Exploring the world and contributing to global science does not require a professional laboratory or an advanced degree—sometimes, all you need is a backyard, a smartphone and a curious family.
Editor’s note: This guest post was contributed by Bárbara Alencar Rolim, co-founder of Independent Family Scientists (CFI) in Igarassu, Pernambuco, Brazil. It describes her family’s experience discovering citizen science and developing community projects using platforms including SciStarter, iNaturalist, GLOBE Observer and GeoNadir. The views and descriptions of the family’s projects are the author’s own.
The Spark of Global Curiosity
Our family’s citizen science journey began in 2026 in Igarassu, Pernambuco, Brazil, with a smartphone and our own backyard. Our children (Sandeji, Maria Clara, and Emília Valentina) were curious about the world beyond our home, and we began looking for ways they could explore it from where we lived.
When we discovered iNaturalist, we realized that the plants and animals surrounding us could connect our family to a much larger community of observers and researchers. To our amazement, some of our observations soon reached iNaturalist’s “Research Grade” status, meaning they met the platform’s criteria for verifiable observations with community-supported identifications. Eligible Research Grade observations can be shared with global biodiversity databases and made available to researchers.
“It is so amazing to take photos of plants and insects with a cell phone that it becomes a habit,” says Sandeji, reflecting on his experience as a young volunteer. “We need to tell everyone so they can do it too!”
Mapping and Adding a Soundtrack to Science
Days later, we decided to combine our family’s passion for drones with aerial photogrammetry. We experimented with creating an aerial map between our home and the children’s grandmother’s home, and began thinking about how other families might adapt a similar approach to exploring their own surroundings.
We also began bringing together some of our family’s other interests—music, art, technology and science. Sandeji, who studies at the Conservatório Pernambucano de Música, decided our project needed a soundtrack. Using generative artificial intelligence (AI) for digital design, we displayed our historical timeline and associated it with “Asa Branca” and “Ode to Joy”, performed on the flute by Sandeji and accompanied by his father on the guitar.
We added a dedicated technical paragraph to highlight our deep commitment to Inclusive Design: explaining that our independent design badges were custom-built utilizing exact color spectrums chosen by Sandeji Lorenzo who is colorblind. By reviewing these specific visual assets, he ensures they perfectly match his unique field of vision, performing an active role as a visual interface and accessibility analyst for our community gamification tools. While this calibration specifically reflects his unique field of vision as a user-centered case study, the process highlights the importance of testing gamification assets with the community, paving the way for wider accessibility adaptations.
On June 24, 2026, we submitted our project to SciStarter, securing approval the very next day. Shortly after, we integrated our initiative as an official SciStarter Affiliate project to unify all the collected data.
Reality in the Field: Breaking Cultural Barriers in Our BioBlitz
When it came time to host our Global BioBlitz, we faced a challenge that many citizen scientists encounter: initial community engagement. We promoted the event heavily, both on Instagram and in person. People watched our videos and found everything beautiful, innovative and fascinating, yet it still seemed very difficult to get them to take the next step and participate.
Just like we were a short time ago, the local community and people around us lack knowledge about SciStarter, iNaturalist, GLOBE Observer or GeoNadir. Even when they hold mobile devices in their hands, they do not realize the scientific power those tools offer. Facing this cultural barrier—for which we are already designing new educational materials—and with the Global BioBlitz clock ticking, we had no time to lose. Our solution was to lead by example.
To light up the map of Igarassu, we decided to revisit fantastic locations within our Historic Site. On the first day of the event, it was just us and the children’s grandmother out in the field mapping the surroundings. By the second day, our message began to echo: our team grew as we managed to gather cousins and a dear friend to join our mission.
Together, we walked around mapping and photographing biodiversity near incredible historical landmarks like the Church of Saints Cosmas and Damian (the oldest existing church in Brazil), the Convent of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Historical Museum of Igarassu and the Municipal Public Library. Watching the map of Igarassu digitally light up with our footsteps proved to the community just how incredibly easy and accessible it is to participate. It shows that citizen science is with us at all times—we just need to practice it. At the end of the day, looking at that screen filled with new biological milestones, our whole family gathered to celebrate the way we love most: playing music together and celebrating our community victory.
From Backyard Biodiversity to Public Health: The Snail Hunt
As our eyes became trained to observe our surroundings through this family and cultural effort, we realized that our tools could solve an urgent public health issue. In July 2026, our main initiative birthed an invasive-species mapping and community-awareness effort with potential public-health relevance: the Caça-Caramujo (Snail Hunt – Igarassu/PE) project.
The African Giant Snail (Lissachatina fulica) is an exotic invasive species that causes severe damage to Brazilian biodiversity, local agriculture and public health, as it can transmit serious diseases like meningitis. Through our family collective, Independent Family Scientists (CFI), we launched this campaign on iNaturalist to map these vectors.
When residents find an African giant snail in Igarassu, they take a safe photo without touching the animal and upload it to our project. The family hopes that mapping reports over time could help reveal where the snails are being observed and potentially provide useful information for local awareness and public-health efforts. It bridges the gap between historical heritage, backyards and civic action. Furthermore, our project automatically filters data; any iNaturalist user who records a snail anywhere within Igarassu will automatically pop up on our monitoring map.
How You and Your Community Can Get Involved
To participate in our primary ecological initiative or review our synchronization milestones, you can check the SciStarter Youth Citizen Science Event Page. For ground-level tracking, link your account to your SciStarter profile and log observations via iNaturalist using your own smartphone to earn automatic participation credits. If you visit Igarassu, Pernambuco, you can also join the localized Caça-Caramujo project to help map invasive species safely under adult supervision.
For space-level validation, download NASA’s GLOBE Observer app and log in using the exact same email as your SciStarter account (case sensitive). Inside the app settings, connect your observations to SciStarter, head to “Teams” and join our global family team using the Referral Code: GLIDBMRI. You will help international climate scientists calibrate space satellites by logging cloud coverage and measuring tree heights.
Experienced adult drone operators can also explore aerial mapping through platforms such as GeoNadir, following all applicable local aviation regulations and platform guidance.
Call to Action for Libraries and Community Leaders
If you are a librarian, an educator or a community leader, you can support our ongoing environmental and health campaigns by transforming your institution into a local hub for engagement. Libraries—just like the Municipal Public Library of Igarassu we visited—can host orientation sessions and group discussions using our replicable drone guidelines, as well as help families download apps safely using the local internet. The core idea is to empower everyone to use the devices they already have at home, transforming everyday residents into active public health guardians and environmental scientists within their own territory.
Meet the Authors
This article was co-written by the Independent Family Scientists (CFI), led exclusively by our single family innovation collective from Igarassu, Pernambuco, Brazil. Co-founded by Public Relations specialist Bárbara Rolim and her husband Sandeji Barbosa, a state History teacher for over 20 years, and conceptualized by their children Sandeji Lorenzo (8) and Maria Clara (6) with the participation of their youngest toddler Emília Valentina (2) alongside grandmother Eleonora Alencar, a community health agent for over 23 years, the family works entirely together to bridge science, digital art and public health. Certified as Citizen Science Champions, recognized in the National “Espalha” Collection of Culture and Climate, officially integrated into the federal government’s SiBBr BioCollect Platform, the family dedicates their collective journey to proving that anyone can explore and protect the planet utilizing devices they already own.
To follow their daily field updates and connect with the project, visit their official Instagram.
