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Think science is just for “scientists”? Think again! Thanks to the participatory science movement, science is for everybody. This is because science is a creative act consisting of observing, wondering, experimenting, and learning. Whether or not you have education or training in science, you may find you have a passion for science related activities.
Outdoor recreation activities like bird/wildlife watching, fishing, or gardening all have science components. Science is not the boring, mindless memorization of facts that you may remember from school. Rather science is a verb, an action of taking steps to understand more about something. And if you think about it, this is what you do all the time–try to figure stuff out. In the past, science as a discipline was reserved for people with specialized training and education. And these people filled the halls of academia far away from everyday folks. They published their interesting findings in obscure journals not available in the corner drug store. Now, widely used technology has given us, the everyday folk, tools to engage and participate in scientific activities. And it’s fun!
In this post, we’re going to talk about getting involved with participatory science, also referred to as citizen science! We will cover:
- What is participatory science and why it matters.
- The different ways for you to get involved.
- How your involvement will enhance your outdoor recreation.
What is Participatory Science?
Basically, participatory or citizen science happens when the general public, as in you or I, get involved with scientific research and data collection. It’s a collaborative approach to understanding the world. But what’s better for professional scientists is that by engaging more and more people, participatory science expands the scope and scale of their research. In other words, if I am a scientist researching water quality of a river system then I can call on anyone and everyone that has access to or frequents that system to help gather data. Many hands make light work, as the saying goes! Or if I need precipitation data for an entire state, it just makes sense to reach out to all the people that live in the state and ask if they collected that data.
People Have Been Curious for a Long Time
Participatory science or the concept of engaging vast numbers of people in data collection, reporting, and analysis is at least 3 centuries old! From Charles Darwin to Thomas Jefferson, people recognized that to get information about events or phenomena across great distances would require the input of a lot of people. Whether you are monitoring animal migration or weather patterns, physical distance can be a problem. During this era, researchers relied on print media like newspapers or magazines to solicit “citizen surveyors” for their observations or to send out surveys to collect data. These mechanisms yielded invaluable data to scientists and pushed the boundaries of how science was conducted.
People of the Internet are Really Good at Science
Enter the age of the internet. Imagine you are researching galaxies. There’s a lot of space out there. Like a lot. A few intrepid budding astronomers working on a project focused on classifying galaxies quickly realized that scanning the observable portions of the universe for galaxies was going to take a loooonnnngggg time. What better solution to this observation and data collection conundrum than to invite and unite the people of the internet to help look for and classify types of galaxies! The researchers created a website called Galaxy Zoo (which has evolved into Zooinverse) where volunteers could sign up to participate. After receiving training, participants could view images of the sections of space to locate and classify galaxies at their leisure. And boy, did the amateur astronomers respond!
In fact, this call to participate in a professional academic astronomy research project was so successful that the idea quickly expanded to other science disciplines. Environmental science, biology, mammalogy, wildlife conservation, earth science, geology, and projects in other areas of science quickly became available as participatory science projects. In fact, projects are now being designed for all ages! Prompting teachers to get students engaged and families to get involved together!
Why Participatory Science Matters
One day I was out collecting plant specimens for my undergraduate botany class. I and a few other students were looking for some plants that typically grow along the edges of small bodies of water, like lakes, ponds, or creeks. I can’t remember exactly what plants we were looking for, maybe a type of lotus, duckweed, or iris, because what captured my attention that day was a group of birds. After scouting for the plants we briefly walked through some dense brush to emerge into an open slough. There bobbing nonchalantly were 4 or 5 of the biggest and strangest birds I had ever seen!
These birds were about 3 feet tall, with large slightly curved bills. Besides their size, what was most striking was that their heads and neck were mottled black and gray to mimic tree bark. According to my Field Guide to North American Birds we had stumbled upon a group of Wood Storks! After reporting what we saw to our professor, we learned that these birds were way out of their normal range and it was a rare sighting!
This type of information is important for scientists because it helps them track potential changes in populations, migratory patterns, habitats, and more. The goal is to build our knowledge and understanding of the world. What’s more is that everyday folks are contributing to significant discoveries that have the potential to change the world! Interested? Read on to learn how you can get involved.
Ways for You to Get Involved
Participatory science empowers non-professional volunteers to contribute to scientific studies. Typically, participants are given guidance or training from professional scientists and then are able to help with gathering data, conducting experiments, or analyzing results. By participating in collaborative science projects, you can gain understanding of scientific processes. And make meaningful contributions to research that might otherwise be impossible due to limited resources. If you are a little intimidated (like me) at the prospect of jumping into a professional science research project, here are 3 ways for someone at any level to get involved:
- Christmas Bird Count
- iNaturalist
- SciStarter
Christmas Bird Count
Before people took to bird watching it was much more common to go bird hunting. During the late 1800s and early 1900s, it was a Christmas tradition to go out and hunt as many birds as possible in a sort of a competition. But in 1900, ornithologist Frank M. Chapman put forth the idea that instead of shooting birds in mass, it would be helpful if people counted and identified wild birds. Chapman, as an early member of the Audubon Society, rallied other birders to join in and the Audubon Christmas Bird Count was born.
Even if you do not consider yourself a birder, anyone can contribute important data to what has grown into global bird census. Beginners can be paired with an expert and counts take place within designated areas. This ensures the counts that are compiled provide quality data to researchers. If you like being outside, wildlife watching, and want to try participatory science for a limited time then the Christmas Bird Count may be for you!
iNaturalist
Getting involved in participatory science is as easy as downloading an app! iNaturalist is a non-profit organization with a mission “to connect people to nature and advance biodiversity science and conservation”. You can use the app to add observations of flora and fauna you make while in nature. To date almost 8 million people have uploaded more than 204 million observations! These observations contribute to the Global Biodiversity Information Facility which provides free and open access to biodiversity data.
You can get involved in any way you choose! Use iNaturalist to identify species while out at the park, on a hike, or just out and about town. Or once you make an identification then you can upload observations to share with the community. There are no timelines, no commitment, and the platform will build your knowledge of the natural world.
SciStarter
If you are interested in getting involved with a more specific project then get connected through SciStarter. On the SciStarter platform you can search for participatory science projects by the area you live or by keyword and topic. These are real-time scientific studies that you can choose to participate. You can sign up and complete an assigned task to help organizations and researchers. This participatory science platform has affiliations with multiple universities and the National Science Foundation.
You can create an account to become a member, or simply choose a project to volunteer for and get started! There are studies appropriate for all ages and any skill level. Learn more about how to get involved by listening to the SciStarter podcast or reading their blog.
Enhance Your Outdoor Recreation Activities with Science
Getting outside has so many benefits for your body and your mind. Many of which are related to building a deeper connection with the natural world. And one way to build your connection to nature is to get involved in a participatory science project. Whether you are enjoying a relaxing sit on a back porch, strolling through the city park, or on a hike, there are opportunities to observe birds, stars, clouds, and other natural phenomena. By getting involved in specific participatory science projects, like the Christmas Bird Count, you will gain access to experts in the field and learn by doing! These experiences will help you become a student of nature, a naturalist! Each project or study will enhance your experience of the outdoors as you learn more about the plants and wildlife that call those spaces home.
Of course, participatory science projects are just one way to develop your skills as a naturalist. You can begin your journey as a Novice Naturalist more personally with field journaling. Read more in my post “What is Field Journaling? Getting Started Capturing the Beauty of Nature” and build your confidence as a citizen scientist!
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