Explore Citizen Science
You don’t have to be a professional scientist to use your ears, eyes, and/or smartphone to collect important data about the world around you. Citizen science is based on the idea that all of us have the ability to contribute to science—it may only be a matter of finding the right project.
Citizen science is a growing field, and there are many local, national, and international projects out there achieving real results. Whether you connect to an internet-based astronomy project or you start monitoring the trees in your backyard, citizen science is about having fun and making a difference.
Those of us how travel into the backcountry can gather data in areas that many professional scientists rarely have the chance to visit. In many cases, we can help conserve these wild places if we collect environmental data as we travel. Consider making citizen science part of your next adventure!
Helpful Resources for Finding Citizen Science Projects:
scistarter.org: This website has a search engine where you can browse through projects based on your location and interests.
adventurescientists.org: Adventure Scientists specializes in getting people to do science on outdoor expeditions.
iNaturalist.org: You can download an app to map and post pictures of all cool nature things you find. The online community can then help you ID anything from tricky little brown birds to unknown mushrooms.
zoouniverse.org: Here you can find a wide variety of computer-based citizen science projects.
eBird.org: If you’re getting into birds, take part in one of the largest and most successful citizen science efforts in the U.S by submitting lists of what species you’ve seen where.
Nature Mapping Jackson Hole: Here you can view many projects and find resources from Jackson Hole’s citizen science program.
WyoBio: The Wyoming Biodiversity Citizen Science Initiative (WyoBio) is a project intended to connect all people, especially Wyoming citizens, with information about Wyoming’s biodiversity – plants, animals and fungi.
Scientific American Citizen Science: Scientific American catalogues citizen science projects for volunteers to participate in.
Cool Resources for New Birders:
All About Birds: One of the best resources about birds from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Find an authoritative bird guide, bird cams, birding basics and more.
Why We Love Birds: Birds, birds, and more birds organized in thoughtful ways for bird lovers and citizen scientists.
Audubon: The National Audubon Society protects birds and the places they need throughout the Americas using science, advocacy, education, and on-the-ground conservation.
Wyoming Bird Species List: PDF Wyoming bird species list.
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