Programme
Schedule
28 Sept 2020 – 1 Oct 2020
Note :
1. All times are in Indian Standard Time (IST).
2. Abstracts for the Contributed Talks and Posters can be viewed here.
3. Public Sessions can be viewed here.
4. All videos from the conference can be viewed on our YouTube channel.

Day 0 : Sat 26, Sept 2020
11:00 – 12:00
Pre-conference event: Introduction to using Slack at the conference followed by ice-breaker sessions
by Conference Steering Committee
Channel: #guide-to-slack
Day 1 : Mon 28, Sept 2020
09:45 – 10:00
Introduction to the Conference
by Conference Steering Committee
Channel: #day1-28sep-geetha
10:00 – 10:50
KEYNOTE TALK : Seasons of change: science and learning through observation
by Geetha Ramaswami
Channel: #day1-28sep-geetha
10:55 – 11:15
Preliminary evidence for upward range shifts by Eastern Himalayan birds
by Krishna Girish
Channel: #day1-28sep-talks-am
11:15 – 11:30
A citizen science approach to monitor Danaine Butterfly Migrations in Southern India
by PA Vinayan
Channel: #day1-28sep-talks-am
11:30 – 11:45
Novel citizen science initiatives on anurans of the lateritic plateaus
by Madhushri Mudke
Channel: #day1-28sep-talks-am
11:45 – 12:00
Asian Waterbird Census: Fostering citizen science networks for waterbird monitoring
by Dhruv Verma
Channel: #day1-28sep-talks-am
12:00 – 12:30
Break
12:30 – 13:30
Poster Session
Channel: #day1-28sep-posters
Birds of India: A new citizen science platform on avian species of India. – Abhijeet Bayani
Citizen Science Initiative For Biodiversity Assessment- Campus Bird Count Experience From Wayanad – Rathish R L
Nest Boxes for secondary cavity nesting birds – Uday Kumar
Does wealth predict neighbourhood tree diversity? Testing the Luxury Effect in Pune city, India – Anjali Umesh Bhadule
Monitoring Diversity and Distribution of Odonata of Kerala – A Citizen Science Initiative – Muhamed Sherif
CSIR-NCL’s Initiative towards Scientific Social Responsibility, A Closer Look. – Wafia Masih
Modeling palm squirrel distributions with citizen science, social media and traditional data sources – Bishwarup Paul
Citizen group leaders: Creating common platform for citizens and scientific community. – Sangunni KS
Long-term Bird Monitoring Project, Goa: Lessons from Cotigao Wildlife Sanctuary. – Pronoy Baidya
Beachcombing for Shorebirds: A survey of birds in migration to the Ernakulam (Kerala) Coast – Dilip K G
Community Perception on Status of Betula utilis in Selected Sites of Kullu, Himachal Pradesh – Anjana Sharma
What does it mean to a first time citizen scientist measuring Rainfall – Peeyush Sekhsaria
People’s Perception of Slender Loris in Bengaluru – Varsha Bhaskaran
KURMA Tracking Indian Turtles- A citizen science tool for turtle conservation in India – Sreeparna Dutta
The scope of Citizen science WRT human-nature relational models – Kalpa Viswanadhan
Deep convolutional neural networks as a tool for Indian butterfly identification – Theivaprakasham Hari
Frugal Innovation Enabling Citizen Science Projects: A Case Study of Foldscope – Sonali Kadam
Investigating male plumage polymorphism in the Indian paradise-flycatcher (Terpsiphone paradisi) – Rohan Menzies
Encouraging Layman Engagement & Data Collection through Interactive Dragonfly Data Collection Apps – Aditya Hundekari
Kidoor Bird Festival- A new initiative in engaging public towards nature conservation – Raju Stiven Crasta B
13:30 – 13:55
Break
13:55 – 14:15
Putting Together the Migration Puzzle – One Resighting at a Time: A Jamnagar Case Study in Progress
by Madhumita Panigrahi
Channel: #day1-28sep-talks-pm
14:15 – 14:30
Frogwatch in India: Current status and future directions
by Gururaja KV
Channel: #day1-28sep-talks-pm
14:30 – 14:45
Key Factors for a Successful Identification of a Species in Citizen Science Projects
by Yugender Subramanian
Channel: #day1-28sep-talks-pm
15:00 – 18:30
Break
18:30 – 19:30
KEYNOTE TALK : Scales of Participation: Citizen Science to Address Social Roots of Environmental Issues in the United States
by Caren Cooper
Channel: #day1-28sep-caren
Day 2 : Tue 29, Sept 2020
10:00 – 10:50
KEYNOTE TALK : Participatory data gathering – of whom, by whom and for whom?
by Naveen Namboothiri
Channel: #day2-29sep-naveenn
10:55 – 11:15
Use of citizen science data in the study and conservation of threatened endemic avifauna
by Paul Pop
Channel: #day2-29sep-talks-am
11:15 – 11:30
Angling for Conservation
by Naren Sreenivasan
Channel: #day2-29sep-talks-am
11:30 – 11:45
Harnessing public interest in wild canids and hyenas for making conservation assessments in India
by Priya Singh
Channel: #day2-29sep-talks-am
11:45 – 12:25
Break
12:25 – 12:45
Mammals of India- a crowd-sourced online platform on Indian mammals
by Vivek Ramachandran
Channel: #day2-29sep-talks-pm
12:45 – 13:00
Serendipitous Conservation: Using Citizen Science as a Tool to Monitor Human-primate Interactions
by Ishika Ramakrishna
Channel: #day2-29sep-talks-pm
13:00 – 13:15
Vembanad Fish count and democratic conservation in the heavily used Vembanad Lake
by Anu Radhakrishnan
Channel: #day2-29sep-talks-pm
13:15 – 14:00
Break
14:00 – 15:00
PANEL DISCUSSION : The scope and opportunities in Citizen Science
by VB Mathur, Krushnamegh Kunte, Kaberi Kargupta, Naveen Namboothiri, Moderator – Pankaj Sekhsaria
Channel: #day2-29sep-panel
Day 3 : Wed 30, Sept 2020
10:00 – 11:00
PANEL DISCUSSION : Technology in Citizen Science
by Prabhakar Rajagopal, Praveen J., Vijay Barve
Moderator – Nandini Rajamani
Channel: #day3-30sep-panel
11:10 – 11:30
State of India’s Birds
by Ashwin Viswanathan
Channel: #day3-30sep-talks-am
11:30 – 11:45
Enter the New Dragon: Dragonfly Diversity Informatics Mediated through Social Media
by Yash Chaudhari
Channel: #day3-30sep-talks-am
11:45 – 12:00
The eMammal project – Students collecting valuable data on mammals
by Rahul Khot
Channel: #day3-30sep-talks-am
12:00 – 12:15
Addressing ecological knowledge gaps for freshwater chelonians using citizen science
by Anuja Mital
Channel: #day3-30sep-talks-am
12:15 – 12:30
Break
12:30 – 13:30
Poster Session
Channel: #day3-30sep-posters
Bioblitz: Counting Species through Citizen Science – Vikram Singh
What colour does butterfly prefer? An analysis using citizen science data – Aravind Neelavar Ananthram
Influence of citizen science drives in documenting moth diversity of India – Harsha Kumar
Citizens documenting Moths during Pandemic lockdown: National Moth Week India 2020 – Haneesh K M
Do day-flying moth and butterfly co-occur? A citizen science case study in Dehing Patkai, Assam. – Subhasish Arandhara
HiveWatch: a citizen science project to monitor A. dorsata colonies in Indian cities – Rajath S
Role of large, open for all, birdwatching events; Learnings from Onam Bird Counts (2014-2019) – Sreekumar E R
How climate change is affecting lives of local communities in the Himalayas – Simran Tomar
Seasonality of Spot-billed Pelicans in Bangalore – Prashanth M.B.
Pictionary Assisted Monitoring of Biodiversity and Conservation Efforts Using Citizen Scientists. – Manan Goyal
Conservation of the heronries of Kerala through people’s participation – Roshnath Ramesh
Preliminary results of the first City bird Atlas of Tamil Nadu – Coimbatore City Bird Atlas – Dr.T.Arulvelan, Selvaganesh K
Hoot: Owl Call Recognition using Deep Learning – Abhishek Wahane
Biodiversity of West Bengal: a citizen science initiative to understand biodiversity of the state – Sagar Adhurya
Monitoring water quality of ponds in the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna delta using citizen science – Lucy Roberts
National Mothweek Kerala – Unnikrishnan.MP
Preliminary findings and observations of Pune Bird Atlas project – Siddharth Biniwale, Kedar Chaphekar
Looking into citizen science as a solution for conservation of Smooth-coated otters. – Krunal Trivedi
A Critical Review on Technology-mediated citizen science – Suraj Kumar Dey
Scientific contributions and learning experiences of citizen volunteers with a small cat project in Sanjay Gandhi National Park, Mumbai – Shomita Mukherjee
Importance for documentation of Biodiversity – Neel Gadikar
Kasaragod Bird Atlas – Maxim Rodrigues K
Citizen Science and Disease Ecology – Nikeshraj. N
Story of Lockdown-Backyard-Bioblitz-Kerala – Manoj Karingamadathil
Urban Wildlife protection and development as a citizen movement for the sustainability of a city – Colonel.Navaz Shariff
LivelyWaters! a freshwater biodiversity citizen science initiative – Priyanka Iyer
Our River, Our Life: River Monitoring and Citizen Science – Neethi Mahesh
13:30 – 13:55
Break
13:55 – 14:15
The Use of Atlas Data for Bird-friendly Urban Planning
by Tarun Menon
Channel: #day3-30sep-talks-pm
14:15 – 14:30
LimKnow : A citizen science app for lake management
by Sudeshna Gupta
Channel: #day3-30sep-talks-pm
14:30 – 14:45
Did pandemic improve availability of biodiversity occurrence data in India
by Vijay Barve
Channel: #day3-30sep-talks-pm
14:45 – 15:00
My Introduction to IBP and the subsequent pedagogical and environmental benefits from it
by V. Arun
Channel: #day3-30sep-talks-pm
Day 4 : Thur 01, Oct 2020
10:00 – 10:50
KEYNOTE TALK : Bazookas, Mobile Apps and the Agora: Citizen Science and prospects for a more Public Science
by Naveen Thayyil
Channel: #day4-1oct-naveent
10:55 – 11:15
Makunda Nature Club
by Rejoice Gassah
Channel: #day4-1oct-talks-am
11:15 – 11:30
Tamiraparani Waterbird Count: A Citizen Science Initiative in South Tamil Nadu
by M. Mathivanan
Channel: #day4-1oct-talks-am
11:30 – 11:45
Odonata of India: Studying dragonflies and damselflies of India through citizen science
by Shantanu Joshi
Channel: #day4-1oct-talks-am
11:45 – 12:00
Perceptions of SCUBA divers on coral reef health – applications in citizen science
by Suneha Jagannathan
Channel: #day4-1oct-talks-am
12:00 – 12:25
Break
12:25 – 12:45
Early encouraging trends from engagement with citizen groups in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India
by Anup Prakash
Channel: #day4-1oct-talks-pm
12:45 – 13:00
Charting Biodiversity in a Transforming Urban Seascape – A Citizen-driven Approach
by Abhishek Jamalabad
Channel: #day4-1oct-talks-pm
13:00 – 13:15
Lessons from Snake Sense, a citizen science and education project on snake conservation from Kerala
by Peroth Balakrishnan
Channel: #day4-1oct-talks-pm
13:15 – 13:30
Learning with our eyes wide open
by Madhavan A.P.
Channel: #day4-1oct-talks-pm
13:30 – 14:00
Break
14:00 – 15:00
PANEL DISCUSSION : Highlighting the citizen in ‘Citizen Science’
by Vidhya Swaminathan, Anubhav Agarwal, PV Prabhakaran, Siddharth Biniwale
Moderator – N.S. Prashanth
Channel: #day4-1oct-panel
Keynote Speakers

Caren Cooper
Associate Professor, Forestry and Environmental Resources, North Carolina State University
Caren Cooper is an Associate Professor of Forestry and Environmental Resources at North Carolina State University, part of the Chancellor’s Faculty Excellence Program in Leadership in Public Science, and assistant head of the Biodiversity Research Lab at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. She studies bird ecology, conservation, and management through the use of citizen science. Caren is co-editor-in-chief of Citizen Science: Theory & Practice, a journal of the Citizen Science Association and author of Citizen Science: How Ordinary People are Changing The Face of Discovery. Caren advocates for the practices of Citizen Science, Open Science, and Science Communication, pursuing scholarly inquiry into these areas, and bringing them all together to achieve Public Science. She is dedicated to training and mentoring students to become public scientists so they can pursue careers that weave science into the fabric of society.

Geetha Ramaswami
Programme Manager, Education and Public Engagement, PhD, Nature Conservation Foundation
Geetha Ramaswami is the programme manager for SeasonWatch, a citizen science project looking at the effects of seasons on tree phenology, since March 2018. In the past, Geetha has been a post-doctoral research associate with the Nature Conservation Foundation with an interest in invasive plants. She worked on an invasive plant – Lantana camara – for her PhD; trying to understand how the environment affects where and how this species spreads and also how indigenous species respond to the presence of this invasive plant. She later worked on a short project assessing the reasons by which the management of Lantana has largely failed in Indian forests. Geetha currently works on understanding the impacts of Lantana on native plant-disperser interactions.

Naveen Namboothri
Director, Dakshin Foundation
Naveen Namboothri is a founder trustee of Dakshin Foundation and currently serves as its Director. Trained as marine biologist, he has worked in diverse coastal, marine and island systems across India. His engagement cuts across regional, national and local agencies including government and non-government sectors. He heads the Biodiversity and Resource Monitoring Programme and oversees the establishment and implementation of several marine conservation projects at Dakshin’s field sites such as the community-led fisheries management in the Lakshadweep, citizen science programmes in the Andamans and the long-term monitoring of coral reef ecosystems in the Andamans. Naveen also helps build Dakshin’s Environmental Education Programme and oversaw the production of the publication Treasured Islands. He has served on the editorial board of Current Science and was an invited member to the Aquaculture and Marine Biotechnology Task Force of the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India.

Naveen Thayyil
Associate Professor of Humanities and Social Sciences at the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi
Naveen Thayyil is an Associate Professor in Law and STS (Science and Technology Studies) at the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi. He is interested in studying the social institutions of technology and science, and the exercise of power and authority in the production of knowledge in these realms. Naveen’s focus on the production of knowledge in these realms, in conjunction with the interlinked domains of politics, policy, and law, has taken him to multiple sites, including environmental law and policy, public participation in governance and in knowledge production, Ethics and Governance of NEST (New and Emerging Science and Technology), Visioning and Technology Assessment, Citizen Science, Responsible Research and Innovation, and the algorithmic turn in knowledge production. His publications include the 2014 monograph on EU regulation of GMOs (Biotechnology Regulation and GMOs: Law, Technology and Public Contestations in Europe, “Science and Social movements” in Oxford Bibliographies in Political Science, “Constructing global data: Automated techniques in ecological monitoring, precaution and reification of risk” in Journal of Big Data and Society, and the 2018 public report on Citizen Science in Ecology in India.