Blue Ridge Country March/April 2021 - 10

C R E AT U R E F E AT U R E

A CHANCE TO HELP

Making a Difference in
Citizen Science Month
Since its founding in 2016, Citizen Science Month-in April-has greatly expanded its
numbers as people work to protect species and the natural world.
By NANCY HENDERSON | Photos courtesy CITIZEN SCIENCE

t began, as conservation movements often do, with
a single event, when participants from around the
world explored science projects ranging from outer
space to sourdough bread on Citizen Science Day
in April 2016.
" And then it was decided that it was too much
fun for a day, " says Caroline Nickerson, program
manager at Sci-Starter, a web-based research affiliate of
the School for the Future of Innovation in Society at Arizona State University and the group behind the initiative.
But last year, as SciStarter, Arizona State and collaborators like the National Library of Medicine, National
Geographic and the professional Citizen Science Association were gearing up for the first-ever Citizen Science
Month, the coronavirus hit.
That didn't stop the momentum. " It was completely
virtual, " says Nickerson, who also serves as director of

BLUERIDGECOUNTRY.COM

CitSciMonth. " A lot of libraries, including libraries in the
Southeast and in the Appalachian area, and other nonprofits and community groups were planning in-person
events, and everybody pivoted to online. " The 2020 event
drew nearly 100,000 registered users-ordinary folks who
collect data to aid scientists in their research.
This year's CitSciMonth will also feature Zoom gatherings, remote programs and live-streamed Facebook
events.
" Our main goal is just to get people doing citizen science, " says Nickerson. " There are questions that can't be
answered without the help of volunteers. We're so much
more powerful when we have the crowd collecting and
analyzing that data. Turning their curiosity into impact
moves science forward. "
Anyone can participate, and anyone can plan an
event, large or small. SciStarter hosts training programs
for more complex projects, but nonscientists can also launch their own.
For privacy reasons, you must be
over 13 to open a SciStarter account,
but children can collect information
alongside a parent, Girl Scout troop
leader or other trusted adult. Retirees,
online gamers, educators, environmental justice advocates, even prisoners, have gotten involved, and most
projects require only a cell phone or
internet connection to collect photos
and data and submit observations.
" We've seen participation pretty
much on every continent, including
Antarctica, all different age groups
and people from all different walks of
life, " says Nickerson.
Among the more than 3,000 wideranging topics are those designed to
protect endangered species, study animal behavior and help update classifications. For one project, participants
in North Carolina logged their bird-

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Blue Ridge Country March/April 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Blue Ridge Country March/April 2021