Building support for science and birds through citizen science
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Citizen science, also known as community science and volunteer science, engages amateurs and volunteers in the process of scientific research. It allows researchers to vastly expand the reach of their projects across geography and time, and also provides information on topics that professional scientists are not able to explore on their own. Although it has recently gained a lot of attention, citizen science has been around for most of recorded history. In fact, until the late 19th century, science was conducted by amateurs following their passion. However, during the past 150 years, professional science has taken center stage.
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Photo by Kristin Butler
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Photo by Kristin Butler
Citizen science has allowed us to create valuable, long-term data sets that offer opportunities for universities, government agencies, and other scientists to ask big questions about things such as the impact of climate change on birds. It has also helped us grow support for science, birds, and conservation in the wider community. Please see our volunteer section to get involved today!
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Recently, though, there has been resurgence in citizen science across the globe, thanks in part to innovations such as the personal computer and smart phone. This has spawned the birth of new organizations such as the Citizen Science Association, online efforts to connect volunteers with projects such as SciStarter, and data collection computer applications like iNaturalist and eBird. SFBBO has been a leader in this field. We've conducted research powered by citizen science for almost 40 years! Since the early 1980s, our volunteers have collected bird data through our Colonial Waterbird Program and at our Coyote Creek Field Station. In more recent years, they have collected data for our Snowy Plover Program, Burrowing Owl Program, Gull Survey, and Annual Shorebird Survey.
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