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Defined as 鈥減ublic participation and collaboration in scientific research鈥�, citizen science allows everyday people to use technology to unite towards a common goal 鈥� from the comfort of their homes. And it is now offering a chance to听.

With so many of us staying home, this could help build a sense of community where we may otherwise feel听, or听struggle with isolation.

Anyone is welcome to contribute. You don鈥檛 need expertise, just time and interest. Projects exist in many forms, catering to people of diverse ages, backgrounds and circumstances. Many projects offer resources and guides to help you get started, and opportunities to collaborate via online discussion forums.

Ditch the news cycle 鈥� engage, gain skills and make a difference

Scientists worldwide are racing to find effective treatments and vaccines to halt the coronavirus pandemic. As a citizen scientist, you can join the effort to help tackle COVID-19, and other infectious diseases.

听is an online game that challenges players to fold proteins to better understand their structure and function. The Foldit team is now challenging citizen scientists to design antiviral proteins that can bind with the coronavirus.

The highest scoring designs will be manufactured and tested in real life. In this way, Foldit offers a creative outlet that could eventually contribute to a future vaccine for the virus.

Another similar project is听. This is a distributed computing project that, rather than using you to find proteins, uses your computer鈥檚 processing power to run calculations in the background. Your computer becomes one of thousands running calculations, all working together.

One way to combat infectious diseases is by monitoring their spread, to predict outbreaks.

Online surveillance project听听helps track influenza. By completing a 10-second survey each week, participants aid researchers in monitoring the prevalence of flu-like symptoms across Australia and New Zealand. It could also听.

Such initiatives are increasingly important in the global fight against emerging infectious diseases, including COVID-19.

Another program,听, empowers patients who have tested positive to a disease to share their experiences and treatment regimes with others who have similar health concerns. This lets researchers test potential treatments more quickly.

The program recently set up a听. These individuals are contributing to a data set that could prove useful in the fight against the virus.

Environmental projects need your support too

If you鈥檇 like to get your mind off COVID-19, there鈥檚 a plethora of other options for citizen scientists. You can contribute to conservation and nature recovery efforts 鈥撎�.

Some sites ask volunteers to digitise data from ongoing environmental monitoring programs. Contributors need no prior experience, and interpret photos taken with remote digital cameras using online guides. One example is Western Australia鈥檚 Western Shield听, available through听.

Other sites crowdsource volunteers to transcribe data from natural history collections (), historical logbooks from explorers, and weather observation stations ().

Citizen science programs such as听, BirdLife Australia鈥檚听, the Australian Museum鈥檚听,听,听,听, and the听, all have freely available mobile applications that let you contribute to听听on urban and rural wildlife.

Nature watching is a great self-isolation activity because you can do it anywhere, including at home.听听runs a series of 鈥渂ioquests鈥� where people of all ages and experience levels can photograph animals and plants they encounter.

In April, we鈥檒l also have the national听. This project invites participants to watch any flowering plant for just ten minutes, and record insects that visit the flowers. The aim is to boost knowledge on wild pollinator activity.

The data collected through citizen science apps are used by researchers to explore animal migration, understand ranges of species, and determine how changes in climate, air quality and habitat affect animal behaviour.

This year for the first time, several Australian cities are participating in iNaturalist鈥檚听. The organisers have adapted planned events with COVID-19 in mind, and suggest ways to document nature while maintaining social distancing. You can simply capture what you can see in your backyard, or when taking a walk, or put a moth light out at night to see what it attracts.

Connecting across generations

For those at home with children, there are a variety of projects aimed at younger audiences.

From听听to the Bird Academy Play Lab鈥檚听听- starting young can encourage a lifetime of learning.

If you鈥檙e talented at writing or drawing, why not keep a nature diary, and share your observations through a听.

By contributing to research through digital platforms, citizen scientists offer a repository of data experts might not otherwise have access to. The听听has details on current projects you can join, or how to start your own.

Apart from being a valuable way to pass time while self-isolating, citizen science reminds us of the importance of community and collaboration at a time it鈥檚 desperately needed.

This article was put together by Dr Ayesha Tulloch, DECRA research fellow at University of Sydney; Dr Aaron Greenville,听lecturer in Spatial Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney; Associate Professor Alice Motion, from the School of Chemisty and the Charles Perkins Centre, University of Sydney; Glenda Wardle, professor of Ecology and Evolution, University of Sydney, Dr Rebecca Cross, lecturer in Human Geography, University of Sydney, Associate Professor Rosanne Quinnell, Charles Perkins Centre, University of Sydney, Samantha Rowbotham, lecturer in Health Policy, Charles Perkins Centre, University of Sydney, Yun-Hee Jeon, professor of Healthy Ageing in the Charles Perkins Centre, University of Sydney and Cobi Calyx, research fellow in Science Communication at UNSW.

The article was first published in The Conversation as

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