Blog: Citizen Science Projects, People, and Perspectives
By Eva Lewandowski, Dec 22, 2016
The holiday season is upon us! In the spirit of the season, we’ve put together another edition of our annual 12 Days of Christmas Newsletter. ANNNNNNNND…as our gift to you, we’ve made it possible for you to track your citizen science contributions and interests in one place! Check out the beta version of SciStarter 2.0. … Read more “12 Days of Christmas with Citizen Science (seriously!)”
Categories: Animals, Astronomy & Space, Birds, Citizen Science, Ecology & Environment, Newsletter
By Sharman Apt Russell, Nov 02, 2016
I believe that citizen science is about citizenship as well as science. By this, I don’t mean citizenship in a specific country, but in a larger community. As a citizen scientist focusing on the natural world, I become a better citizen of that world—the world of tree frogs, say, or hummingbirds or dragonflies. Citizen science makes … Read more “Celebrating the citizen in citizen science”
Categories: Birds, Citizen Science, Ecology & Environment, Project Profile
By Jenny Cutraro, Sep 30, 2016
By: Nohra Murad and Jenny Cutraro Maintaining clean waterways: it’s a challenge confronted at the local level by communities across the globe. Stormwater runoff, trash, even sewage overflow, often contaminate urban waterways, degrading wildlife habitat, reducing opportunities for recreation, and placing drinking water supplies at risk. To confront this challenge, citizen scientists across the country … Read more “Protect Your Local Watershed: Become a Streamkeeper!”
Categories: Citizen Science, Ecology & Environment, Project Profile
By Russ Campbell, Sep 22, 2016
By Russ Campbell Brandywine Creek, which runs through southeastern Pennsylvania and northern Delaware, once poweredBrandywine Creek, which runs through southeastern Pennsylvania and northern Delaware, once powered the mills that supported European settlements in the late 17th and 18th centuries. Today, people rely on the creek for recreation and as a source of drinking water. SciStarter contributor Russ … Read more “Connecting Citizen Scientists to Watersheds: A Conversation with Kim Hachadoorian”
Categories: Citizen Science, Ecology & Environment, Project Profile
By Kristin Butler, Sep 16, 2016
When we think about climate change, we usually picture extreme temperatures, mega-storms, and rising seas disrupting our collective future. But climate change is also erasing our past. At our poles, melting ice is exposing and washing out new archeological discoveries. In the world’s arid regions, severe sandstorms are unearthing and eroding buried treasures. And on … Read more “Climate Change Uncovers Our Past”
Categories: Archeology, Citizen Science, Climate & Weather, Ecology & Environment, Ocean & Water, Project Profile
By Eva Lewandowski, Sep 15, 2016
Water: We can’t live without it. Photo: USFWS Water is one of our most precious natural resources, so it’s not surprising that there are hundreds of scientists in need of your help to keep an eye on rivers, streams, lakes, oceans, and taps. Below, our editors highlight five water monitoring projects. You can find hundreds … Read more “What’s in YOUR Water?”
Categories: Citizen Science, Ecology & Environment, Newsletter, Ocean & Water
By Carolyn Graybeal, Sep 01, 2016
Going out of your way to attract mosquitoes seems like the last thing anyone would want to do, but that is exactly what the national Invasive Mosquito Project is hoping volunteers will do in the name of public health. Managed through the United States Department of Agriculture, the Invasive Mosquito Project aims to track the spread of … Read more “Enlisting youth citizen scientists to combat Zika”
Categories: Analyzing and interpreting data, Asking questions (for science) and defining problems (for engineering), Biology, Citizen Science, Constructing explanations (for science) and designing solutions (for engineering), Ecology & Environment, Education, Insects, Nature & Outdoors, Planning and carrying out investigations, Project Profile, Science Practices
By Sharman Apt Russell, Aug 17, 2016
Walking through Purisima Creek Redwoods Reserve in northern California, I am the paparazzi of Western sword ferns (Polystichum munitum). When I find one, I stop and click, click, click my smartphone photos and then approach boldly for a closer look. Are new leaves emerging as curled fronds or fiddleheads? Are there round spots called sori—reproductive … Read more “The Lure of the Redwood Forest”
Categories: Citizen Science, Ecology & Environment, Nature & Outdoors, Project Profile
By Eva Lewandowski, Aug 11, 2016
Photo: NPS Celebrate the National Parks with Citizen Science On August 25, the United States National Park Service turns 100! The park system provides many excellent citizen science opportunities to visitors. Below, you’ll find five great national park projects. Find even more projects with the SciStarter Global Project Finder. Cheers! The SciStarter Team
Categories: Apps, Citizen Science, Ecology & Environment, Nature & Outdoors, Newsletter
By Catherine Price, Jul 27, 2016
A recent article in the New York Times highlights the way urban environments are affecting evolution in a variety of species. From European blackbirds with high-pitched calls to beat the sound of traffic to spiders adapted to build their webs closer to light poles, the dynamic and harsh urban environment is changing our biodiversity. Citizen scientists are … Read more “Urban Citizen Science”
Categories: Animals, Biology, Citizen Science, Ecology & Environment, Nature & Outdoors, Newsletter
