Internet Hunts
Puzzles & Projects
Nature
Wetlands Study Unit
Plants & People
Problem/Project Based Learning
Water & Watershed Study Unit
Bluebirds Project
Computers
Home

Citizen Scientist - Collect some data.
Broaden your observation skills and contribute to the body of science information.

Numerous Americans have been citizen scientists. From 1729 to 1730, a regular weather record was kept at Boston, Mass., by Hon. Paul Dudley, Chief Justice of Massachusetts. Benjamin Franklin on a voyage from England, in 1739, kept records of the weather and water temperatures. He then proposed a method of determining the approach of vessels to the American coast by the temperature of the water. Meriwether Lewis and William Clark kept extensive journals of their observations during their explorations. During the 1800s, John and William Bartram documented and collected over 200 American plants.

Benjamin Rittenhouse kept a daily record of the temperature, wind direction and sky conditions at 6 am and 3 pm. in Worcester, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. This provided important information during the yellow fever epidemic of 1793. Today the National Science Foundation is funding several Citizen Science Projects.

question mark blue Thinking about Collecting Data Activity pdf / doc.

Participate in a Citizen Science project. Carefully maintain your records.
Report your findings to a local governmental body.

drop Science and Data

drop Bud Burst Protocol contribute data for your community. late winter - spring

drop Bioluminescence - Firefly Watch - Learn about them and conduct your own study. summer - fall

drop NestWatch - Cornell Lab citizen science sponsored project - spring- early summer

drop Project FeederWatch - can be done in winter months. Create/Print a local bird list

drop Great Backyard Bird Count - choose a spot and count the number and types of birds you observe. Gather and report data. Compare your findings with earlier results. What trending do you detect?

drop Christmas Bird Count sponsored by the Audubon Society Reflect which meadow species in your region shows the greatest increase in population and which suffered the greatest decline. December

drop Monarch Larva Monitoring Project. spring - summer - fall

drop Milkweed and Nectar Plant Phenology Project - observe "firsts" -- first emergence from soil, first flower bud, first open flower, etc. The focus is the milkweed on which larvae feed, and the nectar plants -- like lilac, sunflower and purple coneflower -- on which adults feed. spring - summer

drop Project RoadKill - choose a road adjacent to a meadow or field. Monitor it twice daily and report what animals are killed there, along with data about speed limit, weather and estimate number of vehicles per hour. Compare results around your community. year round

drop Celebrate Urban Birds - year round

drop eBird - year round bird observations

drop Lost Ladybug Project

drop The Great Sunflower Project - to understand more about how bees feed themselves, and hopefully how we can help reverse recent staggering declines in bee populations. To participate plant sunflowers -- you receive a seed packet in the mail when you sign up -- and when they bloom, observe bee activity on the flowers. It takes no more than 30 minutes per observation. summer - fall

drop Journey North engages students in a global study of wildlife migration and seasonal change. Spring and Autumn

drop Wildlife Phenology Program - "Phenology is the study of the seasonal timing of plant and animal life-cycle events such as bird, fish and mammal migration; emergence from hibernation; and the leafing, blooming and fruiting of plants. Global warming is causing a resurgence in interest in phenology, as the growing season lengthens, winters shorten and fears grow that some wildlife adapted to live with one another get out of sync (think bees pollinating flowers or migratory birds feasting on spring bugs)."
Learn more at Help Us Keep an Eye on Climate Change podcast from USGS

drop Spider WebWatch is a biodiversity monitoring effort for biologists, naturalists, educators and students. From more than 4,400 species of spiders in North America, 9 were chosen as eight-legged ambassadors. Learn to identify the spider.

drop Earth Exploration Toolbook

drop FrogWatch USA

drop Map & Inventory Trees in your Community.

drop Map & Inventory Wetlands in your Community

 

cattails Wetlands: Habitat / Mammals / Birds / Aquatic insects / Plants & trees / Amphibians / Conclusions

Food Web Relationships / Collecting Data doc. / pdf / Mammal Morphology: Compare - Contrast - Conclude

Wetland Bird Nests / Eagles Evaluation / Lentic or Lotic ecosystem?

Wetland Ecology Vocabulary Exercise / Riparian Buffers - investigate / Wetland Ecology Dilemmas

Wetland Poem Project / Wetland or Frog Song activity / Digital Science Journal / Environmental Issue Video Project

Bats are our Buddies / Bats at the Beach Activity / Citizen Science Projects - collect some data

Water & Watershed Studies / Make a schematic representation

Pennsylvania HS Envirothon / Monitoring Wetlands / Wildflowers info

 

Bluebirds Project | Plants and People | Fields, Meadows, and Fence rows EcoStudy Unit

Internet Hunts / Puzzles and Projects / Civics & History / Pennsylvania Projects / Habitat Garden / Nature / Home

Posted 1/2009 by Cindy O'Hora Updated April 1, 2023

Released to public domain in honor of physicist and ecologist, Barry Commoner.

1 Science NetLinks Benchmark 1- Nature of science - How science works

Pennsylvania Science & Technology Standards and Ecology & Environment Standards

National Science Content Standards | Common Core State Standards Initiative

The goal of this web project is to inform people through research while employing higher order thinking skills. This study unit encourages the use of free Internet information resources. Activities develop writing, information literacy, technology and mathematics skills. The resources posted here may be freely adapted or modified to meet each student's unique skills or interests