Citizen Scientists

Citizen scientists, like those in the Kezar Lake Watershed are using Vital Signs to tackle invasive species as a community.

Vital Signs is community-oriented, easy to organize, will expand awareness of aquatic invasives, and could result in early detection of potential problem species
Lucy LaCasse, KLWA

The Lovell Invasive Plant Prevention Committee (LIPPC) and Kezar Lake Watershed Association (KLWA) have teamed up to help protect their lakes and ponds from new introductions of invasive aquatic plants. Their Eyes on the Water effort includes "flooding the watershed" with species ID resources from Vital Signs and Maine DEP/ VLMP, and encouraging everyone to make observations regularly and publish them on the Vital Signs website.

Citizen scientists hold three primary roles in the Vital Signs community:

1. Online. They are species experts who check Vital Signs’ species observations online, and offer seasoned tips and tricks for identifying species and improving data quality.

2. Outside. They are busy looking for species in their local freshwater, coastal, or upland ecosystems, and contributing their observations to the Vital Signs database for scientists and students to use.

3. In classrooms. They are a welcome face, a knowledgeable brain, or a motivator in classrooms and on field trips, sharing their passion for science and guiding student learning.

Register or contact us if you are interested in joining our citizen scientist network.

OTHER CITIZEN SCIENTISTS IN THE COMMUNITY

Belgrade Lakes & Colby College

The Belgrade Regional Conservation Alliance (BRCA), Maine Congress of Lake Associations (COLA) and Colby College have teamed up to measure the impact of invasive species on local upland and freshwater habitats and to work together to protect those habitats. Check out their Field Mission, Mission: Belgrade Lakes


Morgan Pulsifer of Saco

Doing this research is a mini-escape for me. It allows me to completely immerse myself in the environment. I learned to pay attention to detail - amazing creatures are hiding in the seaweed!
Morgan Pulsifer, Saco

Morgan spent her summer poring over novels for her high school English class and looking for native and invasive species in her neighborhood, at the beach, and along the way to her next summertime destination. Morgan jumped right in and taught herself the ins and outs of the Vital Signs process, species identification, and macro photography with some truly impressive results.


Sarah Filliter of Yarmouth
Sarah first connected with Vital Signs through the Osher Life Long Learning Institute (OLLI). After a brief training for OLLI members at GMRI in February 2010, she joined a summer Teacher Institute to learn and do more.

In the fall, Sarah supported Falmouth Middle Schools' teacher team as students investigated Falmouth Town Landing for native and invasive species. Sarah proved to be an invaluable resource to teachers and students alike!