Blog: Citizen Science Projects, People, and Perspectives
By Eric Betz, Apr 19, 2021
In the past 40 years, butterfly populations have declined dramatically across the American West, both in cities and in the wilderness. Overall, butterflies are now declining at a rate of 1.6 percent each year. That’s what researchers using butterfly observations from citizen scientists and professional researchers found in a recent study. Their work, drawing from … Read more “Western Butterfly Populations are Plummeting, Citizen Science Data Shows”
Categories: Animals
By Brielle Fischman, Bradley Cosentino, and James Gibbs, Feb 09, 2021
In 1902, an international trade deal was brokered between the U.S. and Canada. Frank Baker, superintendent of the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington, D.C., had been working on the deal for some time. In a letter from 1900 sent to several addresses in Ontario, Canada, Baker explains he is “very desirous of obtaining” a particular … Read more “City Squirrels Look Different. Is Evolution Driving a Color Change?”
Categories: Animals
By Eric Betz, Dec 23, 2020
Every year around Christmas time, tens of thousands of volunteer birdwatchers gather in familiar locations across the Western Hemisphere for a tradition that dates back more than a century. On select days between December 14 and January 5, volunteers with the National Audubon Society’s Christmas Bird Count take a census of every bird they see … Read more “How a Christmas Tradition has Helped Track Billions of Vanishing Birds”
Categories: Animals, Other
By Eric Betz, Oct 31, 2020
For many of us, the sound of fall is defined by honking geese overhead and the calls of familiar songbirds in our yards. Every year, billions of birds, bats and insects take to the air in an ancient migration that leads them from the northern reaches of our continent to more temperate climates in the … Read more “Radar is Revolutionizing the Study of Migrations, but Researchers Need Birdwatchers’ Help”
Categories: Animals
By Bob Hirshon, Sep 19, 2020
This post was originally published as a SciStarter newsletter. Sign up to receive bi-weekly citizen science in your inbox! Citizen science projects featuring insects, spiders and their relatives You can call them “insects, spiders and their relatives” or you can call them “bugs” (and incur the wrath of those who point out that the only true … Read more “SciStarter Goes Buggy!”
Categories: Insects, Newsletter
By SciStarter Team, Jul 11, 2020
This is a guest blog post from the Spot-a-Bee project. In these challenging times, when we are spending more time in our homes and neighbourhoods than many of us may have imagined possible, we at Spot-a-Bee have worked to develop a family learning approach, centred around the Spot-a-Bee citizen science project. The Spot-a-Bee project was … Read more “Spot-a-Bee: Mapping the Urban Bee Garden”
Categories: Education, Guest Contributor, Insects, Nature & Outdoors
By Eric Betz, Jun 19, 2020
Deja Perkins loved animals growing up. And by the time she left her native Chicago to attend Tuskegee University in Alabama, she wanted to become a veterinarian, often the only animal-related career introduced to people of color, she says. But it didn’t take long before Perkins realized she’d rather study animals in the natural world. … Read more “#BlackInNature: How Young Scientists are Pushing for Equality”
Categories: Birds, Citizen Science, Nature & Outdoors, Other
By Andrea Dautant, May 21, 2020
Plastic pollution in our oceans is a major, on-going global crisis. Researchers estimate that 8 million tons of plastic end up in the ocean every year. Much of the plastic is dumped carelessly, on land or in rivers, and then carried or blown into the sea. Nearly 700 species, including endangered ones, are already known … Read more “To Fight Plastic Pollution, These Researchers Want Your Pictures of Beach Trash”
Categories: Animals, Citizen Science, Nature & Outdoors, Other
By Molly Schools, May 12, 2020
Kids and adults both coo at the sight of a crawling caterpillar. We imagine that this hungry caterpillar may flutter past someday as a beautiful butterfly. Caterpillars and other insects with segmented bodies are called arthropods. And scientists need your help with a citizen science project aimed at understanding how these insects’ populations are changing. … Read more “How Counting Caterpillars Can Help Scientists Understand Climate Change”
Categories: Animals, Citizen Science, Ecology & Environment, Insects, Nature & Outdoors
By Eric Betz, Apr 22, 2020
Today marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, a time of year when many people by get outside to take part in community clean ups and environmental celebrations. But this year is different. Schools and parks have closed, and we’re left to celebrate while social distancing. This list of citizen science activities and projects can … Read more “Earth Day Activities: These Science Projects Get You Outside Virtually”
Categories: Animals, Citizen Science, EarthSchool, Ecology & Environment
