Citizen Scientists

Citizen Scientists

By Julie Julian, Regional Instructional Coach

The benefits of learning outside is nothing new. We know students are often more engaged and learning is more authentic when we step beyond the walls of our schools. Providing opportunities for students to participate in Citizen Science is a great way to do this across the grades.

WHAT?

“Citizen science projects focus on, but are not limited to, nonscientists participating in the processes of scientific research, with the intended goal of advancing and using scientific knowledge.”-National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, “Learning Through Citizen Science: Enhancing Opportunities by Design” 

WHY?

“Current understandings of science learning also suggest that science learning extends well beyond content knowledge in a domain to include understanding of the nature and methods of science.”-National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

HOW?

Collect & record data, analyze, classify, and participate in discussions on various apps and websites:

Dark Night Star Light: The Rothney Astrophysical Observatory is calling on citizen scientists to make brightness observations of the night-time sky over their homes.

Calgary Captured: Help us classify trail camera photos by identifying the animals you see.

Alberta Plantwatch: By reporting when certain plants bloom and leaf out in spring, Albertans contribute vital information for climate change studies. This study of biological timing is called phenology, “the science of appearances”.

NatureLynx: Our users actively contribute to our scientific understanding of Alberta’s ecosystems. Beyond being an exciting, free tool for education, engagement and growth, NatureLynx encourages users to network and mobilize their efforts, both socially and scientifically.

Alberta Community Bat Program: The Neighbourhood Bat Watch website is a place where you can join people from across Canada in reporting your own roost or bat sightings, and participating in the annual bat count.

Call of the Wetlands: a citizen science program that enables the public to monitor amphibians as an important indicator of wetland health.

eBird: Our goal is to gather this information in the form of checklists of birds, archive it, and freely share it to power new data-driven approaches to science, conservation and education.    

eButterfly: A real-time, online checklist and photo storage program, e-Butterfly is providing a new way for the butterfly community to report, organize and access information about butterflies in North America.

WormWatch: monitoring program used to identify ecological changes that may be affecting our environment.

FrogWatch: Worldwide, many wetland species are declining in numbers or have recently become extinct. Monitoring frog and toad populations is one way to check the health of wetland areas.

Citizen Science Portal-Government of Canada: This site included even more citizen science project across the country. Use #ScienceAroundMe to find and share exciting ways to take part in science.