Citizen Science in the City

unnamed (2)Do you live or work in a city? Well, have we got the projects for YOU! Below, we highlight research projects in need of your help in cities.  Find more projects on SciStarter to do now or bookmark your favorites for later!
Cheers!
The SciStarter Team

Snow Tweets
It’s easy to report snow fall in your city with Snow Tweets! Just Tweet your snow depth and location with #snowtweets. Bonus! You’ll help cryosphere scientists calibrate weather satellite data.

Cities at Night
NASA has a database with almost half a million pictures taken by the astronauts on the International Space Station. Help create a map of cities at night to study light pollution by interpreting the photographs to determine, for example, if the camera was pointed at a city or the stars…while enjoying beautiful pictures taken from space.

NoiseTube
Turn your smartphone into a sensor and measure sound exposure levels in your city. Create an open, geo-tagged Noise Pollution map in the process and help scientists track changes in phenology among other things.

NPS
Citizen Science in National Park
Celebrate Citizen Science Day with the Philadelphia Science Festival and the National Park’s Every Kid in a Park effort, on Apr 27, 10-3. Make like Lewis & Clark and help create a census of plants, insects and birds all around the National Park! Make cloud observations to ground-truth NASA satellite data, learn why the Liberty Bell’s microbes were sent to the International Space Station, and more!

Photo: Azavea
 
PhillyTreeMap
Measure the circumference of a tree trunk near you, add that data to this database, and see the calculated ecological and economical benefits of that tree!

Photo: USFWS
Operation Resilient Trees
Monitor urban trees to assess their capacity to adapt to climate change. Just map, identify, and measure the diameter and canopy width of urban trees.

Photo: Philip Silva
TreeKIT
Measure and map the trees in your neighborhood. The information you gather will be used to track green infrastructure around the city.


Excited about urban nature? The City Nature Challenge will be happening in cities across the United States this Spring. Find one near you in the SciStarter Event Finder!

Categories: Citizen Science, Newsletter

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About the Author

Eva Lewandowski

Eva Lewandowski

Eva Lewandowski is the Citizen-based Monitoring Coordinator for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, where she coordinates a statewide citizen science network. She has a PhD in Conservation Biology from the University of Minnesota and is an active volunteer.