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CITIZEN SCIENCE PROJECTS
Bridging the gap between science and society.
NYSDEC FLIPPERFILES
Location:
Project by:
Dates:
New York
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
Ongoing
Report your sightings of marine mammals and sea turtles in New York waters. Your observations will assist biologists in recording the presence and distribution of these protected species, as well as help characterize their behavior around people.
NYSDEC RECREATIONAL BLUE CRAB SURVEY
Location:
Project by:
Dates:
New York
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
June - October
You can help improve the monitoring and management of the New York blue crab fishery by completing a short interview with DEC biologists while crabbing, or by entering your information into the Digital Survey of Recreational Blue Crabbing after each trip. Your contributions will help biologists understand the relationship between crabbing effort and catch quantity, as well as contribute to assessments of recreational crabber success and blue crab population trends.
NYSDEC SHARK SPOTTER
Location:
Project by:
Dates:
New York
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
Ongoing
Contribute to the understanding of coastal shark ecology and behavior in New York State waters by reporting any shark sightings while fishing, boating, or at the beach. Your observations will help biologists track the presence of coastal sharks through the NYSDEC Shark Spotter digital survey.
NYSDEC STRIPED BASS COOPERATIVE ANGLERS PROGRAM (SBCA)
Location:
Project by:
Dates:
New York
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
Spring - Fall
Help conserve and manage striped bass in New York State! Join the NYS DEC Striped Bass Cooperative Anglers Program (SBCA). Volunteer anglers receive logbooks and scale envelopes to record fishing trips and collect scale samples. This data helps determine fishing success and fish age, contributing to an annual newsletter. Contact the Diadromous Fish Unit for fishing south of the George Washington Bridge, or the Hudson River Cooperative Anglers Program for fishing north of the bridge.
https://dec.ny.gov/things-to-do/saltwater-fishing/community-science/striped-bass-cooperative-anglers
BUDBURST
Location:
Project by:
Dates:
Global
Chicago Botanic Garden
Ongoing
Budburst citizen scientists collaborate with researchers, educators, and horticulturists to observe plant life cycle events, or phenophases, such as leafing, flowering, and fruiting. These observations help understand how plants and ecosystems respond to climate change locally, regionally, and nationally. Budburst also collects data on pollinator visits and plant-animal interactions, aiding scientists in assessing these interactions, especially in a changing climate.
THE GREAT SUNFLOWER PROJECT
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Project by:
Dates:
North America
The Great Sunflower Project
Ongoing
The Great Sunflower Project collects data on pollinators across the country, focusing on counts of pollinators visiting plants, especially sunflowers. Since 2008, they have gathered the largest body of information about bee pollinator service in North America. With concerns about declining honey bee and native bee populations, the project aims to understand how this impacts pollination of gardens, crops, and wild lands, providing tools for people to learn about pollinators in their yards.
MONARCH LARVA MONITORING PROJECT
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Project by:
Dates:
Global
Monarch Joint Venture and the University of Wisconsin–Madison Arboretum
Ongoing
The Monarch Larva Monitoring Project (MLMP) involves volunteers around the world in monarch research. MLMP was developed in 1997 by researchers at the University of Minnesota to collect long-term data on larval monarch populations and milkweed habitat.
GLOBE TREES
Location:
Project by:
Dates:
Global
GLOBE Observer
Ongoing
GLOBE Trees is an app-based tool that will help you estimate tree height. Required steps include selecting a tree and using your device to measure the angle from the bottom to the top of the tree, walking to the tree and counting your steps (to determine the distance) and reporting on surface conditions. The app will use that information to calculate an estimate of the tree’s height. Optional steps are taking a photograph of the tree and measuring the circumference of the tree.
GLOBE LAND COVER
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Project by:
Dates:
Global
GLOBE Observer
Ongoing
GLOBE Land Cover is an app-based tool that will help you document what is on the land (land cover). You will report on current surface conditions, then take photographs in all four cardinal directions, up and down. Optionally, you can classify the land cover in your photographs, telling us if it is grassland, a forest or an urban area, as well as compare your classification to a satellite land cover observation and note any differences.
GLOBE CLOUDS
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Dates:
Global
GLOBE Observer
Ongoing
GLOBE Clouds is an app-based tool that will help you document what you see in the sky. Required data includes providing your location, reporting on overall cloud cover and surface conditions that can impact satellite observations. Optional (but very useful) data include cloud types, cloud opacity, sky conditions and visibility, then taking photos of what you see in the sky.
GLOBE MOSQUITO HABITAT MAPPER
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Project by:
Dates:
Global
GLOBE Observer
Ongoing
GLOBE Mosquito Habitat Mapper is an app-based tool that will help you document mosquito habitats and identify mosquito types. The main required element is to look for a possible mosquito breeding habitat (standing water or somewhere water could collect), and report if you see any mosquito larvae in the water. Optionally, you can sample and count the larvae and try to identify the mosquito type, both of which will require additional equipment.
EXOPLANET WATCH
Location:
Project by:
Dates:
Global
NASA
Ongoing
Exoplanet Watch is a NASA citizen science project, sponsored by NASA's Universe of Learning, that lets anyone and everyone (yes, you!) learn about planets that orbit stars beyond our solar system and get involved in observing them.
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