Blog: Citizen Science Projects, People, and Perspectives
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), … Read more “Map an important bird habitat: your own backyard”
Categories: Birds, Citizen Science, Ecology & Environment, Nature & Outdoors
By Darlene Cavalier, Jul 13, 2010
Recently, my pal at Live Science.com, Dave Brody, produced this video news piece about the results of a fascinating experiment involving fireflies. Scientists at the University of Connecticut have discovered that males in a common species of fireflies synchronize their flashing patterns to attract females. In dense fields or woods, the mass, synchronized flashing patterns … Read more “One firefly mystery solved, another needs your help”
Categories: Citizen Science, Insects, Nature & Outdoors
By Susan West, Jul 05, 2010
“Everybody have ants?” That’s Kelly Herbinson, an entomologist at the California Academy of Sciences, training high school students in the art of collecting ants for the Bay Area Ant Survey, one of the Academy’s citizen science projects. (You’ll find a description in our Project Finder.) The project and the problem ant that participants most often … Read more “Got ants? Citizen scientists do”
Categories: Citizen Science, Insects
By Michael Gold, Jun 30, 2010
An important new citizen science project turned up in our database the other day—and it urgently needs volunteers. MoGO, short for Mobile Gulf Observatory, is an iPhone app that enlists volunteers to record and report the damage of the Gulf Coast oil spill on the region’s wildlife and environment. It was created by researchers at … Read more “Citizen scientists needed to track oil damage–by phone”
Categories: Animals, Birds, Citizen Science, Computers & Technology, Ecology & Environment
By John Ohab, Jun 17, 2010
Having just returned from a vacation to one my favorite cities of all time, Seattle, I thought I would highlight some of the amazing citizen science projects taking place in Washington state. Below, I’ve provided just a quick sampling of some the projects we’ve added to our Project Finder. Do you know of any other … Read more “State of the Science: Washington”
Categories: Animals, Biology, Birds, Chemistry, Citizen Science, Ecology & Environment, Geology & Earth Sciences, Health, Nature & Outdoors, Ocean & Water, Physics, Science Education Standards
By Michael Gold, May 24, 2010
As Memorial Day approaches and Americans slide into summer vacation, many are preparing to make the annual pilgrimage to the beach. While basting in the sun and ambling along a coastline, those with scientific leanings will inevitably tune into the surrounding natural environment—casually observing and appreciating the water, plants, fish, and other marine life. So why not … Read more “Citizen science goes to the beach”
Categories: Animals, Citizen Science, Nature & Outdoors, Ocean & Water
By Darlene Cavalier, May 22, 2010
Pictured here are my son and a silverback gorilla at the Philadelphia Zoo. As the gorilla approached the observatory window, my son nervously began to chew on his finger. The gorilla slowly, gently walked up to the window and mimicked–dare I say, empathized with–my little guy. “No one who looks into a gorilla’s eyes — … Read more “Save gorillas: yeah, there’s an app for that”
Categories: Animals, Citizen Science
By Susan West, May 14, 2010
One of the loveliest butterflies in the San Francisco Bay Area is the mission blue. Hikers who venture south of the city to San Bruno Mountain or north to the Marin Headlands are sometimes lucky enough to encounter the iridescent, inch-wide insect (as I did a couple of weekends ago). But the butterfly, an endangered … Read more “Science volunteers give endangered butterfly a new start”
Categories: Citizen Science, Ecology & Environment, Insects, Nature & Outdoors
By Michael Gold, May 13, 2010
This is going to sound odd, but I’m pretty sure I’m being stalked…by citizen science. Ever since we launched Science for Citizens a few months ago, I find myself bumping into science and taking part in science-flavored activities no matter where I am or what I’m doing. Take my recent trip to California’s Anza Borrego … Read more “Science for citizens is everywhere!”
Categories: Animals, Astronomy & Space, Birds, Citizen Science, Nature & Outdoors
By Darlene Cavalier, May 11, 2010
Calling all citizen scientists in the Gulf Coast! Help survey birds in the beaches and marshes most likely to be impacted by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Cornell University’s Team eBird has produced the eBird Gulf Coast Oil Spill Bird Tracker gadget that can be embedded in your iGoogle page for quick access to the … Read more “Gulf Coast oil spill: Help survey birds at risk”
Categories: Birds, Citizen Science, Ecology & Environment
