Citizen Science

What do clouds, kestrel boxes, and cat personalities have in common?

If you knew that they are all part of research projects using citizen scientists, great job! If not, you’re not alone. Most of us are unaware of the role citizen science plays in global scientific discovery. Let me explain…

The world is alive with research. Yet, oftentimes a project is limited by the number of researchers available to gather data. What if we could span out across the globe and harness the observations of ordinary citizens? And so we did. Deemed Citizen Science, data collection on a vast scale was born.

Sans white lab coats and formal training, science is occurring all around us—not just by elite scientists, but by everyday people from all walks of life, of all ages. Data collected by volunteers in thousands of locations has been used to track trends in everything from Alzheimer’s disease to Zebra mussel populations—and has changed the face of discovery.

This weekend we all have a chance to contribute to a Citizen Science project—right in our own backyards--by participating in the Great Backyard Bird Count!

Oh, and about those cat personalities…What does that have to do with scientific research? Turns out researchers at North Carolina State University are investigating a possible link between cat personalities and the amount of wildlife they prey upon—and they need your help. As do countless other research projects.

For more information about Citizen Science and to see how you can get involved, see https://www.nationalgeographic.org/idea/citizen-science-projects/

Happy counting!

Have a Bluebird Day,

Carol