Blog: Citizen Science Projects, People, and Perspectives
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 Darlene Cavalier, Oct 06, 2016
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
By Jenny Cutraro, Sep 30, 2016
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
By Russ Campbell, Sep 22, 2016
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
By Kristin Butler, Sep 16, 2016
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
By Editorial Team, Sep 07, 2016
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
By Carolyn Graybeal, Sep 01, 2016
Going out of your way to attract mosquitoes seems like the last thing anyone would want to do, but that is exactly what the national Invasive Mosquito Project is hoping volunteers will do in the name of public health. Managed through the United States Department of Agriculture, the Invasive Mosquito Project aims to track the spread of … Read more “Enlisting youth citizen scientists to combat Zika”
Categories: Analyzing and interpreting data, Asking questions (for science) and defining problems (for engineering), Biology, Citizen Science, Constructing explanations (for science) and designing solutions (for engineering), Ecology & Environment, Education, Insects, Nature & Outdoors, Planning and carrying out investigations, Project Profile, Science Practices
By Sharman Apt Russell, Aug 17, 2016
Walking through Purisima Creek Redwoods Reserve in northern California, I am the paparazzi of Western sword ferns (Polystichum munitum). When I find one, I stop and click, click, click my smartphone photos and then approach boldly for a closer look. Are new leaves emerging as curled fronds or fiddleheads? Are there round spots called sori—reproductive … Read more “The Lure of the Redwood Forest”
Categories: Citizen Science, Ecology & Environment, Nature & Outdoors, Project Profile
By Kristin Butler, Aug 03, 2016
Have you ever glanced up at the night sky, at just the right moment, and seen a streak of bright light dart across the heavens and disappear? The next time you do, instead of making a wish upon the “shooting star” (or maybe just after making your wish), consider reporting your observation to the American … Read more “Meteor Hunters Track Fireballs in the Night Sky”
Categories: Citizen Science, Project Profile
By Caren Cooper, Aug 01, 2016
Fables are fun ways to accept insights into our own lives. Fairy tales are enjoyable ways to inspire hope. Augmented reality games that overlay fantasy directly onto reality are a blast, plus they create a powerful lens to understand ourselves and the world. Citizen science is a lens on the world too. The intersection of … Read more “Augmented Reality in Citizen Science to Connect with Reality”
Categories: Citizen Science, Gaming, Nature & Outdoors, Project Profile
