Citizen Scientists

User Group: 
Citizen Scientists

Citizen scientists, like Morgan Pulsifer of Saco, are essential to the Vital Signs community.

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.

Unlike professional scientists, many citizen scientists do not have formal scientific training. They often have careers in areas other than science. Instead they are volunteers who follow their passions and generously share their time with the Vital Signs community to steward a place they love, mentor the next generation of thoughtful and participatory citizens, or connect with others who share their interests.

Citizen scientists hold three primary roles in our 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.

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