Blog: Citizen Science Projects, People, and Perspectives
By Guest Contributor, Mar 15, 2017
By Lishka Arata, Conservation Educator at Point Blue Despite the current administration’s efforts to roll back the Clean Water Act and dismantle the Environmental Protection Agency, interest and participation is growing in a new EPA- and stakeholder-led citizen science project that aims to inform clean water management. The Cyanobacteria Monitoring Collaborative has been gathering steam … Read more “Collaborative Citizen Science for Clean Water Management”
Categories: Citizen Science, Ecology & Environment, Guest Contributor, Project Profile
By Russ Campbell, Oct 26, 2016
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
By Carolyn Graybeal, Oct 07, 2016
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
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 Melinda T. Hough, Sep 09, 2013
This post is part of this week’s featured projects about water quality monitoring. Take a look! Despite over 70% of the Earth’s surface being covered in water, one in nine people do not have access to an improved water source.(1) Contaminated water kills more people than all wars, crimes and terrorism combined yet more people … Read more “A Picture Saves 1,000 Streams – Water Quality Monitoring on Your Smartphone”
Categories: Apps, Citizen Science, Climate & Weather, Ecology & Environment, Nature & Outdoors, Ocean & Water
By Carolyn Graybeal, Sep 05, 2013
This post is part of this week’s featured projects about water quality monitoring. Take a look! Clean water. We all need it. It is necessary for human health, food security, economic growth, and preservation of natural habitats. Sadly, human activity often threatens water quality. Tracking water quality is a crucial step is maintaining safe water. … Read more “Monitoring Water Quality”
Categories: Citizen Science
By Peter Madden, Sep 18, 2012
When you wake up in the morning and start your daily routine—take a shower, brush your teeth, cook breakfast—do you ever stop to wonder where all that water you’re using comes from? It’s availability (or lack thereof) is certainly not a common worry in the United States, where as of 2005 (the latest assessment of … Read more “Are you up to the (water) challenge, today?”
Categories: Biology, Citizen Science, Contest, Do-It-Yourself, Ecology & Environment, Health, Nature & Outdoors, Ocean & Water, Science Education Standards
By Kate Atkins, Aug 17, 2011
Guest post by Kate Atkins If your first thoughts when you hear the word “cruise” are fruity drinks with paper umbrellas, jet skis, and late nights in the hot tub: think again. Replace the hot tub with Mendenhall Glacier, the fruity drink with test tubes of fresh stream water, and the jet ski with a … Read more “Whales and Glaciers: A Citizen Science Adventure”
Categories: Animals, Biology, Birds, Chemistry, Citizen Science, Nature & Outdoors, Ocean & Water
By Elizabeth Walter, Jul 18, 2011
Changing Currents, a project originating in Toronto, Canada, familiarizes middle- and high-school students with local watersheds and teaches them how to conduct water quality analyses. This is a great way for students to become environmental scientists for a day! After heading out to a local stream and donning hip waders, students collect water samples and analyze … Read more “Changing Currents turns students into environmental scientists”
Categories: Biology, Chemistry, Citizen Science, Climate & Weather, Ecology & Environment, Nature & Outdoors, Ocean & Water
By John Ohab, Jul 11, 2011
In July of 2009, a friend and I arrived at a lake to collect water samples for work. We had worked at the lake many times, but something was different that day: several hundred dragonflies were flying over the grass. We often saw dragonflies, but there were 50 times the usual number and they weren’t … Read more “Studying Dragonfly Swarms with Citizen Science”
Categories: Animals, Biology, Citizen Science, Ecology & Environment, Guest Contributor, In the News, Insects, Nature & Outdoors, Ocean & Water
