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Fresh off a vacation to Seattle, I thought I would highlight some of the amazing citizen science projects taking place in Washington state. Check out my recent post on the Science for Citizens blog. Look, there is also a picture of a happy fun western gray squirrel, which I’ve obscured below to entice you.
I wrote this for ScienceforCitizens.net. It was most enjoyable part of my day.
The Who's Whoo-ing project studies the Great-horned Owl
Are you a Westchester (NY), Putnam (NY), or Fairfield County (CT) resident just itching for a reason to dust off that old boombox?
If so, the The Who’s Whoo-ing citizen science project needs you to play a CD of owl calls for 10 minutes and record if a response is heard. Using simple “call playback surveys”, the Mianus River Gorge Preserve hopes to better understand where eastern screech owls, barred owls, and great horned owls live and co-occur in these suburban counties.
Residents conduct six surveys between March and November for each species of owl — that’s just three hours to help these important predators flourish in their suburban ecosystem.
Check out the Who’s Whoo-ing project page and share any pictures, video, or thoughts you have on your very own Science for Citizens member blog. Owl look forward to learning more about your experiences! (worst pun ever)
Let’s talk about things that frighten me and start with the mysterious creatures of the deep. I mean, really — surviving under extreme pressures and temperatures, often without sunlight, in a hostile ocean environment where you might very well be someone else’s dinner? We’ve all seen Pirates of the Caribbean. Creepy.
Still, someone needs to ensure that the marine environment is protected from various human pressures like pollution and over-fishing. That person is just not me.
That’s why I’m asking YOU to go down there on my behalf as part of Earth Dive, a global citizen science project that calls on recreational scuba divers and snorkelers to monitor the ocean for key indicator species.When you participate in Earth Dive, your observations are recorded in a special database, called the Global Dive Log, and accessible through a clever Google mapping interface. Over time, observations are aggregated to create a Global Snapshot of the state of the world’s oceans. You can also use the satellite map feature to look for your house, which is totally cool. Importantly, everyone who contributes data is automatically added to a petition demanding that policymakers take action.
Earth Dive is what I like to call a win-win-win situation. I don’t have to be in the ocean; your hobby provides a sense of personal enrichment; and we all work together to monitor and conserve marine life on this planet.
As copied and pasted from its home on ScienceCheerleader.com…
If you’re anything like me, you take pride in knowing everything. That’s why I spend my free time reading and contributing to the Encyclopedia of Life (EOL), an online, collaborative project documenting biodiversity knowledge about all life present on Earth. EOL is a global initiative seeking to create an “infinitely expandable” resource for all of our planet’s 1.8 million known species.
Launched in February 2008, EOL draws from existing databases, such as AmphibiaWeb and Mushroom Observer, and sponsorship from a number of leading scientific organizations. The scientific community and general public can contribute to this growing body of knowledge by posting images to the EOL Flikr group and adding tags and text comments to any species page. In addition, citizen naturalists with a demonstrated commitment to quality science can apply to become curators who are responsible for maintaining EOL’s vetted content.
The Encyclopedia of Life makes it ridiculously easy to get involved – users can log in using OpenID, which eliminates the need to create and forget yet another annoying username/password. They also have a discussion forum and a Twitter page. OmniSCIENCE is just a click away!
PROJECT SNAPSHOT:
I think Falcor was probably immortal, yet Molly looks far older. In a future entry we’ll discuss Falcor and the vast array of disturbing characters from The Neverending Story, as well as the inherently disturbing notion of a neverending story.
Ten points to anyone who can sing any single line from The Neverending Story’s theme song.
Spring is a wonderful time in our nation’s capital. Life-giving showers have reinvigorated our plants and our spirits as we prepare for the summer heat and the arrival of thousands of Bigfoots into the DC metro area.
This year’s Bigfoot influx is expected to be the biggest in nearly 10 years, and city officials are taking no chances. Informative signs have been posted throughout the wooded areas of northwest DC to alert hikers and picnickers about our guests. These signs are also being posted in urban locations like Dupont Circle, which offer shopping, dining and coffee spots that are popular in the Bigfoot community.
An anonymous city official warned that these signs cannot solve all of our problems. Residents are advised to be aware of their surroundings at all times and avoid any direct Bigfoot interaction. Limbs and other detached anatomy will be collected at the nearest post office and can be claimed Mon-Friday during working hours.
To help in this spring’s Bigfoot effort, the beef jerky maker, Jack Links, has re-released their “Messin’ with Sasquatch” educational series. The episode below, “Cold One”, has proven most effective at building public awareness and appreciation for the dangers of engaging Bigfoots, particularly those engagements involving alcohol abuse-induced taunting.
Good luck, and let’s stay safe out there!
As John and I quickly realized, being Samers at a wedding isn’t quite as cool when the color pink is involved. However, it does provide us all an opportunity to revisit one of my favorite videos Internets videos, Pinky: Pet of the Week. I can’t imagine the animals that were not featured because they didn’t meet the obedience criteria. Yet another example that cats are evil devil-beings.
