Inspiring Investigations through Citizen Science

We participated in the NC EcoEXPLORE program and my son earned a game camera. This helped motivate him to spot new plants and animals and upload them into the app (which is connected to iNaturalist but protects the child's identity). It was a good project because it can be done independently, is geared towards young learners and provided incentives.

I have used a citizen-science project with my biology students. They have done ecological surveys of the plants around the land just outside our school. The students set up transects and took a survey about the numbers of native vs non-native plant species. The students determined that there were far more non-native plant species than native plants in the area surrounding the school. They were then given permission to take out the non-native plants and plant more native plants in the area. My advice is to find some way where students can participate in citizen-science by getting out of the classroom. They really enjoyed the hands-on experience of it.

I have not done any citizen science projects with leaners yet. I am very excited by the different and wide array of projects that were listed in the reading. I am most interested in looking for a project that involves organisms that are very common to my location and use that as a learning opportunity.

In past years, we have taken students on a Biodiversity Walk to answer the question "Is there Biodiversity around Mill Pond?"  This activity fits into our study of climate change and the impacts on our environment.  Our school abuts the Assabet River watershed and Mill Pond, and we are lucky to have a system of trails behind our school through which to explore this environment.  Students hone their observations skills while collecting data to answer the question. This year we are planning to extend this activity into citizen science by conducting a BioBlitz using the iNaturalist app.

I have worked with the Billion Oyster Project in Brooklyn, NY with my 8th graders. We monitored an oyster cage by counting living oysters as well as other found organisms. Students also recorded environmental conditions. This is part of an effort to reintroduce one billion oysters back into the NYC waterways in order to make this estuary ecosystem healthy again! It's really awesome for the students to get hands-on field experience and get a sense of what it's like to participate in such a huge and tangible effort to improve our environment. There is huge value in doing a project like this. Students gain understanding of what it's like to do science in the world, they feel empowered and hopeful that they can make a real contribution, and they're able to make connections with other areas of learning -- from studying population change in 6th grade to understanding how healthy shorelines help mitigate damage from (increasingly strong) storms. My main advice is to research projects in your local area and do an in-person training with the people running the program. You'll feel much more confident leading your students after having the hands-on experience yourself! Also know that field science is often messy -- it's good to prepare your students for that!

This year I want to conduct a bioblitz with my students in the pond habitat area next to our school.  I would like to start by having them install iNaturalist and eBird on their phones. We will start by learning how to use the apps and how to identify birds using a field guide.  Once students are comfortable with the apps, we will conduct our bioblitz!  I feel that the students will feel empowered that their own field data will be submitted and can help scientists to monitor the biodiversity of our area.

I have just registered for the birdfeeder watch. That will be our first. I think we also plan to do the great Backyard count in Feb. It would be fantastic if there were a chart with all of these possibilities and links in one place, with a short description of what each one does, or age its meant for! I am going from having no idea what to do, to suddenly so many options, how do I organize it all! Thanks for all this great information.

I have not done any of the citizen science projects.  I intend to add them to various grade levels.  It will be great fun! Using the Lost Ladybug Citizen-Science project the students will use their love of ladybugs for inquiry then they learn scientific methods.

I would really like to do a bird feeder project. At my all outdoor education program there are multiple areas away from students where we could place bird feeders. This project opens the door to so many opportunities to learn in manageable doses. From what feeder birds we might expect to see in our area, to analyzing choices of feeder placement, to what type of birds we might see depending  on the bird feeders we make. There are opportunities for analyzing species and behavior. This project also opens the door to hands on crafts such as home made bird feeders and also making structures for nests.

I used to teach at an outdoor school in San Diego County. The two citizen science projects that at the time I was allowed to teach was Project Budburst and the Golden Spotted Bore Beetle survey. All I have to say is that with Project Budburst students will mostly not be interested. One of those many reasons is that for most of the time plants are not really doing anything, they are either dormant or have already bloomed/got their leaves. Students where only there for a very short period and so for the most part, did not get to observe anything meaningful. My suggestion then would be to only use this if you have students who will be around for a much longer part of the growing season like a traditional year long school. The Golden Spotted Bore Beetle Survey had similar issues. The first being that most of the trees had already been surveyed before I started working there, then, observations would need to be observed over years to notice anything that needed to be sent in. Now that I think about it, we should have kept an internal spreadsheet of all the trees and their locations and when the last time they were observed. So instead it became more of an instructional model of how they could do this in their own neighborhoods. So overall my suggestion for doing citizen science projects would be to make sure that they are appropriate for the length of time that you have your students. Also, make sure they will be interesting to the students, don't make them stare at dormant plants

Since we have already been monitoring the local stream and lake for invertebrates and water quality parameters, I feel maybe I should try to incorporate other aspects related to to that into my curriculum. I may try to implement some animal track identification and making plaster molds from these tracks.  After making the plaster molds students could bring them back to lab and try to identify them. We could probably incorporate some research into these animals to find what is attracting them to the stream or lake and determine if the surrounding area provides good habitat for these animals.

I have taught our Junior Master Naturalist group how to use iNaturalist to identify things like invertebrates, plants, birds/bird sounds, tracks and scat, reptiles, and amphibians. We have also used Tree Trails to add data about trees to the AgriLife's database. This tool provides places to input tree measurements, GPS data, and tree species. It then gives feedback about how much that tree is worth monetarily, by how it provides shade for energy savings, habitat to beneficial wildlife, or even just perceived value to the community. The best thing to help kids master the technology and process used is to allow them to do it themselves. With adults, we have walked through the process using detailed lecture-style presentations. I don't think that would work as well with kids not only because experience-based learning is so much more beneficial, but also because kids often grasp technology faster than the older students.

I have not done a citizen science project with my students, but I have done investigating with frogs, macroinvertebrates, crayfish and insects. I am thinking I could expand on any of those activities to do long term citizen science projects. Which animals have we found in the creek? How do those animals indicate the health of the stream? What could be causing our stream to be polluted? What can we do to help?

Although I haven't used any citizen science projects with my students yet, I am familiar with quite a few that  I use myself. I'm a frequenter of eBird, iNaturalist, and Seek. I also participate in state level citizen science such as the Maine Bird Atlas, bumblebee atlas, and herp atlas. My goal by the end of this school year is to have each one of my nature clubs participate in a citizen science effort of their choosing. Bud Burst and the bumblebee atlas are two options that I think my students would really enjoy doing.

I have participated in project feeder watch and other citizen science projects. Currently I am working on a few citizen science projects, birds as well as flora and fauna. What we are doing is incorporating citizen science into programs. For example, National Bird Day, we are having a program about birds and will include Project Feederwatch. These are great resources to use to help gain more interest in subjects people are interested in as well as those that are like-minded. Kids are the same way, so it doesn't matter what age, if they have that inquiring mind to explore, learn and discover citizen science is for everyone.  

I have used the citizen science project Birdata, from BirdLife Australia, with students. I think participating in the Birdata surveys works best when completed as part of a broader learning program, where students learn about the birds and habitats in their local area, then participate in the citizen science survey activity, and follow up with analysing their data.

We have used NestWatch and FeederWatch- not necessarily in a class but as something for volunteers to help with. Monarch Watch is a popular program that we do every fall and is incorporated into our Monarch Program. Students learn about Monarchs and help to catch and tag Monarchs during migration. Teachers are encouraged to use data from the program and others that track migration patterns in the classroom. I love using citizen science programs whenever I can in a program, or at least mention them. I think that students feel much more connected to the animal, and science when they are part of something that matters.

I have not done Citizen Science with my students before, but am very interested in doing so. Citizen science allows students (and adults!) to participate in science investigations by actively doing science. Students contribute data that scientists use for their studies - that's very empowering for students. I am interested in using Nature's Notebook with my students. This project tracks plants and animals across the world to try to understand how they are affected by climate change. The project is very accessible for students whether they live in the suburbs, in rural areas or in the city. I think my students will be motivated to do the project and will be excited to be contributing to climate change science.

I also have not used any citizen science projects but they are important for students to compare their results/data with others that belong to another part of society. Science is a collaborative effort, especially on the professional level, to be able to compare results in similar or exactly the same experiment to see the effects in other parts of the country or world. I have taught students in middle school and high school that conduct similar experiments and have the high school students further the middle school students experiments further by questioning their methodologies or simply sharing what each student learned. A project like this would allow that comparison to be done on a much broader scope and scale.

I haven't worked with any citizen science projects specifically. While my classes do research and conduct experiments, we don't report our findings to anyone. I plan on implementing one citizen science project a quarter, hopefully a month, into my science classes based on the topics we are learning about. It would be great to work projects into my curriculum so students become familiarized with the term citizen science and what it expected of them and their projects as they progress to different grade levels in our school. As the Science Curriculum Coordinator for our middle school, I plan on working at least four citizen science projects into our curriculum for each grade, so when students graduate from our 8th grade class they will have participated in a variety if citizen science projects.

As of yet, I have little experience with the citizen science programs, and seeing as I'm a college student, I haven't yet had the opportunity to implement citizen science in a classroom setting. In the future however, citizen science seems like a great way to get students involved and interested in science. While teaching a science lesson, I think getting students involved in a citizen science program would be helpful in teaching them that the work that they do and they science that they can get involved in is useful and important. Often times, science education is severely lacking when compared to math and reading, and I think citizen science can help to teach students about the scientific process as well as science content. Ultimately, sparking children's interests in science is the hardest part, but citizen science makes significant strides to help students get interested. As a native new Mexican I would be most interested in implementing the Pathways: Wildlife Corridors of NM.

I was a relief worker in social work, before COVID hit, and then was hired as a Stray Cat Feeder, in the interim. If I go back to social work, I would like to lead groups, or 1 on 1, in wilderness therapy. And one concept, is the INQUIRY CONCEPT, in regards to comfort and amazement, and how it relates to experience in the field. The first time you see a Red Winged Blackbird, or get a pic. of a Great Blue Heron, and then the 5th time. Does your knowledge increase ? Do you get excited with multiple taken pictures, multiple times ?   I, 2 years ago, I never had a RWBB, nor a GBH, photo. Now I have many. And it is exciting, and therapeutic. Also, validating, as you go on a walk, and then see the birds you are seeking. So the INQUIRY CONCEPT, and learning thru citizen science in the field, is a great cycle. Therapeutic, teaching, and real.

I have not used the specific citizen-science projects that I just read about.  The closest I have come is having students maintain a nature journal.  Each week, on the same day of the week when possible, we spend 20 minutes in the prairie garden and record in our journals.  Sometimes I provide a focus or other specifics.  There are some always required elements - noting the date, time, and weather. In the future I would include a focus on inverts or the phenology of plants in the garden.  The idea would be for the students to use their journal as a guide for inquiries and eventually a presentation to the class.  This will take some thought on how best to develop the project.

I have an after-school science club for middle school students.  We have participated in a citizen science program called Hoosier Riverwatch.  Our school has an outdoor classroom that my mom (who taught science for 38 years) developed and received grant money for.  This outdoor classroom runs next to the Wabash River.  Hoosier Riverwatch is a program where people from around the state are trained to collect data about our local waterways.  We collect temperature, nitrates, nitrites, bacteria levels, how fast the water is moving, how much water is moving, and the types of invertebrates found.  The advice I would have for any citizen scientist is to get trained.  We need to be able to collect accurate data for the program to be worthwhile.  Also, those collecting data should also know the purpose to what they are doing.  It will make the experience more meaningful.  In my science focus class, I would like to use eBird along with our outdoor classroom.

I have attempted a few Citizen Science projects informally with students without really knowing what they were! A few years ago, two students and I worked with our local park ranger to update signs and clean out the park's prairie plant library, an area of garden plots that used to contain native species. This proved to be too daunting of a task for just two students, and the park ranger moved on to another job. We never got far enough to do more inquiry than service, as I had hoped to, but would like to pick this project up again someday. I have also had the opportunity to work with students alongside staff from the Iowa DNR's research station at the local wildlife camp I have worked at, but just for a few hours at a time; again, not enough to truly develop a citizen science project.   The Citizen-Science Spotlights in the text and the links shared in this lesson give me so many ideas of projects to pursue! I think my students would really enjoy doing anything with birds, as one investigated native vs. non-native species for his science fair project and two just earned a birding merit badge through Boy Scouts. We have many experts in our area with the Iowa Arboretum, Wildlife Research Station at Ledges State Park, and our community was recently named a Bird-Friendly Community by Bird-Friendly Iowa. I love connecting my students with professionals whose areas of expertise match their interests, and that has been a challenge this year due to COVID. This is something I would like to continue next year if we are able.  Project Feeder Watch also looks like something that we could accomplish while at school, placing feeders in different locations as we have trees, cornfields, residential, and heavily-traveled roads all bordering our school's property.   Doing a project with trees would also be something I know my students and I would enjoy. Again, Ledges State Park & the Des Moines River Valley on which we live are home to many diverse native species of trees, and the Iowa Arboretum has a great deal of work to do repairing damage done by the Derecho that hit the Midwest this summer. My goal would be for students to develop questions and research them, hopefully culminating in a project for the Statewide Science Fair in March and focusing more on inquiry science than just on service work.

I have not used any citizen-science projects, but I have worked on a unit about helping protect birds in the area and their habitat. We have not been able to carry it out, due to covid and virtual school. I have brainstormed ways of how to carry out this unit even from home,. Students can still observe birds in their natural habitats by just going outside their house and observing birds near their homes, however we really wanted to take the kids to a coffee farm that is known to have lots of birds. I like the citizen-science does not necessarily follow the scientific method because the method scientists use tends to change. It is not linear. I can do a better job of showing this to my students, not to necessarily follow some steps, but that it is OK to alter the steps or to go back to previous steps.

I hope to do Feeder Watch with my students when we are back in the classroom. I'm trying it out at home for the first time this year. I think the hardest part will be keeping kids interested when there are no birds at the feeders and timing it throughout the day.

During this virtual time, it's difficult to spark interests with students who come to the afterschool program.  I would like to be able to take students on nature walks and introduce them to the varieties of flora in the suburban landscape---discuss introduce vs. native species.  I would also like to introduce them to bird watching.  I've given them choices (so far, I only have 2 students so that really makes things difficult) and they only want to take pictures of squirrels and submit those photos to iNaturalist to the squirrel mapper project.  I'm a bit frustrated because I get the impression they are afraid to venture outside of their comfort zones---taking pictures of squirrles and uploading the image is pretty safe. In the past, I've taken students on bird walks throug the neighborhood and also just walked around one of the man-made lakes to see what we could find.  The students really enjoyed this.  I've also had them pull invasive plants on school property.  They enjoyed that a lot too.  But due to Covid, these activities are not permitted. I am encouraged by the number of citizen science opportunities that are listed in the Inverstigating Evidence Citizen Science Spotlight pages.  At this point, I'm simply thinking of introducing each one for students to "check out" and see if anything sticks.

At Earthroots Field School, we have a variety of lessons that concentrate on observing nature. We have a quiet sit, where we encourage students to observe their immediate environment, for a specific amount of time (shorter for kindy, longer for older kids/adults) We then reconvene and talk about what we noticed. We go on nature walks to locate and to discover on the spot. We look at tracks, water pathways, trees and plants, insects and local birds and animals. Sometimes we do these in structured way, have questionnaires after or sometimes we just let it happen naturally and spontaneously.

This year is the first year I've tried to incorporate citizen science in my classroom.  Over the summer I became familiar with, and used iNaturalist a lot.  I thought it would be fun to use it with my class.  Unfortunately, due to technology glitches and trying to problem solve virtually I haven't been able to get many of my kiddos on the app.  However, as I was reading through other opportunities for citizen science I was trying to figure out ways we might be able to participate in a project together.  Project Feeder Watch would be one we might be able to do together from my kitchen table.  I could bring my ipad and we could all observe the bird feeder for a bit together.  It's not ideal, but nothing about this year is.  In future years, my school has a decent sized outdoor area we could definitely use to participate in Citizen Science projects together!

As a Park Commissioner and I am creating a citizen science program for our Parks Department. We hope to engage our community to get involved with Citizen Science projects including local students, seniors and citizens at large. I plan to start by initially implementing a Tree Trekkers tree identification project, River water sample testing and birding projects. This course is providing information and insight for assisting in formulating and properly structuring the programs and processes we are working on launching. I look forward to getting our community involved in citizen science.

When I was still teaching, I used Project Budburst, and YardMap in my classroom. The students looked forward to the Big Leaf Maple tree near our building. Their observations and ensuing discussion built meaningful connections to the outdoors, seasonal changes, and appreciation of nature cycles. YardMap was a fantastic way to get to know, understand, observe nature in our own yards. I'm sad that this citizen science resource is no longer available. I personally have participated in the Great Backyard Bird Count. I think this project, the Christmas Bird Count, and Project Feeder Watch would be engaging to do with the neighbor children.

I definitely want to use the Great Sunflower Project in class and at home; sunflower seeds are affordable and can go home with students as well as be planted at school. We can use this as a multi-tiered lesson for months until blooms occur. In all that I'm considering for this fall at school, I'm considering what components can be used at home and at school; those that have crossover are topping my lists while planning.

I've had success with Globe Program. Students were able to participate with cellphones and tablets to make cloud and mosquito larva observations. Citizen Science provides real opportunities to get involved with a variety of projects. My advice for teachers that are new to citizen science? Find ways to incorporate data and have students research the variety of projects  that are available. Try integrating projects that are hands-on and provide curious and introspective ways to collect data.

I think that the project that I would like to most integrate into my classroom is not listed above, but was mentioned in the video, which led me to check out the website: Celebrate Urban Birds.  My school is located in a downtown area, and there is an abundance of bird life that feeds, nests and lives right on campus.  I teach students of color, primarily, and my goal is to help them get more involved in caring for the environment where we live and work.  I would very much like to get my students involved in observing, studying and recording the "other world" that lives right alongside us, starting with the bird residents of our campus, and potentially providing that feedback to the scientists working with CUBs, so that they see that what they do matters outside of the city where we live, as well as right here.

I teach in a mixed age classroom. My students are between 6 and 8 years old. Birding is my hobby and an area that I feel comfortable teaching to my students. Birds are everywhere, and I find that children in my classroom have a natural interest in birds. Our school is located in a rural, agricultural area approximately 25 miles from Sacramento, CA. We are located near two large nature preserves - one is wetlands and the other is riparian. Our locale provides us with an extensive variety of birds - ones that migrate through twice a year and others that live in the area year round. We've participated in the Great Backyard Bird Count, and we've posted many of our sightings on eBird and iNaturalist. We use field guides to identify the birds we observe. We've been posting our iNaturalist observations under a project/organization where I received my Certified Naturalist training. However, since our school will be remote learning for at least four months, I plan to create our school as a project so we can accumulate our own observations. My plan is to use their observations as a foundation for many of our biology lessons while our school site is closed. My advice for citizen science (which I've recently heard referred to as community science) projects is to be realistic about what your students are capable of doing, especially if teaching younger children.

I love all these citizen science projects but don’t have any students to do them with. I have taught teachers about citizen science for years and shared many of these fabulous resources that we just read about in hopes of inspiring some of them to become involved with citizen science. I have also participated in a lot of professional development about citizen science to increase my own knowledge. And I have participated in several of these citizen science projects myself. I am hoping through this course to come up with a way that I may be able to incorporate citizen science into my volunteer work with youth.

My students created a butterfly garden 4 years ago as a result of doing a field study at their school. They raised money for the garden, decided where they wanted it, and designed it. They researched what flowers to plant to attract butterflies and planted the garden. I have this picture because we had another critter that appreciated the garden. Our garden has had many visitors besides butterflies so has been a great enjoyment for the whole school. We have not connected with a Citizen Science group so I looked into Project Bud Burst as a possible choice. A while ago, a couple of my students were observing the behavior of the crows around our school which turned into a project. The whole class became interested so we sat down and made a plan. I acquired a grant for bird study. We obtained feeders, nesting boxes, and 2 cameras, among other things. Our feeders are up and the students were really excited to see what birds came to the feeders. One of our students made five birdhouses with her grandfather and we have those posted around our school. Our cameras are not up and running because our school has been having work done on it but I am told that might happen soon. When I did some investing, of course, Cornell Lab came up which was last year and thus the reason I am writing here.

This year I facilitated my land trust's first online Tug Hill Bird Quest, an activity similar to Project Feederwatch, with school, youth, family and adult observers in the Tug Hill Region (2,100 square mile rural area west of the Adirondacks). For the Bird Quest, each participating group or individual collects and reports bird observation data during one common observation week in May.  The aim is to connect participants with nature through birds, and inspire them to get outside and learn more, particularly in the Tug Hill region. The land trust has conducted the event each year to limited extent with school classrooms on a voluntary basis for many years, but this was the first year we provided additional support materials online, such as slide shows and activity suggestions.  Schools closing so abruptly put a major wrench in classroom participation, but we had a healthy interest from homeschool groups, families, and adults throughout the area. I was able to provide regular support via email to those with online access, thankfully. The most challenging aspect for me was making sure participants were engaged and able to feel competent identifying and counting birds. I began two weeks before observation week sending a daily Bird of the Day email, as well as posting it on our Facebook page, picturing and providing interesting facts about a specific bird likely to be seen at the feeder. Participants were directed to Cornell and Audubon web sites for more further information, and encouraged to contact me with observations, discoveries and questions. Encouragement to join Project Feederwatch was supplied upon completion of the observation week - many had expressed a wish to continue watching feeders through the year. I am hoping to incorporate regular live meetings (show your artwork, meet a naturalist, etc.) in the next round, as well as expand availability of curriculum options in classrooms or at home.  It was great to see so many people so excited about birds, learning to identify the different species, and seeing things new to them that made them want to see more. I also hope to expand our participation into additional citizen science projects, such as water quality monitoring, invasive species monitoring and management, and climate change topics (Project BudBurst data over time?).

A few years ago I took a group of middle school students into the Amazon Rainforest of Peru to immerse them in culture, service, and biodiversity. While there we participated in a project through the Smithsonian called, The Bio-Cube Project. The students LOVED being able to contribute data, and for a lot of them this was a highlight of the trip. The data was recorded through the Amazon Academy and EcoTeach. Other than that, I haven't incorporated CS into my classroom mainly because I myself get pretty overwhelmed by the different avenues in which one can contribute.  I often struggle with consistency rather inconsistency due to demands on the classroom.  I know my students are fascinated by nature and want to be outside more.  I am excited to make that happen this year since school is going to look a lot differently than it used to and I believe it is cruel to take kids out of quarantine and make them sit inside anymore!  I suppose sometimes I think about managing all of those students in small spaces as well. There will always be a few who do not want to participate and who demand your attention. Last semester, while my students were stuck staring at screens all day, I incorporated a weekly, sometimes bi-weekly, nature journal. If for no other reason than to just get outside, appreciate nature, and see all of the life sprouting up around them in the spring time.  I had students emailing me about birds and their nests/eggs, I had students excited to share their drawings of flowers, and for some I think they just loved being able to get away from their screen.  I LOVE BIRDS. I love amphibians/reptiles/mammals/insects/plants too!  But I love birds.  When I first started my naturalist work in the Great Smokies, I remember thinking " I will never learn all of these birds."  And now, there are so many birds I can hear and know who they are that it's even shocking to me! I have to say, that too is all thanks to Merlin Bird ID as well.  Each new year I name my classes based on something that I loved studying personally that year. I tried to pick my favorites in each category and keep my selection to those who frequent my state, NC. The year of birds was by far the best group of students I had ever had!  And you can bet those kids new how to ID the Chickadee, Goldfinch, Ruby-Throated, and the House Finch. We had calls so that I could get their attention and the connection I made with those students was stronger than any class that I have ever had.  I say that to say this, it is time for me to get some feeders on campus (I have been talking about it for awhile but always get wrapped up in other things and don't want to ask for permission).  Project Feeder Watch as well as Ebird are two tools that I would like to get started with right away.  I would also love to look into phenology on campus. I think it would be cool if we could get those kids working towards removing invasive species.  We already have our facilities department planting only natives, but even that took years! It would be cool to help them id those types of plants and educate their family at home. This generation of students is so precious and important to the future of our planet and I need to be better about making time to inspire them to wonder more. I also have been trying for years to figure out a way to use citizen science in the Amazon (no wifi) and compile data over time for my students. (we are supposed to go every 2 years). SciStarter/Zooniverse will have my attention.

I have completed the Canine Behavioral Assessment & Research Questionnaire, Feline Behavioral Assessment & Research Questionnaire, Celebrate Urban Birds, and Ant Picnic. These project were chosen to complete because they were easy and required little to no equipment to perform at home for my students during the "Corona" online period.

I have used EBird with learners and it seemed like children enjoyed the aspect of counting birds together! I like the above mentioned citizen science projects and platforms and feel that they may be better suited for students to participate in.

I have used ebird with my students. While I have raised and observed Monarch caterpillars with my students I have not done it in a formal way. For me, I prefer to start by developing the habit of nature walks and observations with students. This gives much more of an organic opportunity for students to drive the experience and develop structure out of students' observations. It also helps students understand why scientists use tools, specific methods of data collection, or structures for observation. It also requires a lot less teacher driven knowledge sharing. This is just my own experience. I don't mind things being unstructured for awhile, it helps the kids to see through their own experience how they are pattern finding, meaning makers, and that that this is part of science. I still plan to teach ornithology and use ebird, but our route getting there will be circuitous, and be determined by what the children find interesting and intriguing. Also I want it to be fun and joyful for us as a class, not just something we have to do.

I recently just participated in my first 2 citizen science projects this spring and loved it which, but have never conducted one myself which was my prompt behind signing up for this learning opportunity. As a non-formal educator, I work with all the students in my county. This year with our students anticipating the possibility of more remote learning, I am hoping to work with one of my middle schools' 7th or 8th-grade students and teachers. Each year my office does education contests with a theme and this year is "We all live in a Watershed" this year I am looking to incorporate this into a citizen science project by having students use iNaturalist, and work with the grade level teachers to help with compiling data students collect and students turning what they learn into reports, presentations. I would like for students to select something as their inquiry subject from within their watershed, whether it is macroinvertebrates, plant species around the pooling areas of water, pollinators in the area, specific wildlife they find in the watershed, or what they don't find that could be keeping something from the environment, such as pollutants.

I have not used any citizen science projects but have learned a bunch about them this summer through my professional development.  One course I tool through Indiana University on Educating for Environmental Change and another one hour workshop with my local park district.  I am extremely excited to try citizen science this year especially since it fits right in with remote learning and would offer lab activities since I will not be able to do traditional labs.  I am interested in a bird monitoring program through the local park district but also programs through Cornell, Monarch Watch, Project BudBurst and iNaturalist.  These would work well with all levels of students.  I would like to introduce my students to several options and then let their interests guide them to what they choose.  The timing is perfect for me to be learning about all of these options and my local park district naturalists are tremendous resources and very approachable so I think I can make this work!

I typically use iNaturalist as a platform and participate in projects that use it, like the NRPA's pollinator bioblitz, and we've also participated in the Great Backyard Bird Count. I work in a park and it's typically easier to incorporate citizen science into events for the general public. They can either participate directly through iNaturalist or eBird, or we provide observation forms and the option for participants to submit their observations for us to log into the appropriate cite. In programs, the kids don't typically have their own phones to take photos with or log observations so I do that part for them whenever we find new species we'd like to identify and log. We're also in the process of introducing citizen science hikes for families where we'll focus on a specific project each time and the adults in the family will be able to take photos of observations.

I have not had the opportunity to conduct a citizen scientists projects with my students yet. With the fact that I have students who must complete a science fair project, one of these options could be a doable option especially since distance learning is such a real option this year. I would like to give my students the option of one of the options for a class led science fair project. I have classes each year that need a lot of guidance and support. By having these options for a citizen science projects would allow me to be more helpful and be able to build their confidence. It would definitely allow me to build their confidence.

Has anyone used CS in an ecotour? We run canoe, kayak, and pontoon trips and I would LOVE to offer a version of these tours that incorporates CS. Through grant funding, we were able to purchase a YSI mutliprobe meter that provides water quality info (pH, salinity, temp, and dissolved oxygen) in situ. This is a great tool but I'd like to combine this with other CS projects for the 2 hour tour. Would appreciate any feedback if anyone here has participated or led an ecotour like this. thanks! :)

We've developed a citizen science walk at our nature center, with interactive stations that allow visitors to contriubte to data collection for 4 different citizen science projects (Pondwatch, Secchi Disk App, Weather, and our own time lapse project to track mangrove growth).  This is a fairly new offering for our center and so far I've had the opportunity to work with a group of homeschool students to gather data for these projects. The students were most engaged with the weather station as it had many interactive tasks that used tools new to the group. Students worked through the station together and We also have a biocube walk setup around our campus and encourage users to log their findings in the iNaturalist app using our center's biocube project. We just starting to incorporate these offerings and had planned to utilize them for our camps this summer - and then, well you know. I'm excited to use citizen science as a teaching tool that blends technology and time outdoors in a benefical way. I love introducing people to iNaturalist because it's a fantastic tool to learn about the natural world, you can participate anywhere, and it provides an option to stay engaged after visiting our center.

I haven't done any citizen-science project with students. Reading about the projects mentioned in this lesson, I'm excited to see that some are available for locations outside of North America. Also, they are relevant to my work with the students in the garden, as part of the gardening involves observations and recording data about local weather, blooming time, birds and insects.... The tools and resources they provide will be very useful for my planning of gardening activities.

Great Backyard Bird Count (which as someone noted below is a great, simple, short intro to citizen science), Project Feederwatch - both as a classroom and for students to do at home. For the latter, students experimented on the side with bird feeder styles (we built some in class), different types of birdseed, different locations, etc Nestwatch - we did as a community service project for local nature center. Students built/repaired and installed bird boxes on existing posts, and monitored throughout the season. We did classroom and onsite training - the latter was very important to make sure everyone knew where &  how to open each box as we had several varieties. The nature center let us store a backpack with the essentials (clipboard with data sheets & pens, dental mirror, etc. which was very handy. We split into 3 groups of 4 families. Each group had 5 or 6 nestboxes to check on (which including hiking to them meant 30-60 minutes/visit). The families in each group took turns so that each family only had to check every other week or two. Each student also picked a question to answer (do birds prefer the old or new boxes better? which birds choose the boxes in trees vs on posts? etc) various butterfly & milkweed ones - can't recall which ones in particular Lost Ladybug in conjunction with local children's garden. CSI (water monitoring in Finger Lakes region) NWS Skywarn (weather spotter program) Tips - always test them out yourself before introducing to your class!! Connecting to local entities/turning into a community service project is nice but can definitely be more work.

I haven't done any Citizen Science projects with my students.  While in NC, I was set to complete a mammal survey but was unable to attend a training on how to use the trailcams.  I would love to do more of these with my current students.  A large part of our curriculum deals with weather.  I think the programs dealing with ecology and climate change would be especially useful in our classroom as well as the CoCoRaHS.  If I could find one that enables students to work with rocks, minerals, and the rock cycle I would love to use that as well.

I have used several Citizen science projects in our school and it has been a great experience for our students. Blue Thumb stream monitoring has been very good for both high school and middle school students.  The Globe Observer, from NASA, has been good for middle school students monitoring weather and trees.  The Globe Observer also has Mosquito Habitat mapper and Land Cover apps, I just have not had time to use these yet.  The CoCoRhHS rain gauge is on its way to my school now. Citizen Science materials have provided great opportunities to record, submit data and we have used this often to create graphs.  The Globe Observer is easy to use outside the classroom.  I use one IPad and let the students use that for the data input.  Then, of course, hand the IPad back to me.  Usually, I combine that with a five-minute walk to a small park with a jogging track.  At the park, we have investigated everything from grasses, birds, frogs, pulse rate, and for middle school- who is the fastest. This is also helpful for the- "Now if you will get this assignment completed soon we can go monitor clouds and hike to the park". I have great administration support.  If they are unable to control themselves, not very often, they can sit with the principle and complete homework or definitions.

We have not yet participated in citizen science programs but we have partnered with local farmers, a woodlot association, the David Suzuki Foundation, and partook in Energy Challenges as a means of conducting "real life inquiry". To date we have raised and released painted lady butterflies, established a large Learning Garden with GreenWheel Farms along with a mushroom bed with Fullerton Farms. The Ontario Woodlot Association has helped us acquire and plant 10 Butternut tree seedlings (endangered species) and we have reduced electrical consumption and waste (including food waste) in our classrooms through recycling, reduction, and composting. The next logical step is engaging in formal citizen science programs. Since we already have an established "Tree Restaurant" for bird/squirrel feeders, I think Project FeederWatch would be easiest foray into a new world of data collection and information sharing for young children. Today I joined Birds Canada and registered our class for the FeederWatch program which will include the Feeder Watch session in November 2020! To prepare for September, and as I progress through this course, I will consider how to lay the groundwork for November’s FeederWatch event by contemplating the following: 1) Consider how to focus student questions and observations on the birds we see in our school yard, during field trips, and around their own homes. Create an “I WONDER…” bulletin board in the Investigation Station section of the classroom. These are to be photographed, printed and laminated for posting in the Learning Garden and in the Wild Woods for reference. 2) Consider the observations and areas of interest raised by the students (behaviours, characteristics, nesting, etc). How can I support further inquiry into those areas of bird study. 3) Decide upon a location(s) for frequent bird observation. Prepare tools and materials for student inquiry including child-friendly and “adult” field guides, binoculars, clipboards, Bird journals for each student, writing tools, iPads for camera/video use and identification apps. 4) Consider developmentally appropriate data management and experimentations using the 4 stages of inquiry (Confirmation, Shared, Guided, Open). Prepare graph templates on large chart paper for class use and smaller chart paper that can be attached in student journals. Create reusable interactive “5 Senses Observation Flip Guides” to match the interactive “5 Senses Observation Chart” already posted in the classroom. Create a laminated “Magnifying Glass” observation illustration for repeated use and to model the use of their own photocopied journal-sized “magnifying glass” illustration papers. 5) Review the overall and specific curriculum expectations found within the “Demonstrations of Literacy and Mathematic Behaviours” and the “Problem-Solving & Innovation” frames of the Ontario Kindergarten Curriculum. Create standard notes for pedagogical documentation to be used by myself and EAs/ECEs. Consider the expectations that can be covered and the means through which student progress (formative and cumulative) will be assessed.

This year my class participated in a citizen science project with the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles.  Every April, the Painted Lady butterflies migrate en masse through the city from the deserts of Arizona and Mexico to the Pacific Coast.  Everybody went outside for a designated period of time and counted the number of Painted Ladies they saw flying west and submitted it to the museum. It was a perfect first citizen science project for us.  This summer I'm hoping to become more familiar with eBird and set up a class account.  I'm planning to start with that next year and then, based on what my students are interested in, guide them toward different projects based on their own personal passions.

I have only used bioblitzes as an informal educator. They were great fun, and participants reported they learned from the "expert" that was part of their observation team. One of my colleagues was planning on doing the Globe Observer: Mosquito Habitat Mapper. She was going to have our county vector control educational staff come in to explain the various mosquito borne diseases that occurred in our region, and how to identify those mosquitoes. The event was also going to provide directions and materials to make a catcher for setup at home. Once mosquitoes were caught, observations could be uploaded to the website. This would be a great family project, especially since the Phoenix, AZ area is seeing more mosquitoes carrying disease. Several questions could be asked: Why is the region seeing more mosquitoes carrying different diseases? Which mosquitoes will I find around my house? Our library also had a CoCoRaHS precipitation gauge installed outside. We had a couple of volunteers who helped take readings, but unfortunately we didn't get a lot of interest from the community to participate. The library staff is making the necessary data entries.  I have been personally been providing observation information to the Great Pollinator Project, and thing would be a good group project, especially if there is a time to plant, and grow sunflowers. I am certainly learning about my new environment; from the dry, and hot desert to the wet, and cool Pacific Northwest. For either a formal or informal education setting, I would make sure there are a variety of flowering plants to observe over the time it takes the sunflowers to bloom. From my own experience, a variety of plants would provide a good range of different pollinators to observe.

I have participated in Budburst Buddies with my kindergarten students. We select a tree to observe in the schoolyard and observe it four times throughout the school year. The students record their observations in their journals and then I enter the data online. I only see the students once per week so for me the 4 times per school year is very manageable. If I was a classroom teacher, I would have the students observe more often.   My advice would be to start small and do what you can without stretching yourself. Choose a project based on your current science curriculum and student interests so it easy "fits in" to your schedule. My students are too young to input their own data but I input it on the smart board so they can be part of the process.

I have not participated in any citizen-science with learners.  In thinking about the population I work with, I think that finding the student's interest is most important as well as what is reasonable to investigate in the time that I work with them.  I'm reflecting back to my work during remote learning and one thing I did with one student was to track the weather using a calendar to record sun, rain, wind, snow, etc.  I think that extending this to report our findings and to possibly include other students with this could be an exciting first step.  My other exposure to kids is as the recess monitor.  Many of the kids approach me when they find something from nature whether it is a track, or animal, or plant of interest.  I will continue to monitor this level of inquiry and see if I can steer their interest or collaborate with a classroom teacher to further investigation.  The citizen-science spotlights include many specific programs which I intend to look into further to boost my own resources.

Using citizen science a great way to engage students and adults.  When students conduct citizen science projects, they gain personal knowledge of organisms and/or  natural areas where they live.  This experience can create life long bonds and build stewardships values with the students.  In working as an educational specialist/naturalist at a park district for a number of years, I used NestWatch, Project FeederWatch and the Frog Survey.  I enlisted volunteers to assist with these projects.  These CS projects have specific protocols and reporting procedures that can easily be learned and used.  In addition, each project can be easily adapted to the classroom to allow students to conduct the work with little teacher guidance.  I primarily, worked with young adults and adults with these three CS programs. College students and adults seeking community service hours as conservation stewards often volunteered. Sometimes, parents participated  with their children. High School students were required to dedicate time through community service as well.   Volunteers were asked to learn the protocol of each program and then sign up for time or assignment to conduct the work.     The park district had a bluebird trail.  Volunteers were needed to check and monitor the nest boxes annually during the nesting cycle.  Volunteers adopted boxes and checked them regularly during the nesting cycle.  NestWatch provided instructions and many learning opportunities along with a reporting format.  The data collected through NestWatch helped inform park stewardship management, it was also reported on a database accessible to researchers plus, the data was valuable for work reporting in general.  Project FeederWatch became an activity that elevate the importance of feeders at park nature centers.  Many nature centers have feeders for visitors to view.  Project FeederWatch provides a protocol to collect metrics about the birds using the feeders.  Project FeederWatch  involves STEM.  Students can evaluate the birds that regularly visit the feeders, count and graph their numbers and their presence.  FeederWatch provides opportunities  for students to explore and experiment. Additionally FeederWatch maintains records annually which helps researchers track changes and trends in bird populations over time.  Frog Survey was a survey done in the spring through the state department of natural resources.  Volunteers learned the songs of local frogs and visited specific areas and reporting on the species calling and rated their numbers based of the volume of the choruses.  This information was reported to the state department of natural resource which provided an annual report for the entire state.    Our local watershed council provides a learning opportunity twice a year for students to monitor streams within the watershed.  This program is called Stream leaders.  I worked with high school students monitoring a stream for a number of years.  They visited the stream in the spring and the fall.  The students collected physical, chemical and biological data at the site.  The data were reported to the local watershed.  For the teacher, this was her favorite activity.   Through Audubon, I have participated in the Christmas Bird Count for a number of years.  It is a historical CS program which was started in 1899.  The data collected through the CBC has informed bird conservation for years.  Audubon also has another program called Climate Watch which looks at target species and their presence in a area in the winter and spring.  Participation in these CS project enriches and informs student lives. They  are  doing active science and contributing to conservation while learning.

These are all wonderful ideas. I'm so happy there are ones that a Canadian can participate in! My family has been a big observer of feeder watch and enjoys frequently popping in on the live birds cams to see "who" is out and about. IT's a wonderful idea to use it as a citizen science project and one that can be done virtually.

I have not completed a citizen science project, but this gives me great ideas!  We used a courtyard area to have the students plant a garden of plants native to Long Island to attract our own pollinators.  The plants are thriving, and we have our own milkweed bugs,  butterflies, bees, caterpillars, ladybugs and more.  All our K-2 students have nature journals and along with our STREAM teachers, we can contribute to at least two or three citizen science projects.  The children will have a deeper connection in their science world.

I have run birding hikes using eBird and Merlin, and stewardship volunteer trainings using iMapInvasives. iMapInvasives is an awesome program, but needs to be supplemented with species identification training or iNaturalist/Seek in order to record observations. I suggest a classroom/office space training on the app or program itself, coupled with in-the-field component where they can actually test out and use the app. This program can either be done in one half-day, or over two days (with the classroom app training as optional). While I am an informal educator, this could easily be adapted into the classroom.

Since I am not consistently with my students (usually only single visits), it is sometimes hard to get them involved in citizen science. We provide resources to different citizen science projects to the teachers to encourage their participation. I would love to find ways to get kids involved for at least the short time I see them. If I can get them to be enthusiastic during their time with me, maybe they will continue participating in the project on their own.

I have participated in the Great Backyard Bird Count years ago.  It looks like e-Bird has amazing resources for personal and/or educational opportunities for my students.  I would like to investigate e-Bird in more detail and also I am very interested in Project Bird Feeder.  Our school has a garden that we could easily install bird feeders for types of birds in our area, and start am amazing project to pique student interest.

I have used Project Feeder Watch, Budburst, CoCoRaHS and Lost Ladybug with learners, as well as many others. My biggest suggestion is to make sure you know your ecosystem before choosing a project. For example I am still kinda new to AZ and had listed Lost Ladybug project as an option for our citizen science project last year for our K-3rd graders. I was still learning about our ecosystem and when things begin to bloom, become active, etc. They chose LLP as the one to participate in, however ladybugs don't start showing up in  AZ late spring, so it was not a good option for the school year. I do CoCoRaHS with my family and the teens in our program however, this is probably not one younger students would enjoy if you live in an arid state, because they won't be logging much data since it doesn't rain much. I think when choosing the project it is important to find one that will be engaging and get the kids excited about participating in citizen science, so knowing your ecosystem and students interests will be very helpful.

A few years back I participated in the Urban Birds Citizen Science Project with a group of second graders. My school is located in the Bronx, NY in a neighborhood with mostly playgrounds and very little green park space. The students and I walked to a nearby playground/park to do weekly observations of what types of birds were in the neighborhood and how many could be seen at certain periods of time. The students learned a lot while collecting the data and gained an appreciation for pigeons, sparrows, and starlings. They were seeing these birds everyday but made no connections until we participated in the study. My advice to anyone who wants to participate in any kind of citizen science activities is to plan ahead.  Keep in mind what you expect students to learn from the experience. Know where you will go and what is in the immediate area, anticipate problems in general as well as what you think students might find challenging.  Be prepared with materials, permission slips, clipboards etc.  Finally, build in time for students to share, reflect, react. This activity can lead to others.

I have not used any citizen-science projects in the past but I would very much like to start. Reading about all of the many citizen science opportunities available kind of makes me want to do more than I probably should! I definitely would like to investigate weather through CoCoRaHS or one of the other weather projects. I can see how this could be done easily from the classroom, and how it could possibly be compared to another classroom in another part of the country. I can see using tools and data with visual observations, and learning patterns and how to predict weather using the data we collect. I like the FeederWatch project to spot and identify birds, but I wonder if we would be able to dedicate the time necessary without it becoming a distraction for the other parts of our learning. As a (former, hopefully future) beekeeper, I am also interested in MLMP through a school pollinator/milkweed garden. This would also give us the opportunity to observe the lifecycle of a monarch. Finally, Budburst holds the same fascination for me to plants as some of the other projects do to animal life. Particularly, for me, how plants change through the year in central Florida compared to the more defined and extreme differences of plants through the seasons in Ohio.

With my position I try as much as possible to link youth to Cornell University and the research happening.  I have had youth in Rensselaer County participate in citizen science projects such as helping monitor the black cutworm and armyworm as part of our NYS IPM insect trapping network with Agronomist, Aaron Gabriel. I have a teen working on The Effects of a Nitrogen Strip on a Field with the NMSP team at Cornell University, headed by Professor Quirine Ketterings He has been cleaning harvest yield data from the past  4 years this last winter in order to find an area that is classified as a stable low yield area. This spring he will plant corn on those fields and implement the nitrogen strip so that it helps the stable low yield areas while not losing any productivity of the stable high yield areas and reduce waste and runoff by applying it in this fashion. He will gather results throughout the growing season and harvest. iNaturalist- we have set up an account to work with our Environmental Center (Dyken Pond) so that youth and adults can track their findings while out exploring and ask questions along the way. We have tracked 9spotted lady bugs in the past with the Lost Lady Bug Project. Collected soil for Susan Hoskins, for the Institute for Resource Information Sciences, Soil and Crop Sciences, School of Integrative Plant Science. Most of these projects are a one time opportunity that was suggested through the Cooperative Extension System.  I am excited to learn more about the ongoing programs available.

The main CS projects (all have had field components to them) I've used have been:

• "CoastalWatch" created by our local WWF NGO in Hong Kong to measure coastal biodiversity and marine waste in a Grade 9 interdisciplinary geo-science project for the last 5 years.
• "iNaturalist" as an introduction during our annual 'GreenWeek' and environmental club/Roots & Shoots club events (for students in Grades 4 -> 12) to consider urban biodiversity and ask questions about biodiversity abundance, seasonality, habitats, etc.
• a community mapping project (just used Google MyMaps for plotting and sharing the data spatially) that identified various needs of community stakeholders through interviews and observations, analyzed the plotted data, considered potential solutions, and presented them to district council members (all done in one full day) - this was done with students in Grades 6 - 8.
• "CoralWatch" measuring the health of corals during a snorkelling activity (as part of a larger geography field trip) in a particular bay that was impacted by agricultural run-off, human recreational activities, nearby mangroves, etc., using a colour chart, and comparing it with previous data from the same area to study coral health change over time (with Grade 12 students).

Suggestions/advice (quick short list, there is lots more):

• always do a recce trip with the teachers to determine feasibility of the project in that field location (especially if you plan on using any tech like smartphones, etc.)
• break the methodology down to clear instructions and give roles to students doing data collection in groups
• depending on time, you could rotate roles so students can experience learning related to the various data collection roles
• practice the methods/data collection with students (even a mock set-up in the classroom is fine) before doing the real thing

I have not completed any citizen science projects with students. Over the last few years, we have completed Journey North which tracks the migration of Monarchs and logged their return from winter migration sites.  However, this was more for information purposes rather than students playing an active role in investigations. I am interested in  completing soil sampling around our school by specifically looking at insects as a indicator of healthy soils and  also air quality concerning the idling cars in our carpool lane. I think the most important  aspect is to have a community partner to help  understand which data is needed to be collected and  how it will be used. Students need to  know that their work is impactful and can make a difference in their community.  Real world application and student interest,  are to me, the most important factors when choosing a project to participate in.

We have dabbled with citizen science project over the years including terrapin projects with the National Aquarium, DNR projects (yellow perch, horseshoe crab, sunfish, and shad), counting penguins, Project Budburst, collecting macro-invertebrates, and Globe cloud. I have not done any on monarchs (other than tagging) as we do collect, hatch, and tag monarchs. I also want to do more with birds as the students can experience a life long activity.

We have not used any specific citizen science programs in our high school classroom. We had a plan for this spring to engage the students using eBird. We were able to obtain a class set of binoculars in order to do so. I believe the more the students can connect with the direct natural environment they live in is always beneficial. Our school district has urban-like areas that students live in and then completely wooded, secluded areas that students live in. Having them connect with their environment will allow them to care more about the state and wellbeing of their environment. Our plan for this year was to have students make a field guide of their school grounds that can be passed on from class to class each year. Overtime, we thought it would be interesting to see the changes that occur especially since we have new construction happening soon in our district. I think it would be a great addition to the project to find a citizen science program to go with each subgroup (invertebrates, plants/trees, birds, mammals) for the students to pursue.

Unfortunately, I have not used any of the citizen-science projects with my students.  However, I look forward to incorporating some of them to my daily classrooms or to an after school group.  At my school, we have large windows and  we have a beautiful courtyard with a working pond.  I would like to try the Project Feeder Watch, Monarch Larva Monitoring and/or Project BudBurst.  I think these projects will be fun and interesting, and will allow my students to work in pairs to observe, identify and record data.  The best part is getting outside and experience nature!  I also know many of my previous students who will love these activities.  I would love to start an after school science club and have some of my older previous students mentor my younger students.

I have not participated in a citizen science project but plan to in the future. I noticed that the citizen science projects align with student inquiry projects. Two that I would love to incorporate into my course are Celebrate Urban Birds and Project Feeder Watch. Both projects lend themselves to having student engage in observations and identification of species. After submitting our observations I plan for students to come up with their own questions to investigate based off of their observations. They would then work in groups to create a procedure to help them answer the question, analyze their results and share their findings.

I have not participated in a formal citizen science project with my students.  I have encouraged my students to observe their natural surroundings.  My students and I have taken time during class outings to spend time observing and discussing the species that we were seeing around us.  Part of my purpose in doing this was to introduce my students to the idea of stopping to notice what was around them and to begin to appreciate their natural surroundings. As I look at the many different citizen science projects described in this reading, I believe a project like FeederWatch would be best for my students.  I am currently teaching in an urban setting and will take advantage of the fact that birds can be found in most settings.  I hear birds singing each morning as I arrive at school.  Birds are in the communities where my students live.  There might even be an opportunity to install a bird feeder just outside our classroom window for student observations.  Students will not need any special equipment to begin keeping record of the birds they see as they go about their day.  This will be the best way for me to introduce a citizen science project to my students.  Making the project as simple as possible in their day should result in the highest rate of student participation and student enjoyment.

I have never done a citizen-science project.  After reading through the material for this session I am very excited to try something like this with my class next year.  In all honesty I have never heard of any of these types of projects and the idea that my first graders can help scientists is fascinating to me!  We study birds a bit in our two science bundles "Animal Parts and Survival" and "Protecting the Young & Animal Trait Inheritance and Variation."  I would love to incorporate the citizen science project called The Great Backyard Bird Count.  This would be such an awesome experience for students and their families. From February 12th-15th this coming winter (2021) any participant is encouraged to tally the number and kinds of birds that they see during a 15 minute period of time.  You can observe for one of the designated days or all four of them.  February 12th falls on a Friday so this would be the perfect opportunity to introduce this citizen science project and explain how to participate.  Using the Seesaw family communication app,  I could send a video and link to the site to inform families about this awesome opportunity.  With Covid 19 and the uncertainty of what school will look like throughout the 2020-2021 year this is a project that students could do from home and that I would be able to explain through distance learning if needed.

We have used the following: eBird & BumblebeeWatch. I don't have any big advice to give at the moment.

While we haven't yet done a citizen-science project with learners, we would like to incorporate citizen science to evaluate & monitor pockets of wildlife living in the more urban areas of our city so that we may use that information to tailor future outreach programs relaying the importance of native wildlife and how to co-exist. This would be more of a community project, rather than one with just students/children, and would be longitudinal in nature, observational.

I have not yet used any citizen-science projects with my learners. I am interested in Project Budburst and Project Feederwatch. We have unused raised beds at our school, and I am in really interested in incorporating more gardening into our science activities. I think Project Budburst would be a great way for students to develop their observation skills in a meaningful way. I am also thinking about ways to incorporate citizen science projects into distance learning, and I think Project Feederwatch might be a fun way for my students to do this.

I have done a few citizen-science projects with my outdoor camp learners, including; MonarchWatch, FrogWatch Ontario, TurtleWatch Ontario, and MilkweedWatch (most of these are Canadian as I live in Canada). What I love about these projects is that it makes children feel that they are contributing to conservation science in addition to having them engage more in the environment around them. My advice for doing citizen-science is to ask your learners what they are interested in learning about, and find citizen-science projects based on those topics. This will engage the learners more actively, and they will likely be more excited to participate if it is based on their topics of interest. It is also an easy way to engage children who don't think they are interested/care about science because they actually get to participate and see how accessible it can be to them as well.

I have participated in  both Nature's Notebook and The Great Backyard Bird Count with students.  We have a Nature's Notebook phenology trail at the arboretum where I work. I find the project really useful and have tried to share the importance of citizen science with the students I have lead thru the trail.  One issue I had with this project was the lack of WiFi throughout our grounds. It has been about 5 years since I lead a middle school home school class thru the trail. I ended up printing off lots of important ID info from the website on each specimen.  We tried to collect the data to submit later but really it would have been much better to use a smart phone and do in real time (as I have done on my own).  Now, in 2020, this may be a very fun and engaging citizen science class- it would be much easier to get my hands on several tablets/smartphones! Unfortunately, I only see these students once, but I feel they can be given the exposure and tools to carry on with their observations and data submissions as a family whenever they visit our grounds- or set up an observation in their own yard!   Spark the interest! After an initial common bird ID introduction, lessons using e-bird and the GBBC have been loads of fun!  I would recommend this citizen science project to all. My students and I have watched feeders and compiled data.  We have not, for lack of time, elaborated on the projects into true inquiry: asking questions, experimenting and all the rich discussion that follows. I have shared the websites with these groups of students so they may continue on with the projects but would like to find a way to go deeper within the 90 minutes class.  Maybe a series of programs/classes on consecutive weeks/Saturdays with home school students is needed?  Try to incorporate more of these projects in our 1 week summer day camps? Again, not a school year worth of inquiry but a bit more than I am able with the groups coming to my location on a sporadic basis.

I have not yet done a citizen science project hence my desire to take this course and learn more! I think a citizen science project would work great as an after-school program or with boy and girl scouts or other youth organizations. I've never done a citizen science project in my classroom mainly due to time constraints. However, after looking through the citizen science projects above, the time commitments seem reasonable so I'm going to do one! I especially like the Monarch larva and BudBurst projects!

We have a grant funded pollinator project, and I would love to use one of the invertebrate projects like Great Sunflower Project or Monarch Larvae Monitoring Project. There is a garden space at the elementary school I visit that would be perfect for these projects. I visit every few weeks for the entire school year, so these projects would fit well with my curriculum

I love the Citizen Spotlight on Mammals! Recently at my school, we installed a trail cam in our wooded area to study what animals were is this habitat. So far, we discovered numerous rabbit, squirrel, opossum, various birds and even a stray cat! Up until now, I've been the one checking the cam and then reporting to students what we "caught on camera". However, after reading these ideas I think this would be the perfect opportunity to get my students further invovled. Students could make predictions on what animals they think live in this habitiat, and even help me reqularly check the cam and record data based on what we "caught on camera". We could then further varify our findings by searching for signs/evidence of the animals such as scat, tracks or leftover food. I can't wait to get the students more invovled!