7 minute read
Ready to Become a Citizen Scientist?
by Jessica Scudella
Are you interested in participating in research to make a difference but don’t know where to get started? Professional scientists can benefit from data collected by citizen volunteers and there is always room for more volunteers willing to collect data. There are multitudes of projects you can participate in that don’t require any training. Projects range from taking pictures of nature to collecting rain samples. Some projects don’t even require extra supplies other than a computer, phone or tablet and a way to take pictures. As Dr. Caren Cooper said in her TEDx talk, Citizen Science: Everybody Counts, “our individual data may feel insignificant but collectively it has the power to make discoveries that change the world.”
Citizen science, also called community science and crowdsourced science, is the voluntary participation of citizens to gather scientific data usually for a project being completed by professional scientists. By participating, members of the public become more knowledgeable about their project as well as the concept of recording scientific data. All participation is voluntary, and participants choose how involved they want to become and how much time they have to give. Similar to citizen science, crowdsourcing is the call for voluntary participants to contribute anything from technical skills to creative designs.
Where to Get Started
Citizenscience.gov is the official government website for citizen science. On this website, you can find the catalog for over 400 projects looking for volunteers. You are allowed to narrow down your search via the status of the project (if it is active and looking for volunteers), the agency it is through (within the federal government), and the field of science. Scistarter.org is another great resource. SciStarter has a directory of over 1500 projects you can look through to find the citizen science project best suited for you; over 800 of these projects can be done in North Carolina. Other citizen science platforms with similar search options are Anecdata.org, CitSci.org, Zooniverse.org, Experiment.com and iNaturalist.org.
iNaturalist
If you are looking to “Connect with Nature,’’ a good place to start would be iNaturalist. Use your phone, computer or tablet to take a picture of your findings in nature and upload them to iNaturalist. On this app, you can find many projects nearby that just require a photo of your findings. There are four steps to iNaturalist: observe, identify, discuss and contribute. To begin, go outside to observe the nature around you and take a clear photo of what you want to identify. Once you have uploaded the photo onto the mobile app or web page, iNaturalist will try to identify the picture and give you suggestions as to what is in your photo. After this, you can discuss with the iNaturalist community and confirm or refine your identification. Lastly, scientists have access to your photo if it is deemed Research Grade and can use it toward their research.
ISeeChange
This screenshot from the ISeeChange app shows information on its “Rain and Flooding” topic area, where you can add a sighting from your own area.
source: ISeeChange app
There are many different ways to get involved in a citizen science project. Whether you feel more comfortable using a mobile application or web page on a cell phone, tablet or computer, there are a range of different projects available. ISeeChange’s tagline when you enter the free app is “Share your experiences and collect data to investigate our environment and help our communities through change,” [according to the ISeeChange app]. ISeeChange is a program where you can keep track of your local weather and the change you see. By uploading photos and explaining what is happening in your area, you are helping to keep a record of the weather reports. This improves local research and knowledge of weather. Since the app is global, even when on vacation you can participate in this citizen science endeavor. You can find the ISeeChange app by going to your app store, available on both Android and IOS or by going to the website ISeeChange at https://www. iseechange.org/.
Storm Surge Protectors
More local to the Cape Fear area, there is a program called Storm Surge Protectors. This program focuses on the “collection of long-term data to help determine the ecological conditions of coastal wetlands.” The program was started and is led by UNCW Marine Quest and Resilience Corps NC, a branch of AmeriCorps. The new Resilience Corps service member who is taking the lead on this program is Ms. Riley Lewis.
Storm Surge Protector volunteers Shelby and Taylor complete their first field assessment.
photo by Emma Corbitt
There is a free workshop that can be attended and a certificate program that must be completed to teach citizens how to complete a wetlands assessment properly. On the website, https://uncw.edu/ marinequest/ssp/, you can find a datasheet submission portal and a printable version in order to record your data.
Kate Sullivan, Storm Surge Protector and a previous AmeriCorps Member, commented, “I loved working with community members to study storm surge in North Carolina. SSP allowed scientists, residents, and students to contribute to a larger data set to help us protect our coast from storm systems.”
eBird
If you are interested in birds, eBird is the citizen science project for you. You can participate through eBird.org or by downloading the eBird mobile app. There are people all around the world submitting their sightings of birds and no internet connection is required. Scientists and students alike can use the data collected to help better current conservation strategies. According to the eBird website, “Your sightings contribute to hundreds of conservation decisions and peer-reviewed papers, thousands of student projects and help inform bird research worldwide.” If you are looking for a bird identification application, Merlin can be downloaded to use with eBird. After using the Merlin app to help you identify the bird that you saw, you can log the species in eBird. You can even upload sounds!
Frogwatch USA
If you are more interested in frogs, Frogwatch USA is the match for you. This citizen science program is through the association of Zoos and Aquariums’ and it helps to teach the locals about the calls of frogs and toads in their area. As both prey and predator, frogs and toads serve an influential role as indicators of the environment’s health. From February through August, volunteers listen for these frogs and toads and submit their findings through a national database. Frogwatch USA has training sessions at Halyburton Park in Wilmington, North Carolina and at the North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher in Kure Beach, North Carolina where they will teach you to recognize frogs and toads by sound and season. These sessions will start again after the beginning of 2022. The North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher is the local chapter host and the website to learn more is https://www.aza.org/ frogwatch?locale=en.
— Morgan Freese, Virtual Programs Coordinator at the North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher
Results of August’s Wilmington-based CreekWatcher volunteers. The numbers on the graphic indicate the number of bacteria in a 100mL water sample. The red sites exceed the EPA’s threshold for safe levels of bacteria in recreational waters. The green sites are within safe limits.
graphic by Audrey Dunn
CreekWatchers Program
If you are interested in our waterways, the CreekWatchers Program through the Cape Fear River Watch is the citizen science project for you! Volunteers can adopt a section of a creek and about once a month monitor the area. They check for algae, turbidity, trash and other threats to the health of the watershed. While volunteers are out they also collect a 100-milliliter sample of the creek water to then be tested for E. coli and total coliforms at the Cape Fear River Watch’s office. If warranted, these results, will be passed along to the appropriate authorities and investigated further. Supplies such as monitoring observation forms, cleanup equipment, water sampling equipment and a CreekWatcher manual are all provided to volunteers. There are two goals for this program: to identify and address water quality issues in the Cape Fear area and to raise awareness of the status and quality of the water in the region. Rob Clark, rob@cfrw.us, is the Water Quality Programs Manager for Cape Fear River Watch.
Bailey Wallace, one of the summer and fall interns for Cape Fear River Watch and a graduate of UNCW, takes a water sample for the Creekwatchers program.
contributed photo
Painted Bunting Observer Team
One citizen science project that has been a success in the Cape Fear region was led by Dr. Jamie Rotenberg, a now-retired professor from UNC–Wilmington. The project was called the Painted Bunting Observer Team (PBOT) and it was started because he feared the number of Painted Buntings was diminishing. In the end, the project showed that this was not the case. They are no longer accepting Painted Bunting observations, but are instead directing users to eBird to report their sightings. The website paintedbuntings.org is now being used as an informational site that teaches the public about Painted Buntings.
Jessica Scudella is a senior pursuing degrees in environmental science and political science at UNCW. She is a Going Green intern, the Vice President of 350 UNCW and the Environmental Legislation Committee Chair for UNCW Plastic Ocean Project.
