citizen science
The following are a list of citizen science monitoring programs of projects found on the net. Most are open to individuals as well as school groups, naturalist organizations, etc… With all but a few exceptions, most of these projects allow independent participation and database input via the internet. Most of the projects are free of charge, but a couple charge a materials or other participation fee. I leave it up to the reader to investigate that information. I’ve only participated in a couple of the programs or projects on this list, but intend to add at least 2 or 3 this coming summer. If any reader knows of a project that might me a good addition to this list, let me know. By the way, as you may notice, this list is weighted toward Canadian programs. That’s partly because I was able to use this search page to find citizen science projects on the Stewardship Canada website. I couldn’t find an equivalent for the U.S. or other countries. If you know of such a site, send me a URL and I’ll check it out.
- Biodiversity monitoring
- Washington Nature Mapping Program
- Reptiles & Amphibians:
- Ontario Turtle Tally.
- Frog Watch (Canada).
- FrogwatchUSA.
- Marsh Monitoring Program (Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Region)
- Vermont Reptile and Amphibian Atlas project- info, and to submit records.
- Thousand Eyes Project (Nova Scotia).
- Chicago Frog Call Survey.
- Amphibian Call Count – Back yard survey (Canadian Wildlife Services)
- Amphibian Call Count – Roadside survey (Canadian Wildlife Services).
- Birds:
- eBird Canada – online bird reporting program.
- eBird (USA).
- Ontario Nest Record Scheme – a longterm bird nest study dependent on volunteer observers.
- Hummingbird Migration project.
- Chimney Swift Migration project.
- Marsh Monitoring Program (Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Region)
- Project Nest Watch (Canada).
- Project Feeder Watch (Canada).
- Nocturnal Owl Survey.
- Canadian Breeding Bird Survey.
- Canadian Migration Monitoring Network.
- Canadian Lakes Loon Survey.
- Red-shouldered Hawk & Spring Woodpecker Survey (Canada).
- Forest Bird Monitoring Survey (Canadian Wildlife Services).
- Ottawa Breeding Bird Count
- Thousand Eyes Project (Nova Scotia).
- Journey North – Robin & Hummingbird Migration tracking.
- Invertebrates:
- Spider WebWatch
- Monarch Larva Monitoring Project.
- Journey North – Monarch Migration tracking.
- Monarch Watch Tagging Program.
- Worm Watch (Canada)
- Monarch Flight Vector Monitoring
- Thousand Eyes Project (Nova Scotia).
- North American Butterfly Assn. Annual Count.
- National Moth Night (U.K.).
- Butterly Monitoring in Chicago, Illinois, and area.
- Viburnum Leaf Beetle Survey Project.
- Plants & Trees:
- Mushroom Observer.
- PlantWatch (Canada)
- Thousand Eyes Project (Nova Scotia).
- Toronto Lichen Count.
- Dandelion Watch (Canada).
- Project Budburst – a plant phenology monitoring project.
- Ocean Studies
- Port Townsend Marine Science Center’s Citizen Science Programs.
- Weather related Programs:
- IceWatch (Canada).
- Thousand Eyes Project (Nova Scotia).
- Environment Canada’s Severe Weather Watcher Program.
- Invasive Species Monitoring Programs:
- Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters Invading Species Watch Program.
- Washington Native Plant Society Invasive Species Project
- Watersheds, Water Quality
- Pacific Streamkeepers Program (British Columbia).
- By Region:
- Vermont Institute of Natural Science – list of citizen science programs.
- Thousand Eyes Project (Nova Scotia)
- Chicago Wilderness Habitat Project – various monitoring projects.
- Collections of Citizen Science programs on other blogs
- Marcia Bonta’s link page
