© Ellen Harasimowicz
Cornell University is a citizen science mecca of sorts. It is home not only to The Search for Lost Ladbugs Project, but also the world-reknowned Cornell Lab of Ornithology, whose mission is “to interpret and conserve the earth’s biological diversity through research, education, and citizen science focused on birds.” The Lab coordinates several critical citizen science projects, including FeederWatch, NestWatch, Great Backyard Bird Count, and others.
As if all that weren’t enough enticement, the Lab is nestled in the Sapsucker Woods Bird Sanctuary. (Yes, this place is as lovely as it sounds.) I spent part of yesterday there, interviewing Rick Bonney, who actually coined the phrase ‘citizen science’, and meeting several other folks who work behind the scenes on the citizen science projects I toot about here. (Including, by the way, Tim Gallagher, author of THE GRAIL BIRD. What a treat!)
It was a fabulous end to a fabulous research trip. I left the Lab with important new insights into citizen science, a cool new hat (see photo), and the mounting conviction that it is time, finally, to start writing this book. I have some loose ends to tie up, of course: notes to type, interviews to transcribe, and massive amounts of research to organize and review. But as Ellen and I emerged from the Sapsucker Woods and pointed the car toward home yesterday, my fingers were actually tingling.
(About the picture. I wouldn’t normally just plop a picture like this here on the old blog, but I asked Ellen to grab a picture of me outside the Johnson Center before we left the lab of Ornithology yesterday … and I am just so amazed at how well she captured the exact feelings of the moment. I was happy and relaxed about a day of important work, and wanted to soak up a bit of this special place. I think she totally got the shot. Can you see my fingers tingling?)