Science

Use of citizen science in biosecurity surveillance

Dr Erin Roger has published a paper on the first 12 months of the Atlas of Living Australia’s  Biosecurity Hub, It is an interesting and informative read which provides useful evidence on the value of all of our work on tree health citizen science.

Roger E., A. Turley, C. Waite, S. Balasubramaniam, C. Slatyer and J.A. Pearce (2024) Citizen science delivers high-value biosecurity surveillance and reporting capability. Wildlife Research 51, WR24046. https://doi.org/10.1071/WR24046

Policy

Policy Developments

England

On 22 October 2024, Defra launched a new service  – Check plant health information and import rules – for people to find out the rules, and the pest or disease risks for importing plants, plant products or seeds to Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) for commercial use

Existing sources of information include:

• Plant Health Information Portal which includes information on citizen science
• The Plant Health Risk Register

Scotland

On 11 November 2024, Scottish Government published The Scottish Plant Health Strategy 2024-2029   Under a surveillance objective, there is a commitment to “ engage with stakeholders to develop initiatives for surveillance and reporting, for example Observatree, Tree Alert and possible networks of amateur gardeners”.