separate us from nature to help us understand and enjoy it. Smartphones, the Internet and accessible research technologies deinstitutionalize science and get the inner scientist in all of us outside to contribute to a broader understanding of a variety of topics, from backyard birds to flower-blooming times.
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SCIENCE MATTERS with David Suzuki
We Can All Be 21St-Century Scientists
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ur ancestors may not have called themselves “citizen scientists” or organized to collect data for scientific inquiry, but they were keen observers of the natural world. Their survival often depended on being able to tease apart nature’s complexity — where to find game and when to sow seeds, collect berries and prepare for winter or bad weather. But our modern, technologyobsessed lives increasingly divorce us from nature, with consequences for our health and well-being. Numerous studies now remind us of what we know intuitively: Spending time in nature makes us feel better — helping with depression, attention deficit disorder, recall and memory, problemsolving and creativity. People who spend more time outside are also physically healthier. Enter citizen science — using the same technologies that
in particular hot spots, saving both human and wildlife.
The David Suzuki Foundation started engaging citizens in research following the 2011 meltdown of Japan’s Fukushima nuclear reactor, partnering with various organizations and universities, including the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, to Science relies on observation. set up a volunteer network to sample seawater from sites As more people examine natural phenomena and record along B.C.’s Pacific coast. and share information, we gain This will help scientists understand the ongoing spread better understanding of the of radiation across the Pacific world. An increasing number and its evolving impacts on of scientific inquiries now the ocean. Volunteers from 14 depend on contributions from communities are collecting ordinary people to help them seawater samples over three answer important questions. years. The radioactive plume The National Audubon Society has not yet reached North has been enlisting volunteers to America, but we’ll know when monitor birds during its annual it does, thanks to ordinary Christmas bird count for more people providing extraordinary than 100 years, but it’s not the coverage across the region. oldest citizen science program. NatureWatch, another uniquely It was predated by a couple Canadian citizen science started in the 1880s: a survey project, was also recently asking lighthouse keepers to launched. It has four programs. identify and count birds that Frog Watch participants collect struck their lighthouses and data on amphibians, valuable another that looked at bird indicators of changes in our migration. air, land and water. PlantWatch records flowering times for Citizens now have many select species, helping track opportunities to partake in the effects of climate change. a wide range of scientific And WormWatch monitors discovery. earthworms and soil health. Take roadkill. The Humane This winter, you can volunteer Society estimates that more for the organization’s IceWatch than a million animals are and contribute to the scientific killed every year on U.S. understanding of global highways. Collisions with large animals are tragic for all warming. By analyzing citizen records, scientists have found involved and cost insurance companies millions of dollars a year. The insurance industry is working on an innovative partnership with the University of California’s Roadkill Observation System to enlist citizens in efforts to identify and protect wildlife corridors
that the freeze-thaw cycles of northern water bodies are changing. However, since climate change is not consistent across the country and large gaps exist in the current monitoring network, scientists require critical data from many more regions. By recording yearly ice events — the freeze and thaw dates of lakes and rivers — you’ll help monitor the effects of climate change on Canadian ecosystems. You can also join RinkWatch, an initiative by geographers at Wilfrid Laurier University asking citizens to track skateable days on local outdoor rinks. Canada has hundreds of citizen science programs. Although never a substitute for or rationale to cut science spending, these programs amplify and fill gaps in government- and universityled science. There’s something for every individual, every interest and every region of the country. We all have mighty powers of observation. Citizen science is a way to encourage us all to get outside, hone our senses, and undertake meaningful activity to monitor and maintain our environment, improve scientific literacy and, best of all, be happier and healthier. Written with contributions from David Suzuki Foundation Science and Policy Director Mara Kerry Learn more at davidsuzuki.org.
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