📱 EwA Citizen Science: Observe □ Record □ Protect
Climate science & Biodiversity science need you, your skills, and the information that you can collect. The good news is that you can really make a difference!
🔎 ▹ Every observation can contribute to biodiversity science, from the rarest butterfly to the most common backyard weed. Sharing our findings with scientific data repositories help scientists find and use our data. All we have to do is observe. So then… We’re inviting you to participate in our projects. Let’s do it, together!
We are running 6 different kinds of biodiversity citizen science programs in Massachusetts, as well as worldwide through our biodiversity data collections.
These programs cover plant event timing monitoring; plant community assessment; pollinator and insect surveys; Biodiversity monitoring and mapping; bird counting & activity monitoring; and vernal pool documentation and certification.
Importantly, the information collected follow standardized or harmonized protocols and get uploaded to global platforms so that the information can be shared, used and compared between organizations and countries. The global platforms that we use include iNaturalist, Nature’s Notebook, and eBird. We also partner with professional scientists to achieve common local goals. In short, we make our data count!
Join our iNat biodiversity projects Enjoy learning & mapping with us!
EwA Citizen Science: What & Why
EwA Citizen Science (CS) is about the general public engagement in scientific research activities when citizens actively contribute to science either with their intellectual effort or surrounding knowledge or with their tools and resources.
Participants provide experimental data and facilities for researchers, raise new questions and co-create a new scientific culture. While adding value, citizen scientists acquire new learning and skills, and a deeper understanding of the scientific work in an appealing way.
As a result of this open, networked and trans-disciplinary scenario, science-society-policy interactions are improved leading to more democratic research based on evidence-informed decision making.
So, why join?
» Because Citizen science enables people from all walks of life to advance scientific research.
» Because it’s fun and it connects us directly with Nature and the communities around us.
» Because this way we gain invaluable knowledge sharing with naturalists like us and experts all over the world who can help us identify and understand what we see.
» Because recording what we observe helps scientists and resource managers understand when and where organisms occur, how species populations vary in richness and abundance, and how fast events happen or not…
Our projects specifically
Our projects cover Biodiversity mapping; Plant event timing monitoring (Phenology); Plant community assessment; Pollinator & insect surveys; Bird counting & activity monitoring; And vernal pool documentation and certification.
Many of our projects happen in local parks and reservations and in collaboration with partner organizations, and experts.
🔎 Local Programs ▹ EwA at the Fells □ EwA at Fresh Pond □ EwA at Habitat
🦋 Insect & Pollinator Survey
Observe with us insect populations & life cycle
Surveying insects, pollinators, and more generally visitors of plants, is intended to help local entomologists and global conservation scientists. Continuous phenology and population data are lacking, and the information that we record help fill the gap.
We feed the info to different global databases that are tracking species (iNaturalist) and insect
Collecting such data is an important scientific effort that helps better understand the collapse of insect populations, that is being been observed throughout the world. That kind of data is critical to understand the implications on avian populations, other fauna at large, and on our own species (e.g., food security). A better understanding will lead to better societal actions and policies.
🦌 Biodiversity Mapping
The iNat EwA Biodiversity Projects » Explore & participate!
EwA actively records the biodiversity of 10 sites in 3 parks and reservations (Massachusetts, US). We also record biodiversity where ever we happen to be in the US and in the World
★ EwA Nature Circles (World Biodiversity) We encourage our circles’ community to join the EwA Nature Circles citizen science project on iNaturalist and record/post the pictures of the species they encounter during a circle, or when hiking or traveling. This is open to all our followers wherever they may be in the World. Join us, and share your sightings. Let’s learn from each other while helping science.
- ⭕ EwA Nature Circles Program Details » | iNat Project »
★ EwA Massachusetts Biodiversity Projects (Urban Wildlife, Woodland and Wetland Citizen Science)
Our mission is simple: Give power to the people to understand the ecology of the habitats we survey in the region and participate in the active protection of these unique landscapes. The program gets nature enthusiasts and volunteers to data-collects relevant species and habitat biodiversity observations over time. It fosters a fundamental understanding of ecology, phenology, and ethics. It helps science and wildlife conservation advocacy. Our main study sites are the Middlesex Fells Reservation, the Fresh Pond Reservation (Cambridge), and the Habitat Education Center and Wildlife Sanctuary (Belmont).
- ‘EwA at the Fells’ Program Details » | iNat Project » | Call for Citizen Scientists »
- 🆕 ‘EwA at Fresh Pond’ Program Details » | iNat Project »
- 🆕 ‘EwA at Habitat’ Program Details » (Soon) | iNat Project »
We also record biodiversity wherever in the world we happen to be in our iNat country-specific projects (e.g., EwA in Romania, EwA in Mongolia, EwA in the UK).
🌱 Phenology
Record with us Nature’s seasonal events
Phenology is the study of cyclic and seasonal natural phenomena, especially in relation to climate and plant and animal life.
Phenology is the study of cyclic and seasonal natural phenomena, especially in relation to climate and plant and animal life.
One of our study locations is the Middlesex Fells Reservation, a 2800-acres urban woodland managed by the Department of Conservation and Recreation. There, we record seasonal fauna & flora cycles at 7 different sites.
Phenology monitoring is part of our effort to collect information about the impact of climate change on the synchronicity of fauna and flora
We use the national standardized protocol established by the USA National Phenology Network to collect the data and upload those data to its Nature’s Notebook platform (Search for the ‘EwA at the Fells’ project and partner group).
🌿 Plant Community Assessment
Track the Changes of Plant COmmunities
Several times a year, we add to our phenology records and do a plant community assessment for some of our study sites, at the Middlesex Fells Reservation, to see how the composition of the vegetation change over time, in a rapidly changing world.
The field protocols that we use follow the standard
After gathering enough data, we will report on the composition and changes and submit the information to the State’s institutions vested in the protection of the Fells.
🦉 Bird Monitoring
Observe with us bird populations, migration & seasonal activity
Together with the EwA Pollinator Surveys, monitoring birds at all our sites is intended to help local entomologists and global conservation scientists. Continuous phenology and population data are lacking, and the information that we record help fill the gap.
We feed the info to different global databases that are tracking species richness (iNaturalist), population abundance (eBird), and bird
Collecting such data is an important scientific effort that helps better understand the collapse of insect populations, that is being been observed throughout the world. That kind of data is critical to understand the implications on avian populations, other fauna at large, and on our own species (e.g., food security). A better understanding will lead to better societal actions and policies.
🐸 Vernal Pool Awareness & Protection
Identify & protect the vernal pools of the Fells!
The Vernal Pool Awareness & Protection Project is a cool community-based conservation initiative for protecting the vernal pools and wetland habitats of the Middlesex Fells Reservation through education, partnerships, and science.
This is an adult learning experience paired with direct participation in scientific research and wetland conservation efforts. The program focuses on the vernal pools of the Middlesex Fells Reservation that are not yet ‘certified’ (following the definition of Vernal Pools as defined by the State of Massachusetts). Working with local herpetologists, our goal is to certify those potential pools so that they get protected under the Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Act regulations. Doing so, we close species migration gaps between the non-certified and certified pools, therefore directly improving the conservation of wetland species, and specifically of the species of the Fells.
Project pending DCR approval… Cross your fingers!
More Citizen Science…
Here are a couple other popular Citizen Science platforms, which list not only Nature based projects, but also a myriad of great projects in many various disciplines including biology, physics, astronomy, climate, and more.
scistarter is a place to find, join, and contribute to science through more than 1600 formal and informal research projects, events and tools. SciStarter’s database of citizen science projects enables discovery, organization, and greater participation in science. This is also the place to track your contributions, bookmark things you like, and access the tools and instruments needed to get started.
Zooniverse is a large and very popular platform for people-powered research. This research is made possible by volunteers—hundreds of thousands of people around the world who come together to assist professional researchers. Zooniverse’s goal is to enable research that would not be possible, or practical, otherwise. Zooniverse research results in new discoveries, datasets useful to the wider research community, and many publications.
Sharing is Caring Spread the word!
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