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Wednesday, 21 August 2013

More than 25 seniors learned how to take soil samples as part of a recent National Science Week event hosted by The University of Western Australia's School of Earth and Environment.

Among those who attended the workshop were members of Scarborough and Gosnells Probus Clubs, Rockingham Men's Shed and U3A (University of the 3rd Age).

The soil sampling was part of the MicroBlitz Project, a new "Citizen Science" program to support the research of Winthrop Professor Andrew Whiteley.

Professor Whiteley has been awarded a grant through the Western Australian Premier's Fellowship to undertake a wide-scale DNA sequencing survey of the environment to identify and map the microbial life of WA soils.

MicroBlitz Project Manager Deborah Bowie said the "grey nomads", those aged 55 or older who travelled extensively through regional and remote areas, were chosen as a target group because of their ability and willingness to volunteer for citizen science projects.

"Many older Australians have had little or no experience or knowledge of biotechnology and how it can be applied to help care for our environment, because most of the advancements in biotechnology have been introduced only in recent years," she said.

Register for the MicroBlitz Project .

Media references

Deborah Bowie (UWA School of Earth and Environment)  (+61 8)  6488 7363
Michael Sinclair-Jones (UWA Public Affairs)  (+61 8)  6488 3229  /  (+61 4) 00 700 783

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