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Citizen Science Projects

You can do science too! Learn how you can make a difference by doing real science to help solve our planet’s most pressing problems.

Go Batty – Echo Meter Touch Bat Detector

Project: https://www.echometertouch.com/

The citizen science community has been blessed with yet another mobile application that serves all bat-lovers alike. Echo Meter Touch Bat Detector is a mobile application that allows users to listen to, record and identify bat species by analyzing their ultrasound calls. Though it might not allow them to check where Batman is or send out Bat-signals when in distress; it comes in pretty handy for those who research these weirdly sophisticated species that take the skies when everything goes dark.

The citizen science community can take advantage of two different versions of the application with the more expensive version offering an additional of control over sound and advanced settings. The application has Ultrasonic Modules that sense ultrasound signals, convert it to digital signals and then process the data to the mobile phone which can then be used for both analysis and storage purposes.

The Echo Meter Touch Bat Detector offers a range of functionalities for the citizen science community to exploit for various purposes including private and collaborative research. The application provides a real-time listening experience to bats using Wildlife Acoustic’s parented Real Time Expansion and it provides auto-tuning. Echolocations can be spotted, monitored and stored using the application and the various traces of bat echoes. The application’s automatic identification feature allows the citizen science community to determine the bat species by identifying the various bat calls. The application currently identifies several bat species across North America.

Citizen scientists can contribute to the scientific community by storing the recorded bat sounds as .wav files that allow sounds to be viewed. The application also allows users to add notes that can be used to provide additional information related to the sounds recorded. Citizen science projects that require location mapping along with sound recording can use the GPS functionality of the application to map their tracking data. This enables a complete map to be formed in the application that can be used to identify bat movements if required by the research project under consideration.

The application requires iOS v9.0 and above and is available for the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch.

Keeping Track of What Grows Where

Image credit: Grow and Tell

Project: http://www.growandtell.us/

Grow and tell is an exciting platform for gardeners to share what grows where, which crops turned out well, and which didn’t grow as planned. You can view what plants are growing around you, which plants grew in what zone, and what type of land is perfect for certain types of plants. It’s a complete citizen scientist’s project where both professional and hobbyist gardeners near you are sending in input. You can even download your own personal gardening journal which holds complete records of gardening stats near you, which can help you make the best decision.

The creators of the platforms hope that more and more people will join up and rate crops making the app useful for existing users. The app is available for free and can be downloaded for both iOS from the App Store and android from Google’s Play store. The app was fully funded by “eXtension Foundation” to promote innovation in the Cooperative Extension Service. To keep the app free, Extension will seek sponsorships to pay for updates, fixes and regular maintenance. Additionally, event advertising can also be purchased and targeted to app users locally, by state or nationally.

Supporting freshwater ecosystems through smartphones

Image Credit: EarthWatch/ FreshWater Watch

Project: https://freshwaterwatch.thewaterhub.org/

With FreshWater Watch app you are joining a worldwide citizen Science venture which examines the wellbeing of the world’s fresh water systems.

Fresh water is very important for supporting life. And freshwater eco-systems provide essential benefits for all living beings on the planet. However, this natural resource is very limited and needs to be regulated and preserved. As the population of the world grows, urban developmental, industrial progresses, and agricultural expansion intensifies the pressure on this resource.

To effectively deal with the world’s fresh water resources, it is important to enhance our understanding of how water quality fluctuates over landscapes and time. Shockingly, very little information is currently accessible. Such data is troublesome and tedious for researchers to accumulate, which is the place citizen scientists come in and lend a hand. With your assistance, FreshWater Watch can fill holes in our insights aroundthe globe.

You will join a system of more than 20 research projects that are being encouraged by Earthwatch with the help of the HSBC Water Program. FreshWater Watch offers a dedicated training program which educates you about fresh water issues, what can go wrong and how to examine irregularities in water bodies around you. The initiative is a joint venture of a number of research institutions, each of which is exploring specific issues around freshwater. Institutions can also devise their own bespoke project. The venture also engages teachers and pupils, often conducting workshops in geography, ecology, data gathering and scientific enquiry, with the goal of making everyone able to recognize, report anomalies and help devise strategies for water preservation.

Snap and save trees

Image Credit: TreeSnap

Project: https://treesnap.org/

TreeSnap is another citizen science project which aims to save trees of all sorts. The platform lets participants record the location and health of particular tree species via mobile app. Scientists can later use the collected information to locate candidates for genetic sequencing and breeding programs. 

The overall health of the tress across the planet has been in decline ever since the industrial era began which led to global warming and increased environmental pollution and plant diseases. Plants today are at a risk of being infected by a number of invasive diseases and pests, all of which could lead to complete wiping of forests and trees, something which is really dangerous for the survival of humanity. Scientists are working hard to determine what allows certain trees to survive, but they need to find healthy, resilient trees in the forest to study. This is where citizen scientists in the form of concerned foresters, landowners or even a simple trekker, hiker or nature explorer can help. Tag trees you find in your community, on your property, or out in the wild to help them understand forest health!

The initiative is a joint venture between the USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station, Forest Restoration Alliance and the Hemlock Restoration Initiative.

With your report automatically being geo-tagged, collection of data is made highly easy and accurate. The app has been made available to download for free on both App Store for iOS and Play Store on android. The app itself is fairly simple and easy to use. The intuitive user experience makes sure you complete your report quickly and without any hassle.

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Your host, Chandra Clarke

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