Citizen Science Contributions

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One of the world’s most popular nature apps, iNaturalist helps you  identify the plants and animals around you. Get connected with a  community of over a million scientists and naturalists who can help you  learn more about nature! What’s more, by recording and sharing your  observations, you’ll create research quality data for scientists working  to better understand and protect nature. iNaturalist is a joint  initiative by the California Academy of Sciences and the National Geographic Society.     

We have several projects on iNaturlist that we encourage you to check out and/or join:

• View our every day observations here.
• View our Teen Naturalists - Santa Cruz River Project observations and join us in learning about the biodiversity of this important riparian area.  #santacruzriverproject 
• Youth Citizen Scientists - USA Biodiversity Challenge
• Nerdy For Birdies Youth Bird Challenge.
• Our results for the International Biodiversity Challenge 2020

eBird is the world’s largest biodiversity-related citizen science  project, with more than 100 million bird sightings contributed each year  by eBirders around the world. A collaborative enterprise with hundreds  of partner organizations, thousands of regional experts, and hundreds of  thousands of users, eBird is managed by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. 

You can view our data submission here.

Flow365 volunteers monitor the status of flow in our creeks and rivers,  check groundwater levels in accessible wells, and observe the plants and  animals in local riparian habitats. This data is vital to supporting  our long-term goal of restoring Tucson’s heritage of flowing creeks and  rivers through our River Run Network program. 

The Teen Naturalists are monitoring the Santa Cruz River flow through Spring 2021. You can view our reports here. #santacruzriverproject

Join us for the City Nature Challenge in the Greater Phoenix Area! Help us document the awesome biodiversity in  the Valley of the Sun by making as many observations of living organisms as possible the last weekend in April. 

Keep an eye on the website for trainings, events, and more.

Learn more at citynaturechallenge.org/

Interested in collaborating, participating or learning more? Please email greaterphxcnc@googlegroups.com.

  Aquatic macroinvertebrates serve as indicators of stream health because they exhibit varying levels of sensitivity to pollution. As we identify critters,we are helping to build a stream health report.

This is one of our crews favorite citizen science activities. Learn more here.  #santacruzriverproject 

Nature's Notebook gathers information on plant and animal phenology across the U.S. to be  used for decision-making on local, national and global scales to ensure  the continued vitality of our environment. Observers use scientifically-vetted observation guidelines, developed for over 1000 species, to ensure data are useful  to researchers and decision-makers.

Our Teen Naturalists will be monitoring 3 species (2 of each) as part of our #santacruzriverproject. You can view our observations and join our project here.

The EarthEcho Water Challenge (formerly World Water Monitoring  Challenge) is an international program that runs annually from March 22  (the United Nations World Water Day) through December and equips anyone  to protect the water resources we depend on every day. The EarthEcho  Water Challenge builds public awareness and involvement in protecting  water resources around the world by engaging citizens to conduct basic  monitoring of their local waterbodies.  

View our results here. Enter EcoExplorersatl  #santacruzriverproject 

CoCoRaHS (pronounced KO-ko-rozz) is a grassroots volunteer network of  backyard weather observers of all ages and backgrounds working together  to measure and map precipitation (rain, hail and snow) in their local  communities. By using low-cost measurement tools, stressing training and  education, and utilizing an interactive Web-site, our aim is to provide  the highest quality data for natural resource, education and research  applications. The only requirements to join are an enthusiasm for  watching and reporting weather conditions and a desire to learn more  about how weather can affect and impact our lives.

View our rain data for Coolidge. We also share our data at rainlog.

Attention citizen scientists! Desert Botanical Garden needs your help to find and  photograph the plants, animals and insects in your neighborhood, on  local trails and around town. In doing so, you are helping the Garden  with a new initiative, the EcoFlora project, to take inventory of the  plants and wildlife in the Phoenix metro area. This data will inform  conservation organizations like the Garden how to protect and preserve the native plants and wildlife in the area. 

iMapInvasives is an on-line, GIS-based data management system used to assist citizen scientists and natural resource professionals working to protect our natural resources from the threat of invasive species.

You can view our observations here. #santacruzriverproject

Earth Challenge 2020 is a global citizen science platform that allows millions of people to contribute to scientific research, to monitor environmental threats to their communities, and to drive change. The Earth Challenge app explores research and action in six research areas: air quality, plastic pollution, insects, food supply, water quality, climate change.

HerpMapper is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization designed to gather and share information about reptile and amphibian observations across the planet. Using HerpMapper, you can create records of your herp observations and keep them all in one place.

FrogWatch USA™ is a citizen science program of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums that invites individuals and families to learn about the wetlands in  their communities and help conserve amphibians by reporting data on the  calls of local frogs and toads. 

Project goals:

AZA’s FrogWatch USA comprises a national network of skilled  coordinators and volunteers that form a community with the common goal  of providing large scale, long-term data on frogs and toads in the  United States to help answer questions like:

- How diverse is the local population of frogs and toads?
- Where are there rare or invasive species?
- Are there long term shifts in species diversity, range, and seasonal timing?

What data is being collected?

Volunteers are trained to collect information about the calls from  frogs and toads during the monitoring season of February through August.  

Where is data being collected?

Data is being collected in and around many wetlands across the United States. New volunteers can find a chapter near them, or do the online training and start monitoring a wetland near you for frogs and toads. 

If you are interested in becoming a Frog Watch volunteer please complete this form so we can keep you posted about training sessions. 

Sky Island FotoFauna harnesses the sampling power of  volunteer-operated wildlife cameras that keep watch for wildlife on the  move throughout the Sky Island region. Every monthly FotoFauna checklist  and photo submission gives us a clearer picture of when and where 43  different wildlife species are moving across the Sky Islands.

Learn more here.

Educating Children Outdoors is proud to be a support of the 2024 Atlanta City Nature Challenge, led locally by Fernbank Museum. Our Conservation Biology students at STAC homeschool co-op will be participating in the challenge and logging their observations.  Learn more here.