Introducing myself edit

 
Siobhan Leachman Wikifying at a BioBlitz

Hi I'm Ambrosia10, also known as Siobhan Leachman. I live in Wellington, New Zealand. I co-organise the Wikipedians in Wellington Meetup held monthly, as well as the Aotearoa New Zealand Online meetup, also held monthly. For my contributions see this page of statistics. I'm interested in New Zealand, natural history, the OpenGLAM movement, supporting GLAM engagement with WikiProjects, and increasing the participation with and the generation of content in English Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons by under represented groups. I am keen supporter of Women in Red, events such as #1Lib1Ref, as well as many of the projects undertaken by New Zealand and overseas editors and institutions to engage with and improve English Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons. In 2023 I was named Wikimedia Laureate.

More detail on my other contributions both related and not to Wiki are outlined in my ORCID profile.

Upcoming presentations, workshops and edit-a-thons edit

  • In January 2024 I accepted the nomination to the chairperson of the BHL-Wiki meetings and will work with these two communities to help progress our aims.
  • I am attempting to organise two Editathons at the Otari-Wilton's Bush gardens in New Zealand winter.
  • I have received a Wikimedia Aotearoa New Zealand grant to run a pilot Wikidata programme at the National Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa on their research expeditions. See the WikiProject Te papa research expeditions page for more information. As part of this programme I and Te Papa staff are currently planning three events including a #1Lib1Ref event and two editathons dealing with content related to Te Papa research expeditions.
  • I have received Wikimedia Foundation funding to attend the International Botanical Congress in July and to help run a Wikidata workshop, to co-author/present two papers at the conference portion of the congress and to "wikify" the congress. For further information see Wikidata:WikiProject IBC 2024

Recent presentations, workshops and edit-a-thons edit

Many of my contributions for 2022 can be found in the Wikimedia User Group of Aotearoa New Zealand/Annual Report 2022

  • January 2023 Editing for Effie editathon both in New Zealand and virtually in the Washington DC based editathon.
  • February co-authored BHL blog post on BHL using Wikidata to round trip identifiers.
  • 11 - 12th March 2023 WikiCon Wellington 2023. A presentation on tools that can aid editing Wikipedia and Wikicommons.
  • 14 March 2023 Siobhan Leachman — Open Culture VOICES, Season 2 Episode 6 Discussed open culture from a New Zealand perspective.
  • 2 April 2023. SciStarter - Citizen Science Month panel. Presented on Citizen Science and Wikipedia as part of a panel discussion about citizen science in Australasia to celebrate Citizen Science Month 2023l. Presentation script and slides can be found here. The panel was recorded and can be seen on Youtube.
  • 15 April 2023 Participated in a symposium outlining my motivations for participating in the WeDigBio transcription event and highlighting workflows used including connecting natural history collectors to their specimens via Wikidata and the website Bionomia Tracker. Discussed writing Wikipedia articles on species, natural history collectors and the locations the collectors travel to, to collect specimens. The script and slides for this presentation can be found at this link. A recording of the symposium can be found here.
  • May 2023 was interviewed for and gave feedback on the Biodiversity Heritage Library white paper Biodiversity knowledge to Support Life on a Sustainable Planet.
  • 1 June 2023 Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections 2023 28th May until 2nd June - I obtained Wikimedia Foundation funding to attend SPNHC 2023. I presented two papers at this conference. One was titled Reuse in the Wiki world empowers engagement with Natural History Collections and the other was titled Names, dames and campaigns: a botanical case study in digitally narrowing the gaps.
  • 30 June 2023 I presented Connecting Te Papa natural history collectors & identifiers a presentation to the Te Papa natural history team at Te Papa on Wikidata and BionomiaTracker, a platform that uses Wikidata identifiers and data.
  • 16 - 19 August 2023 I attended Wikimania 2023 where I was named Wikimedia Laureate 2023.
  • 31 August 2023 I gave a presentation to staff at the Auckland Museum, generally discussing several of my projects and how the Auckland Museum might be able to benefit or become involved in this work.
  • 21 September 2023 I gave a presentation at the Women and gender minorities in STEM club at Victoria University of Wellington. See here for slides.
  • 5 October 2023 (NZ time) I gave a keynote to the Wikimedia Foundation staff meeting Wikimedia Connect explaining about some of my Wiki contributions. See here for slides.
  • 9 - 13 October I obtained funding from Wikimedia Aotearoa New Zealand to attend the TDWG2023 conference in Hobart where a paper I have co-authored will be presented by a colleague. The paper covers a collaborative project creating a Wikidata schema for scientific expeditions and then reusing the same to assist natural history folk to add and connect scientific expeditions in Wikidata. See this link for slides. I also co-organised an "unconference" session on how to propose a Wikidata property to the Wikidata community. I reported back on the conference and my engagement with participants viaUser:Ambrosia10/TDWG2023.
  • November 4 - 5 I presented on Connecting Entomological Collectors through the Wikiverse at the Entomological Collections Network annual meeting. See this link for the presentation and slides.
  • November 21 - 23 I gave a keynote at the Australian Citizen Science Conference #CitSciOz23. See this link for the presentation and slides.
  • December 6, 2023 I presented at the Bionomia Workshop: People Identifiers Roundtrip to Collection Management Systems. Recordings of this workshop can be found here.
  • 17 January 2024 I gave a seminar at the Wikipedia Guest Seminars for Summer Studentships - Auckland Museum. The presentation slides can be found here.
  • 23 January 2024 I accepted the nomination as chairperson for the Wiki-Biodiversity Heritage Library Task Group. This task group meets once a month and collaborates to progress the work of the Wikidata WikiProject BHL. I also attend the regular monthly meetings of the Biodiversity Heritage Library cataloguing task group to assist them with any of their Wikidata questions.
  • 5 April 2024 Presentation on my favourite Wikidata project in the Wikidata Leveling Up days event.

Previous presentations, workshops and edit-a-thons edit

See this list for projects, presentations, workshops and edit-a-thons I've given, contributed to or helped organise, up to the end of 2022.

Wikipedia Weekly Biodiversity recordings edit

Currently working on (January 2024) edit

As usual I have several projects on the go:

New Zealand focused work edit

Endemic species edit

I'm continuing to work on New Zealand endemic species creating or expanding articles as I go. I'm currently editing Wikipedia articles on New Zealand moths with the assistance of access provided by the Wikipedia Library to academic resources. I also want to start created NZ mayfly articles as they are indicator species for water quality. See this resource for info (currently adding updated info into Wikidata). I'm also continuing to edit species articles that have a NZTCS status. See this query to get most commonly observed NZ insects species in iNaturalist.

GLAM content work edit

I'm also working on New Zealand GLAM content, particularly images sourced from New Zealand GLAM institutions such as Auckland Museum and Te Papa. I organise WikiCommons categories, upload to WikiCommons, adding metadata on paintings to Wikidata, and reusing the images in Wikipedia. I'm using appropriately licensed images from such organisations as the Auckland War Memorial Museum , Manaaki Whenua - Landcare Research, and iNaturalist to improve New Zealand species articles.

I've been assisting linking the National Library of New Zealand's content in Wikidata via the Mix'n'Match tool and reusing appropriately licensed images and information contained in their collection in WikiCommons and Wikipedia. I'm also working on the Biodiversity Heritage Library and the Harvard Index of Botanists Wikidata Mix'n'match dataset.

New Zealand Threat Classification work edit

I am VERY slowly and gradually working through the New Zealand Department of Conservation Threat classification lists updating and creating articles on those New Zealand plants, animals and fungi who are listed as threatened, at risk or data deficient. I'm using these documents as a basis for this work. At some point I would also like to revamp the Wikipedia article outlining the New Zealand Threat Classification system as it appears significantly out of date. I've been reaching out to New Zealand GLAMs and other organisations to obtain photos of endangered or at risk fauna and flora.

Completed NZ Threat Classification work edit

  • All scientifically described moths in this list now have an expanded or new article.
  • Wikidata properties created and "easy to ingest" threat classifications are now uploaded into Wikidata. Still plenty of work to be done as some newly described species don't have wikidata items and there are of course issues with taxonomy used in New Zealand vs taxonomy used in the rest of the world.

New Zealand theses project edit

See the project page. I continue to contribute to this project, linking theses to Wikipedia articles, and working on the NZThesis Wikidata mix'n'match dataset.

General Work edit

Biodiversity Heritage Library edit

I actively engage with BHL and their affiliates assisting their engagement with the Wiki movement. See the BHL WikiProject page. I'm an invited guest/member on the BHL Cataloguing and Metadata Committee and am the chair of the BHL-WIKI Working Group.

Women Genera project edit

 
Fake Muse poster illustrating early research results from the Women Genera project

I'm collaborating with an international group of botanists and a data visualisation specialist researching women after whom flowering plant genera have been named. We have published one scholarly article in December 2023 and intend to publish another article analysing the data in 2024.

Hidden Figures project edit

I'm collaborating with a group of academics to produce course materials for a CURE (a course based under graduate research experience) aiming to be delivered by multiple educators at multiple colleges. This CURE will cover "hidden figures" in natural history collections, concentrating on people of colour and women and aims to teach under graduates how to research these people, create Wikidata items and/or Wikipedia articles for them and then link these people to their collections, publications and other contributions made to natural history collections. These course materials will be made available to educators under an open license on the QUBES website. In December 2023 the Introductory module along with the ORCID module were published. In 2024 we anticipated the Bionomia module, the Wikidata module and the storytelling module to also be published.

Research expeditions edit

I'm collaborating with a group of editors in Wikidata:WikiProject Research Expeditions. This work improves Wikidata items, Wikipedia articles and Wikicommons content on research expeditions. I am exploring the possibility of obtaining funding for and undertaking a Wikimedian in Residence pilot project at Te Papa focusing on trialling the Research Expedition schema being agreed to by the editors active in this WikiProject as well as the TDWG Modelling Research Expeditions Task Group. This pilot project would aim to implement the schema, feed back any suggested improvements to the schema to both the WikiProject as well as the TDWG task force, explore the "roundtripping" possibilities in museum collection management systems for the Wikidata QIDs, and hold events to improve the editing skills of both Te Papa staff, New Zealand based editors and anyone interested from the general public.

Other participation edit

I'm an active participant in the Wikidata WikiProject Biodiversity and have appeared in the Wikipedia Weekly broadcasts dealing with this subject.

I'm also attempting to create or add to any articles on notable scientists, collectors or illustrators I've come across in my volunteer work with various citizen science platforms and the Biodiversity Heritage Library. I have also been using this resource http://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/resources/collections/allan-herbarium/new-zealand-botanists to obtain information on New Zealand botanists. And of course I am keen to create Wikipedia articles on any notable New Zealand woman in order to combat the current gender bias in Wikipedia.

I'm continuing to work on zoological and botanical collectors, adding them into Wikidata, editing or creating articles where appropriate and then connecting them to their specimens in GBIF via the Bionomia website. My particular focus is New Zealand and women collectors but I tend to be omnivorous once I start a deep dive into content. I work on datasets in Wikidata mix'n'match including BHL creator ids and Index of Harvard botanists.

I'm also a keen contributor to efforts to improve coverage of early women scientific illustrators. See for example Wikipedia:GLAM/Illustrators of the Biodiversity Heritage Libraryand Artists and Scientific Illustrators. I'm working on various articles, Wikidata items and Wikimedia Commons categories about women especially those covered in publications found in the Biodiversity Heritage Library.

I contribute to the #1Lib1Ref campaign two times a year and am an active member of the WomenInRed WikiProject.

Suggested topics for planning events edit

Possible suggests for Event planning edit

  • World Wetlands Day Thursday 2 February - Possible editathon the weekend before/after? Could attempt to get at least a stub article done for every notable wetland in NZ? Talk to NZ Wetlands Trust?
  • World Water Day - Wednesday 22 March - Possible editathon in the weekend before/after? Water quality of rivers, species that indicate water quality, information on testing, article sections on water quality in towns and cities, 3 Waters etc
  • Earth Day - Saturday 22 April - Possible editathon? Species articles, water quality sections in River articles, Biodiversity sections in town/city articles, DOC publications/reports are all examples of work to be done?
  • International Museum Day - Thursday 18 May - Improve/create articles and wikidata items on NZ museums working from lists via sprql query and NZMuseums list. Find/create ontology for fabulous museum item.
  • World Bee Day - 20 May
  • International Day for Biological Diversity - Sunday 22 May - Biodiversity articles!
  • World Environment Day - Monday 5 June
  • World Habitat Day - 4 October.
  • World Migratory Bird Day - 8 October
  • Invasive species for New Zealand themed effort both in Wikidata and Wikipedia. See https://w.wiki/33b as an example of a Wikidata query to assist with this work.
  • https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/FindingGLAMs
  • Wikipedia:GLAM/Smithsonian Institution/American Women's History Initiative (AWHI) Also see #BecauseHerStory
  • National Library of New Zealand See this for fabulous illustrations
  • Focus work around International Days? See this resource.

List of some of the Articles I've helped create edit

Some of these articles are stubs created in anticipation of and to assist with various Wikipedia workshops, others have been created while working on NZ moth threat classification status. This is by no means a complete list as I got tired of adding articles to it! This list gives more up to date information about my contributions.

DYK article 17 December 2015
see Template:Did_you_know_nominations/Stenoperla_prasina

New Zealand species work links and resources edit

Tools, links and reminders to self edit

  • Training for #1Lib1Ref
  • See this for Wikipedian in Residence info.
  • Licensing markup for images out of copyright in NZ is PD-New Zealand without :
  • Best practice for attribution for CC licensed works here
  • Use this markup for empty sections Empty section markup without the :
  • For open access journals/article links (esp BHL) use curly bracket x2 open access
  • Hashtag tool
  • Species synonym list template here
  • Etymology
  • See this for external image where no image exists in Wikicommons. Nice way of dealing with issue.
  • See Huia as example of "how to" for range map.
  • See Victor Adam to note text incorporated from public domain publications. eg   This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: New Zealand moths and butterflies (Macro-lepidoptera), by George Vernon Hudson (1898) See also Mount Peel for CC BY attribution quotes.
  • See this for redirect for synonym of species
  • See this article for example of a monotypic taxon and how to deal with it in English Wikipedia.
  • See this markup for redirect to correct species name (use without colon) R from alternative scientific name ie Redirect species article template
  • See this as a great resource for beginner editors.
  • See plant host species link here
  • Grant metrics - tools.wmflabs.org For Wikipedia editathons REALLY helpful.
  • Wikishootme
Tool hub edit

See this Wikipedia Weekly List of broadcasts that deal with certain tools

Notes to self edit

Grant Applications edit

See this page for information on where/how to apply for grants from the Wikimedia Foundation.

GA and FA applications for Kererū edit

Barnstars edit

  The New Zealand Barnstar of National Merit
For outstanding leadership in creating a multi-site, multi-day, multi-project editing event. Tino pai! MurielMary (talk) 04:57, 7 January 2021 (UTC)
this WikiAward was given to Ambrosia10 by MurielMary (talk) on 04:57, 7 January 2021 (UTC)
  The Tireless Contributor Barnstar
For your work in responding to all of my comments in the Kererū GA nomination. It's been a pleasure to work with you and all of your dedicated teammates at WikiProject New Zealand. Mover of molehills (talk) 01:08, 15 October 2021 (UTC)
  The Wikiproject Lepidoptera Barnstar
For proving those pesky deletionists wrong by expanding all of those articles on New Zealand moths. Thank you. Scorpions1325 (talk) 03:21, 22 January 2024 (UTC)|}