Everyone can be a citizen scientist!

Have you ever gone outside and counted the birds at your bird feeder?  How about counted monarch butterflies? Perhaps you’ve gone to a local pond to see what different frogs you can catch?  Well, you are on the way to becoming a citizen scientist!!

Citizen science is the collection of environmental data by members of the public (you!).  The information is normally part of a partnership with professional scientists.

The awesome part about citizen science is that you don't need internet! You can collect information throughout the summer and then submit it once you have internet access.  So get out your nature notebooks and let's be a citizen scientist!  Let's look at some projects you can help with and click the project name for more info!

FrogWatch Ontario:

If you love amphibians then this is the perfect project for you to help with!  Contact Adopt-A-pond to receive a FrogWatch package. You can submit observations randomly, as you see them (Level 1), or you can submit on a more routine schedule (Level 2).

 

MonarchWatch:

If you love butterflies or have a pollinator garden, than you may be interested in getting some hands-on experience with them!  MonarchWatch is the perfect citizen science activity that you can do with the help of an adult.  Order your Monarch tags online and once they arrive in the mail you can catch monarchs you see in your yard and place little sticker tags on their wings.  If this butterfly is seen again, this tag will identify it!  Visit their website to learn more about the Monarch, how to properly handle them, and purchase some tags!

Part of this year's Great Scavenger Hunt is to report a sighting of this butterfly! 

Yellow Warbler

Birds:

There are many citizen science programs that involve birds!  Two of the easiest include eBird and NestWatch! Both programs require you to create a profile, but data can always be submitted on a later date. Take out those notebooks and count the number and species of birds wherever you are to submit to eBird or find a nearby nest and help track the survival of the young!  If you want to keep going into the winter, another great project to be part of is Project FeederWatch! 

Species at Risk:

Blandings Turtle - Scott Gillingwater

Georgian Bay Biosphere has a citizen science page! Here you can support a variety of citizen science projects, however species at risk is one of them!  If you spot anything from a Monarch Butterfly, to a Foxsnake or Blanding's Turtle, to a Canada Warbler, submit information about them to us!  Submitting a report to us about a Monarch will even get you a point for your scavenger hunt!

There are so many projects that you can get involved with, visit our website to find even more: http://www.gbbr.ca/our-environment/species-at-risk/how-you-can-help/

Three cheers for butterflies and a beautiful sunrise!