citizen science projects

March 5, 2009April 25, 2015

The Great Sunflower Project

Attention Citizen Scientists!

The Great Sunflower Project, an initiative designed to help scientists understand local pollinator populations by recruiting bee-spotters across the country, gets underway this month. In order to participate, you must be willing to plant sunflower seeds (provided), tend them, and once they bloom, watch them. Yep, watch them. Twice a month, participants are asked to observe their sunflowers and record how long it takes for five bees to arrive.

In the words of Gretchen LeBuhn, professor at San Francisco State University and director of The Great Sunflower Project, “We know very little about bee activity in home and community gardens and their surrounding environments, but we are certain that they are a crucial link in the survival of native habitats and local produce, not to mention our beautiful urban gardens. Our local pollinator populations require our understanding & protection, and to answer that call we need to determine where and when they are at work.”

The Great Sunflower Project website has loads more information on the project and how to participate. Check it out, and spread the word!

February 16, 2009April 25, 2015

2009 Great Backyard Bird Count

No, we didn’t see any Eastern Screech Owls in our Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) on Saturday. But my beginning birders and I did see:

2 Red-bellied Woodpeckers
1 Downy Woodpecker
1 Hairy Woodpecker
4 Blue Jays
2 American Crows
3 Black-capped Chickadees
3 Tufted Titmice
1 White-breasted Nuthatch
4 American Robin
1 Northern Cardinal
1 House Finch
5 American Goldfinch

It was a glorious morning of sunshine, melting snow, and hands-on science. Ours was one of over 54,000 GBBC checklists submitted so far; you can find more 2009 GBBC stats and results here.

Hooray for citizen science!

February 9, 2009April 25, 2015

On Citizen Science

Long-time readers of this blog know that I am a fan of citizen science, science conducted by volunteers on behalf of professional scientists studying real world problems. How can you not be intrigued by the idea of a layperson—particularly a kid—making a big scientific discovery in their backyard? (For an example, read this.)

Equally appealing to me is the ability of citizen science projects to connect people with nature. Fostering this connection can be hard in the electronic age, and I know that citizen science is a great way to do it. That’s why I am writing the book CITIZEN SCIENTISTS (Henry Holt, 2011), and that’s why I participate in (and blog about) citizen science. Care for an example? The bird count I hosted this weekend in my backyard.

My count was attended by mostly eight-to-ten-year-olds, and they were well-rested (we met at 8am!) and excited to be together (they seemed to think our gathering was a party more than a science project). While they were all generally interested in birds, they were equally interested in the basement playroom. And the goodies I had baked. And the new computer my sons got for Christmas. They listened politely to my overview of the project, and to the tips given to them by our local birding expert, Professor Richard Quimby. But they weren’t hooked until we stepped out into the snow and saw what was going on outside …

The birds were having a party of their own, right at my feeders. We saw some regulars, of course: black-capped chickadees and tufted titmice and blue jays, birds the kids were familiar with. But it wasn’t until we saw three types of woodpecker on a single suet-festooned tree that the kids sucked in their collective breaths.

“What is that one?” someone whispered.

“I think it’s a woodpecker,” someone whispered back.

As we watched the threesome feast—one downy woodpecker, one hairy woodpecker and one red-bellied woodpecker—the kids became fascinated with the idea that they might see something else they’d never seen before. And, oh, did the birds cooperate! For the first time EVER, a Carolina wren made its appearance on a suet feeder. What a day to visit!

The kids eventually wandered off to play in the snow fort the Burns children had built out front. But they wandered back every so often, singly and in small groups, to see who was at the feeders. It was pretty cool. One of the parents even got into it, telling me that she planned to stop on the way home for some seed to fill her long-empty feeders.

“Do you think this many birds live around my house?” she asked me.

Yep. I sure do.

(Ten points if you can name the three birds in the photos above!)

February 3, 2009April 25, 2015

A Royal Cure for Winter Blues

Winter got you down?

Dreaming about meadows and sunshine?

Want to plan something outdoorsy and fun that doesn’t require four layers and heavy boots? (Maybe something like this or this?)

Well, then, I have good news for you. Tagging kits for the 2009 monarch tagging season are now available at the MonarchWatch Shop. Get ‘em now and start planning for the fall!

If you’re not sure what monarch tagging is all about, spend an afternoon cruising the MonarchWatch website; you’ll find everything you need to know. (You can also leave me a comment; I’m happy to answer whatever I can.)

And if you are a veteran monarch enthusiast, you’ll want to read this important update from MonarchWatch director, Dr. Chip Taylor. MonarchWatch needs our help.

February 1, 2009April 25, 2015

Got Birdseed?

I spent part of today traipsing around the yard filling our seed feeders and suet holders. We’ve had an incredible diversity of bird species this year (fifteen at last count*) and I want to encourage all my avian visitors to stick around. I’ll need them during the next two weekends as I host two big citizen science activities here at the Burns homestead:

On Saturday, February 7 we’ll be counting birds for MassAudubon’s Focus on Feeders event. If you live in Massachusetts and you’d like to get involved in this simple citizen science project, here’s how.

On Saturday, February 14 we’ll be counting birds again, this time for National Audubon Society’s Great Backyard Bird Count. You can find more information here.

Both events are S-I-M-P-L-E: (1) go outside (2) for each species of bird you see, count the largest number of birds you see at any one time (3) record your data. Later, when you’re back inside sipping hot cocoa, you can compile and submit your data. These projects are designed for citizen scientists of any age or experience, so–QUICK!–get outside and fill your feeders.

*We’ve spotted these species in our yard this winter: cardinals, black-capped chickadees, white-breasted nuthatches, downy woodpeckers, hairy woodpeckers, dark-eyed juncos, mourning doves, tufted titmice, goldfinches, blue jays, crows, chipping sparrow (I think!), purple finches (I think!), red-tailed hawks and our new favorite, a red-bellied woodpecker.

January 9, 2009April 25, 2015

Project Budburst

Got flowers, shrubs or trees?

Sick of winter?

Into science?

Well, then, what are you doing here? Head on over to the Project Budburst website and learn how you can gather important information about the plants in your own backyard … and help scientists understand climate change in the process.

I’ll be leading the Burns household in a three-pronged Project Budburst study*: we plan to choose one flower, one shrub, and one tree in our backyard, watch it closely throughout the year, and report the date of each major phenophase. (That’s a fancy word for the life cycle stage of plants. Drop it into conversation today and impress your friends!)

For the record, the phenophases (catchy, isn’t it?) of interest are First Leaf, Full Leaf, First Flower, Full Flower, End Flower and Seed/Fruit Dispersal. Spring is a great time to begin your observations, and Project Budburst is a great way to get outside and see spectacular transformations that we (and I include myself here) mostly forget to notice.

My first task is to identify plants from the BudBurst study list, preferably ones growing in my backyard. This will make my observations as simple as a walk in the yard. Sounds easy enough but, um, I’m not so good at plant identification. Which is why I borrowed this from the library:

I’ll let you know what plants we decide to study. You let me know if you decide to jump on the phenophase bandwagon.

* By “three-pronged Project Budburst study” I mean, of course, more research for my new book on citizen science!

December 11, 2008April 25, 2015

Great Backyard Bird Count

I just got an email from the organizers of the Great Backyard Bird Count announcing the winners of their 2008 Photo Contest. The winning images are definitely worth a gander; check them out here. The Northern Cardinal shot above was taken by Jerry Acton and took top prize for Composition.

This is probably a good time to remind you that this year’s GBBC event will be held between February 14 and February 16, 2009. GBBC is a fabulous, low-key bird census project that anyone (ANYONE!) can participate in. You can find all the information you need to get started at the Great Backyard Bird Count website.

And, hey, if you’ve got budding naturalists on your shopping list–or if you are a budding naturalist in the process of making a wish list–a field guide (here are a few suggestions), a nice pair of binoculars, and a printout of that GBBC webpage would make a great get-outside-and-explore gift!

October 1, 2008April 25, 2015

Beelining

THE HIVE DETECTIVES manuscript is shaping up. Last night—after hours and hours and hours and hours of polishing—I gave my tired elbows a rest and played with the Endmatter. For eighteen months I have compiled lists of bee books, movies, and websites that might interest my readers and finally I sifted through them in search of the goodies I’d most like to share in the back of the book.

My favorite treat comes from the fine folks at The Feral Bee Project, who are teaching people how to beeline in hopes that they will use the knowledge to locate and report feral bee colonies.

What the heck is beelining? Well, I’m glad you asked, because there won’t be enough room to explain it all in the Endmatter and it’s pretty cool stuff:

1. Collect a few bees in a box;

2. Let them fill up on honey (bees with a full honey stomach will head directly back to the nest to unload the goods);

3. Release a single bee and take note of your location and the precise direction the bee flies (its beeline);

4. Walk to a new location several yards from the first release site and let a second bee loose, noting your new location and the new beeline;

5. Since both bees are likely heading to the same hive, the spot where their beelines intersect will be the location of their nest … go find it!

Why beeline? I’m glad you asked that, too, because I really only have room to list the link and, well, you should know more:

1. Old-timers beelined in order to find a good source of yummy wild honey;

2. These days citizen scientists hope that finding colonies in the wild will help protect honey bees.

You see, feral honey bees, like all pollinators, have been in a pretty serious decline recently. If colonies are actually making it in the wild, they may represent survivor colonies that have figured out a way to overcome pesticide exposure, habitat destruction, viral infections, invertebrate pests and Colony Collapse Disorder. These super bees are worth finding and studying!

Okay, back to polishing. But before I leave the Endmatter completely, I’ll just dowload instructions on how to build this beeline box. I sense a field trip in the making …

September 17, 2008April 25, 2015

Are You Ready to Track Trash?

I don’t know where Leo will be cleaning beaches this Saturday, but I’ll be at Salisbury Beach State Reservation. And I’ll be sporting this cool T-shirt:

In case you can’t read it, the fine print says:

Since 1987, COASTSWEEP volunteers have been helping to clean the beaches in Massachusetts. Barcaloungers, rubber boots, pieces of fishing net, truck tires, industrial tubing, milk crates, vinyl siding, garden hoses, food wrappers, rusty bottle tops, garbage bags, plastic grocery bags, sandwich bags, soft drink bottles, water bottles, beer bottles, beer cans, soda cans, ice tea cans, odd bits of rope (that were probably not odd to the person using them at one time), straws, tampon applicators, syrofoam cups, nurdles (a real word!), plastic knives, forks, spoons, and sporks, syringes, toilet bowls, unidentifiable bits of rubber, plastic coffee stirrers, and ciragette butts—are some of the things the collect. In past years, more than 80% of the debris collected came from land-based sources—where litter blown and washed from the streets, parking lots, and ball fields ends up in the water. In addition to the litter that’s just plain ugly to look at, every year, these bits of marine debris and stray trash kill thousands of marine animals that swallow or become entangled in them. And that’s why I’m a COASTSWEEP volunteer.

Festivities begin at 10am. Do join us if you can. If you need tips on getting involved in coastal cleanups at other locales, check out this earlier post.

June 27, 2008April 25, 2015

International Coastal Cleanup 2008

On September 20, 2008, beach guardians and environmentally motivated men, women, and children around the world will gather to pick up trash on their favorite shore. In the spirit of citizen science and ocean advocacy, they will also count each and every item of trash they find. That’s right, each ketchup packet, bottle cap, plastic fork, paper napkin, and cigarette butt will be recorded, and the tallied results will be published in a massive marine debris report.

Last year, 378,000 people from more than seventy countries participated in the International Coastal Cleanup … and they cleared more than six million pounds of trash from their local beaches. In Massachusetts, 1,998 people participated in ICC/COASTSWEEP and collected 18,957 pounds of trash. And right here in my own community, 92 of my friends and neighbors gathered to clear Indian Lake of 656 pounds of debris.

Astounding, yes? So much trash. And so many motivated humans doing something about it.

If you are inspired to get involved, visit the International Coastal Cleanup website, where you will find everything you need to know.

If you’d like a little motivation, the complete 2007 ICC report can be read online here.

Massachusetts residents can check out our local Coastsweep website for information on local ICC cleanup events, and Massachusetts students in grades 4-12 can also participate in a statewide poster contest.

More soon, but in the meanwhile do spread the word!