Gaia Resources recently sponsored the visit to WA of Stuart Harris, citizen scientist extraordinaire and peacock-spider whisperer!

On Monday 5th December Stuart was a special guest at a screening of MARATUS – a documystery, hosted by Volunteers and Community Unit at the Department of Parks and Wildlife as part of celebrations for International Volunteer Day. Before the screening, Stuart was welcomed to WA by Marnie Giroud, Community Program Coordinator with Parks and Visitor Services Division, and Dr Margaret Byrne, director of Science and Conservation Division.  On Thursday 8th he was back at DPaW helping to present awards at their Volunteer of the Year ceremonies.

Marnie Giroud and Stuart Harris take questions from the audience

On Tuesday 6th Stuart was at the Canning River Eco Education Centre giving a crash course on looking for Maratus in the immediate surrounds, followed by a screening of the film and a long Q&A session.  He visited our offices on Wednesday 7th and spoke with staff about the significance of working in the field, capturing high-quality data, and working together with other committed individuals to make a difference in improving our knowledge of the natural world. Stuart has a unique ability to inspire ordinary people to do extraordinary things — we look forward to collaborating further with him.

In between these events he did have time to get out and explore the bush, making a number of observations along the way. Here are just a couple of images from his field trips, plus the MARATUS film trailer.

Maratus pavonis, a peacock spider

Lynx spider on Verticordia nitens (Morrison’s Featherflower)

If you’d like to know more about Citizen Science please leave a comment below – or email me directly via alex.chapman@archive.gaiaresources.com.au.  Or, feel free to start a conversation with us via Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

Alex