Building Local Connection and Global Perspectives with Citizen Science

Citizen science empowers students to participate in real science, inspiring local connection and action. These “crowd-sourced” science projects encourage careful observations, promote the discovery of patterns, support exploration of phenomenon, and serve as a catalyst for curiosity and generating authentic science questions. Additionally, studies show that being in nature decreases stress, promotes physical activity, and boosts creativity… all especially important in today’s extra-stressful world. We’ll discuss these benefits and possible ways that nature-connected learning can support student’s socio-emotional needs during the pandemic and beyond.

I will highlight nature-focused citizen-science projects that welcome student participants as well as share educational resources (apps, lesson plans, websites, and multimedia resources) that support educators at all grade levels and in all settings. We will focus on practicing the Merlin app and eBird citizen-science project, which invites everyone, wherever they live, to collect and share local bird data using powerful but easy-to-use apps. You’ll practice using the apps during the workshop and walk away with ideas to support easy implementation with youth. Discover great tools to help youth get outdoors, explore global biodiversity data, and build science skills.