US Army Corps of EngineersBUILDING STRONG®
Citizen ScienceKim Baker, Park Ranger
Sam Bachelder, Park Ranger
Louisville District-U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
April 2017
The best research money can’t buy!
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Scientific research conducted, in whole or in part, by amateur or nonprofessional scientists
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What is citizen science?
Also known as: • crowd science• crowd-sourced science• civic monitoring• volunteer monitoring• networked science• participatory
monitoring/research
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• Known by other names throughout history
• Great increase in programs in the 1990s, with widespread use of the internet
• Term first entered into Oxford English Dictionary in 2014
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onsHistory of citizen science
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Dramatic growth between 1997 to 2014 in publications featuring citizen science
Follet and Strezov 2015, PLoS ONE
The increasing prevalence of citizen science
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Citizen Science Organizations and Programs
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The significance of citizen science to research is greater than perceived as shown by multiple research programs.
“Quality of data collected by volunteers, on a project-by-project basis, has generally
been found as reliable as the data collected by
professionals"
The value of citizen science
Cooper et al 2014, PLoS ONE
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Volunteers contribute ~$2.5B annually to biodiversity research
Theobald et al 2015, Biological Conservation
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What types of citizen science projects could you do?
• BioBlitz• Bird Banding• Bird Counts• Butterfly Surveys• Seasonal records• And more!
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For example…• Bird Banding: Long or short term bird
banding studies often look for locations to host a study or expand their study areas. • Colleges are great places to start.• Make sure you get the data from the
study• Species Counts: Hosting annual counts
at your site can give great data that not only gives species information but can imply habitat health.• Easily setup, can be run by expert or
trained volunteers
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• What time of year?• Time frame?• What do you want to count? • What goals can this help to
accomplish at your project?• Pick a few dates, be flexible!
• Rain happens! • Where are your experts coming
from?• Who keeps the data?• Budget? Do you need one?• Do you need a main staging
area?
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Things to consider…
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• The people you work with • The people you used to work with• Volunteers with a lot of knowledge
• Local universities• School teachers• Other nature centers• Local garden clubs
• Others?
Who you going to call?
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Now what…
What to do with the information besides make a really big cool report.
• Butterfly - http://www.nabmn.org
• Audubon Society -http://cbc.audubon.org/cbccurrent
• Water critters – www.epa.state.oh.us/dsw/credibledata
• http://www.cincyherps.com/
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Why?• Best management practices• Connecting your community to
nature• Assist local scientific efforts• Better land awareness• Monitoring ecosystem health
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This is your chance to toot your horn!
Connect people to what is special about your place and explain management techniques..
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BioBlitz!• A BioBlitz is a 24 hour survey of all living things
in a designated area.• Can be made of just experts or the general
public or both! • Can be any size area.• All forms of life, big or small, can be counted!
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BioBlitz!
• Who are you marketing the event for?• Families?• Experts?• Scouts?
Know your audience!
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BioBlitz! – Must haves• Have a map• Have a way to record species seen/found• Reward your citizen scientists• Have a central staging area• Contest? • What do you do with the data afterwards?
Keep a record! “Keeping records enhances the pleasure of the search and the
chance of finding order and meaning in these events.”
– Aldo Leopold
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Communicate effectively with your volunteers!• Review your area• Brief safety message for each session• Rules for each session• Be aware of time constraints• Leave no trace
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• How much time does each need- 1 subject per hour
• What’s good in the morning-Birds
• What’s good in the afternoon-Butterflies
• What’s good in the evening-Bats
• What’s only good after dark-Moths
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What are your time constraints?
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Don’t forget the little things!
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Bioblitz Events
BioBlitz Headquarters: Visitor Center
September 22nd 5:30 p.m. Sign in6:00 p.m. Amphibians7:45 p.m. Bats/Wetland
Sounds9 p.m. Night time insects
September 23rd6 a.m. Owl Prowl7 a.m. Bird Walk8 a.m. Mushrooms9 a.m. Wildflower10 a.m. Fish Shocking11:30 a.m. Lunch12:30 p.m. Bees1:30 p.m. Amphibians/Reptiles2:30 p.m. Birds with Bob3:30 p.m. Tree ID4:30 p.m. InvasivesFinal Tabulations
Turn in your findings at the Visitor Center to win prizes
and receive your certificate of participation!
Caesar Creek LakeVisitor Center
4020 N. Clarksville RdWaynesville, ohio 45068
(513) 897-1050
Have a Schedule!
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Get a good photographer!
Have participants send you their photos too!
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Document your Event
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Publicize!!!
They wont come if youdon’t tell them
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• Libraries• Schools• Scouts• Home school • Websites – Earth day, NPLD, Get Outdoors Day
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Unconventional places to advertise…
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Thank You!Questions?
Kimberly Baker and Samantha Bachelder
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CONTACT US FOR MORE INFO!
Kimberly BakerUSACE Park Ranger – Caesar Creek [email protected]
Samantha BachelderUSACE Park Ranger – Caesar Creek [email protected]
