Celebrating the citizen in citizen science

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

The Poetry of Science at the Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site

Carl Sandburg Home National Historical Site stretches over 246 rolling acres in Flat Rock, N.C. The writer and poet Sandburg moved to the property in 1945 for the solitude the natural landscape provides. Today, it is a place where nature, science, and creativity intertwine. Five miles of trails meander throughout the site – some leisurely … Read more “The Poetry of Science at the Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site”

Categories: Citizen Science, Climate & Weather, Nature & Outdoors, Project Profile

Enter EPA’s Smart City Air Challenge!

What if you had access to air quality data — minute-by- minute — from hundreds of locations in your community at the same time? How would you manage that data– and how would you share it with your local residents? The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is offering two communities $40,000 each to help figure that out. Currently, environmental … Read more “Enter EPA’s Smart City Air Challenge!”

Categories: Citizen Science, Project Profile

Saving California’s Seals and Sea Lions

We tend to think of famine in human terms. But animal populations also experience wide-spread hunger, and the hundreds of emaciated young seals and sea lions stranded on California beaches in the past year were a poignant example. Fortunately, a large team of citizen scientists at The Marine Mammal Center—an animal hospital and research institute … Read more “Saving California’s Seals and Sea Lions”

Categories: Animals, Citizen Science, Nature & Outdoors, Ocean & Water, Project Profile

Citizen science pushes Hawai’i Department of Health to act on beach pollution

For the past seven years, citizen scientist volunteers with the Kaua’i chapter of the Surfrider Foundation Beach Watch Task Force have been testing the waters at 27 recreational sites along the Kaua’i coastline. This summer they achieved a victory when the Hawai’i Department of Health (HDOH) finally acknowledged the concerning levels of pollution in local … Read more “Citizen science pushes Hawai’i Department of Health to act on beach pollution”

Categories: Citizen Science, Project Profile

Understanding the Rhythms of the Desert: Citizen Science, Committed Communities, Public Libraries and SciStarter

A guest post from the Superstition Area Land Trust (SALT) community in Apache Junction, AZ. Understanding the Rhythms of the Desert: A Citizen Science and Lending Library Program  Presented by: The Superstition Area Land Trust (SALT), SciStarter, Arizona State University’s School for the Future of Innovation in Society, YLACES.org, GLOBE.gov & The Apache Junction Public Library The … Read more “Understanding the Rhythms of the Desert: Citizen Science, Committed Communities, Public Libraries and SciStarter”

Categories: Citizen Science, Guest Contributor, libraries, Project Profile

Protect Your Local Watershed: Become a Streamkeeper!

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

Connecting Citizen Scientists to Watersheds: A Conversation with Kim Hachadoorian

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

Climate Change Uncovers Our Past

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

Conversations in Citizen Science: Alberta Chu of FaceTopo, a project to crowdsource face data!

The beauty of citizen science is that it gives non-professional researchers the chance to get up close and personal with science. But when SciStarter interviewed citizen scientists this summer, they learned that the number one reason volunteers quit a project was because the scientists never replied to them. Think about all of your experiences collecting data from your … Read more “Conversations in Citizen Science: Alberta Chu of FaceTopo, a project to crowdsource face data!”

Categories: Citizen Science, CitSci Research, Project Profile