JESSICA

Project Info

Team Banico thumbnail

Team Name


Team Banico


Team Members


Blaise Ulric Sy Banico , Jason A Banico

Project Description


Visit our Scratch demo at https://bit.ly/jessica-demo.

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Citizen Science is when the public voluntarily help conduct scientific research, and share results to organisations and the public. It's also a great way to get the youth engaged with the local community and the environment!

JESSICA stands for Junior Environmental Science Student Information and Collaboration App, and it is both a tool and a community to encourage in the participation of Citizen Science, engaging students with their local community and environmental organisations.

For example, schools and organisations can host activities in JESSICA such as:
- being weed warriors in NT, to learn about, and help in, the fight against Gamba Grass
- contribute to koala research in QLD
- finding and identifying rare species, such as the jewel beetle, in ACT
- study water quality and its effect on flora and fauna in Gippsland Lakes

By reading and posting content/media in JESSICA, they also get to practice valuable work skills such as research, observation, analysis, communication, and presentation skills. They also get to interact with the local environment industry and its professionals, and maybe encourage them to pursue a STEM career!

JESSICA, through its Geo Data Index, aggregates vast scientific data available in various repositories and transforms them into a standard format, making them accessible to the general public, by presenting relevant local data in close proximity.

For this project, we used Scratch as a prototyping tool. It is used by primary school kids to create interactive stories, animation, and games. For this hack, we used Scratch as a prototyping tool to conduct tests.


#citizen science #environment #esg #skills development #scratch

Data Story


There are vast amounts of scientific data that are open and available for use. The challenge has always been how to encourage the use of this data not just by the scientific community and professionals/experts, but also by the general public (who normally don't have data science skills).

The key to addressing this is to create an index that serves as a bridge between vast scientific data (such as the data sets we have linked to this hack) and the general public. Just like the Google Search index, entries in JESSICA Geo Data Index reference external data sources. Its records are in a standard format: geolocation, category (or tag), datasource name, and external ID.

JESSICA is location-based, and content that is viewed/posted (with geolocation) will also be presented with relevant local data (using similar tags) in close proximity.

system-diagram


Evidence of Work

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Homepage

Project Image

Team DataSets

[For ACT Biodiversity Challenge] Threatened Plants

Description of Use JESSICA users in Canberra/ACT can link to data found in 'Threatened Plants' to supplement their content.

Data Set

[For ACT Biodiversity Challenge] Threatened Aquatic Habitat

Description of Use JESSICA users in Canberra/ACT can link to data found in 'Threatened Aquatic Habitat' to supplement their content.

Data Set

[For VIC Skills Development Challenge] Transforming career education

Description of Use We referred to 'Design My Career' / 'My Career Exploration' plan for suggestions on activities for learning about employability skills, as well as how to use industry excursion field trips to expose students to the environmental science industry.

Data Set

[Moreton Bay Greening Challenge] Koala Monitoring The Mill

Description of Use JESSICA users in Moreton Bay can link to Koala monitoring locations data to supplement their content.

Data Set

[For VIC Skills Development Challenge and VIC Gippsland Lakes Challenge] Positive Start school camps

Description of Use We used the Positive Start school camps map to find camps near Lake Wellington that involve environmental awareness activities.

Data Set

[Moreton Bay Greening Challenge] Citizen science to reveal koala ‘family trees’ from scats

Description of Use We found this story inspiring. Queensland high school students and Griffith’s School of Environment and Science collaborating together to map koala movements and their 'family trees'. Image was also used for our mock screenshot.

Data Set

[For NT Gamba Grass Challenge] Gamba grass

Description of Use JESSICA users in NT can refer to Gamba Grass information to support their content. Image was also used for our mock screenshot.

Data Set

[For ACT Biodiversity Challenge] All Insect sightings

Description of Use An insect image was used for our mock screenshot.

Data Set

[For ACT Biodiversity Challenge] Teenager finds rare jewel beetle 65 years after first ACT sighting

Description of Use This story is inspirational and encouraging for the pursuit of citizen science among our youth.

Data Set

[For NT Gamba Grass Challenge] Weed Warriors Teachers Resource

Description of Use This teaching resource helps us understand how weed knowledge education is conducted in schools in Australia.

Data Set

[For NT Gamba Grass Challenge] NT Weed Records (points)

Description of Use Weed survey locations will be helpful to guide students to find suitable spots for their weed warrior activities.

Data Set

[For VIC Skills Development Challenge] Four Methods for Engaging Young Children as Environmental Education Researchers

Description of Use This study on how to engage children as active environmental education researchers is helpful in giving us ideas on the use cases for our app.

Data Set

[For VIC Skills Development Challenge and VIC Gippsland Lakes Challenge] School pupils study dredging effects

Description of Use We found this video inspiring. It is of local pupils working with marine scientists to study the effects of dredging in Otago Harbour. Video frame was also used for our mock screenshot.

Data Set

[For ACT Biodiversity Challenge] Threatened Fauna Habitat

Description of Use JESSICA users in Canberra/ACT can link to data found in 'Threatened Fauna Habitat' to supplement their content.

Data Set

[For ACT Biodiversity Challenge] Canberra Nature Map

Description of Use JESSICA users in Canberra/ACT can link to media found in 'Canberra Nature Map' to supplement their content.

Data Set

[For VIC Gippsland Lakes Challenge] Gippsland Lakes Environment Report - Love our Lakes

Description of Use We used the 'Gippsland Lakes Environment Report' as our starting point to learn about the Gippsland Lakes.

Data Set

[For VIC Gippsland Lakes Challenge] EPA Victoria Water Quality Report Card

Description of Use We used the 'EPA Victoria Water Quality Report Card' to find any highlight/lowlight that can serve as a starting point of interest for environmental research.

Data Set

Challenge Entries

Moreton Bay greening as we grow

How might we harness the power of the everyday citizen to help protect our diverse flora and fauna as we grow our region; creating a diverse and flourishing planet for generations to come?

Go to Challenge | 9 teams have entered this challenge.

Skills Development - Life after School

How might we connect schools and students with their local community for learning life skills and for post school opportunities?

Go to Challenge | 12 teams have entered this challenge.

Water Quality - Gippsland Lakes

What is the data telling us about what drives water quality in the Gippsland Lakes?

Go to Challenge | 3 teams have entered this challenge.

Discovering our region’s environment and biodiversity

How might ACT data encourage children and young people to appreciate and engage with Canberra’s environment and biodiversity?

Go to Challenge | 11 teams have entered this challenge.

How can we beat Gamba Grass?

How can we reduce the risk of fire and damage caused by gamba grass to the natural environment, life, property and infrastructure?

Go to Challenge | 8 teams have entered this challenge.