving Marine metre2 creator Sally Carson (Director of the NZ Marine Studies Centre, University of Otago), and ‘Seascape’ creators James Frankham (Publisher of New Zealand Geographic) and Dr Arie Spyksma (Marine Science Research Fellow, University of Auckland).
Live Ocean Foundation brought the collaborators together and is supporting the Marine metre2 project reboot.
“Marine metre2 is a much-loved citizen science project and it just got digital superpowers,” says Sally Paterson, Live Ocean Foundation Chief Executive. “Live Ocean’s mission is to scale up science, innovation and outreach for a healthy ocean. This project has all those qualities – science to understand, world-class innovation and outreach that is available for anyone to use.”
The upgrade means Marine metre2 just got a whole lot smarter with the integration of the ‘Seascape’ photogrammetry techniques which means users can build an accurate 3D digital model of a section of seashore using a smartphone or tablet.
“We’ve built the programme so that it’s easy for kids to use and the 3D model transports them back to their rocky reef whenever they want,” Arie Spyksma, a University of Auckland marine ecologist.
Enhancing the project, a new-look Marine metre2 website is linked to widely used Australasian biodiversity database, BioCollect, so back in the classroom the 3D models are easily uploaded and come to life for closer inspection. The data is catalogued and available for budding and experienced scientists, and organisations to monitor marine ecosystem change.
“Because the data gets uploaded into BioCollect, it then becomes available for scientists across New Zealand and the world. This is really useful for both research and monitoring,” adds Spyksma.
Sally Carson says Marine metre2 can connect communities to their local coastline and empower them to act as champions for their seashore and the life in it. “There’s so much we don’t know about the seashore environment, and by doing Marine metre2 we’re gaining understanding, and that understanding is really important to ensure that our environment is here for future generations.
“New Zealand could have the best understood seashore of any country, and that’s really important in this rapidly changing world.”
Individuals, schools and anyone interested in contributing to Marine metre2 can visit mm2.net.nz
