Covering the people, projects and phenomena of citizen science
Blog: Citizen Science Projects, People, and Perspectives
Map an important bird habitat: your own backyard
By Darlene Cavalier, Aug 03, 2010
Is your yard for the birds?
This fall, Cornell University’s Lab of Ornithology will unveil YardMap, a citizen science project that asks participants to map their yards and green spaces to help researchers better understand where birds live.
The project provides a Google satellite image of your yard (or another green space of your choice), then lets you mark the locations of vegetation and other landscape features, such as compost bins and bird houses, on your online YardMap page. Pages can be shared and compared by researchers and participants. Learn how your yard stacks up to your neighbor’s when it comes to creating a host environment for birds and the plants, berries, and insects they eat.
ScienceforCitizens.net members are invited to test the beta version of YardMap. Sign up here if you are interested.
Here’s a slide show explaining more about this project:
Darlene Cavalier is a professor of practice at Arizona State University's School for the Future of Innovation in Society and a Senior Global Futures Scientist, Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory at ASU. Professor Cavalier is the founder of SciStarter (a popular citizen science portal and research platform connecting millions of people to real science they can do), founder of Science Cheerleaders (a non profit organization comprised of current and former NFL, NBA and college cheerleaders pursuing STEM careers), cofounder of ECAST: Expert and Citizen Assessment of Science and Technology and cofounder of ScienceNearMe.org. She is a founding board member of the Citizen Science Association, an advisor and Fellow at National Geographic, a member of the EPA's National Advisory Council for Environmental Policy and Technology, appointed to the National Academy of Sciences "Designing Citizen Science to Support Science Learning" committee and named cochair of America 250's Innovation, Science, and Entrepreneurism Advisory Council. She is the co-editor of "The Rightful Place of Science: Citizen Science," author of "The Science of Cheerleading," and co-author of the Field Guide to Citizen Science (Timber Press). Recently, ASU President Michael Crow awarded Cavalier and her team the prestigious Medal for Social Embeddedness.
