Category: Ecology & Environment

Photo: USFWS Those Elusive Flying Mammals! Bats can be tricky to spot and observe but let’s try because they need our help.  As disease, habitat loss, and climate change decimate some bat populations, we can help scientists monitor and protect them. Below, our editors highlight five bat-related citizen projects from around the globe. Find more […]

Help researchers monitor and understand light pollution with a simple smartphone app

April is YOUR month, citizen scientists! This is National Volunteer Week so get involved in a research project in need of your help. Find your favorite project on Serve.gov and AllForGood.org, now featuring SciStarter’s database of projects. Need another reason? Look no further thanSaturday, 4/16, Citizen Science Day! Events  are scheduled around the world. We bet there’s one near you. Still […]

Photo: CL Goforth Critter Tracking With spring weather upon us, many animals are on the move. Contribute your wildlife observations to advance scientific research. Learn how, below. Find projects from our pals in Ireland, Canada, the EU, and now, Australia through our brand new international partnership. Like citizen science, SciStarter is global. You can find more […]

If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? This question has engaged philosophers through the ages in discussions regarding observation and the knowledge of reality. Scientists in the PhenoCam Network are also interested in what goes on in forests when no one is around to observe […]

Maps are used for more than just navigation these days. The citizen science projects highlighted below use maps to study topics ranging from wildlife to hydrology. You can find even more mapping projects via the SciStarter Project Finder. Cheers! The SciStarter Team

Photo: John Ohab 12 Days of Christmas The holiday season is upon us! In the spirit of the season, we’ve put together another edition of our ever popular annual 12 Days of Christmas Newsletter. Cheers! The SciStarter Team On the 1st Day of Christmas, Treezilla gave to me: A measuring tape around a pear tree, […]

As monarch butterflies take their annual migratory trip to the west coast in winter, citizen scientists help researchers keep track with the Western Monarch Thanksgiving Count.

Gayle Steffy’s fascination with butterflies started when she was thirteen. She found her first monarch caterpillar, brought it home and raised it to adulthood. She’s been hooked ever since, collecting data on monarchs years before joining any of the established monarch citizen science projects. Despite her early interest, which eventually led her to acquire a […]

If you’ve already signed up to participate in NASA’s Soil Moisture Active Passive research to ground-truth satellite data, great! (And thank you!) As soon as you input your data to the GLOBE site, you’ll receive an embroidered version of this patch. Interested in joining SMAP? We are looking for teams in the following states: AK, […]