Campfires and Science: Wild DNA

'Campfires and science' helps local people understand and protect our natural heritage.  

Your donation to our crowdfunding campaign will matched dollar for dollar by the Victorian Government.

This project

We’re training members of the public to help research the biodiversity of the Victorian Central highlands. Our regular ‘Campfires and Science’ events are training local people to understand the natural world using science. We lead regular trips into the forest to train people to help survey endangered species and habitat, so we can better understand how to sustain our natural heritage. Help us support people to build the skills in understanding and protecting natural heritage, and we can all ensure it will be there for the future.

What are we doing?

Our dream is to involve the public in collecting data to support evidence-based environmental management. Our regular ‘Campfires and Science’ events are training local people to do research, for example, training people to take DNA samples from the environment to better understand which animals live there and how best to protect biodiversity. 

We have started to train facilitators to run ‘Campfires and Science’ events, supporting them to share their knowledge and passion. So far we have brought hundreds of  people together at free events. 

However, we have limited funding and want to ensure that the way we work can involve as many people as possible. We have started to work with schools and local communities across Victoria to find new facilitators. We need your help to run more events - and to provide people with access to technology they need to do research.

How can you help?

You can support us by donating to this crowdfunding campaign - and be tempted by our wonderful rewards.  Every dollar you donate will be matched by the Victorian Government! 

You can also share this campaign with anyone you think might be able to help. We are a not-for-profit organisation and need your support. You can help by offering your time, expertise, skills, knowledge, cryptocurrency or ideas. Visit ‘Scienceforall.world’ to learn more. 

By helping us run inclusive events, you will help us collect, share and analyse data in new ways. More and more people can get involved in sharing and creating knowledge. 

How will we know if this work is effective?

To make sure the work we are doing is effective, we will evaluate this project and measure the impact. Learning from this project will be applied globally. We will use learning from these events to empower people to do the research that matters to them, wherever they live. 

Help us help anyone get involved in shaping the future of human knowledge. 

Who are the people involved?

‘Campfires and Science’ is a project that was started in 2017 by people who wanted to share the wonder of our natural heritage and make learning about it more accessible and inclusive. By sharing this knowledge around a campfire and offering free meals, we’ve reached over 1000 people face to face and online. 

The project caught the attention of staff in the Government of New South Wales who supported the development of the idea. Next the Royal Society of Victoria helped the founders of ‘Campfires and Science’ establish ‘Science for All’ - the organisation that manages the ‘Campfires and Science’ project - (and hopefully others in the future!). ‘Science for All’ is a not-for-profit organisation which exists to support everyone in the world to get involved in shaping the future of human knowledge.

This campaign has been made possible by the support of the Victorian Government.

Your donation to our crowdfunding campaign will matched dollar for dollar by the Victorian Government.

Your donation

$2 will pay for one person to eat for free at our free events 

$10 will help us buy essential equipment like torches and first aid kits

$30 will pay for our data server costs for one month

$70 will buy camping equipment to lend, so our camps are more accessible and inclusive

$100 will help a local community sequence the DNA from one a water sample, providing another vital data point

$300 will pay for a trained community facilitator to run one event

$500 will pay for transport to take 10 people with us to the forest and back (who might never otherwise get the chance)

$900 will cover the costs of a local community member to be trained to facilitate events so more people can take part in 'Campfires and Science'

Your donation to our crowdfunding campaign will matched dollar for dollar by the Victorian Government.