Citizen Science

Citizen science, also known as community or participatory science, offers volunteers opportunities to collect, analyze, and share data about the natural world, making it available for research projects conducted by professional scientific organizations and resource managers. This includes assisting on a variety of surveys, inventories, and studies where the data collected conform to established protocols and are submitted for research purposes to a recognized scientific organization (like eBird, iNaturalist, or NASA, for instance). Observation and collection of data must take place in Virginia to be counted for service hours in this category. To find out more about all the projects under this heading, go to the “Opportunities” tab in Better Impact and click on “Opportunities List.” Then click on the information icon next to each project.

iNaturalist (https://www.inaturalist.org/) is an international program that supports the scientific study of biodiversity by allowing volunteers to record, share, identify, and organize observations of the natural world. Record hours under “Surveys, Inventories, and Studies/iNaturalist” for collecting, uploading, and identifying observations made in Virginia.
To have your local observations pooled with those of other members, join the ARMN Observations project. Contact Steve Young frazmo@gmail.com for more information.

(Do not include work done for the City Nature Challenge here; instead use “Surveys, Inventories, and Studies/City Nature Challenge”).  

The City Nature Challenge helps scientists by enabling volunteer observers to discover and identify plants and wildlife in metropolitan areas world-wide. Observers use iNaturalist to record observations that document biodiversity in urban areas. ARMN regularly participates in the DC City Nature Challenge in late April. See https://citynaturechallengedc.org/ for current information.

Earn hours for planning and participating in data collection events and for identifying species in Virginia during the yearly CNC event. 

ARMN contact: Rosemary Jann rosemary.jann@gmail.com 

The Breeding Bird Survey is a long-term, large-scale, international avian monitoring program initiated in 1966 to track the status and trends of North American bird populations, sponsored by the USGS and Environment Canada. Each year during the height of the avian breeding season, June for most of the U.S. and Canada, participants skilled in avian identification collect bird population data along pre-established roadside survey routes. All work must be conducted in Virginia to be counted as service under this heading. For more information, see the project website: https://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/bbs/index.cfm  

ARMN contact: Phil Klingelhofer phil.klingelhofer@gmail.com
DWR contact: Sergio Harding sergio.harding@dwr.virginia.gov 

The Ecosystem Monitoring in the Potomac Gorge project is a multiyear monitoring plan to assess the results of restoration efforts in the Potomac Gorge. Following measurement protocols designed by the NPS and ARMN, volunteers will go to specific locations and measure vegetation in specific but randomized plots.  The surveys will be conducted over time and analysis will be completed to determine changes that result from restoration activities.   This activity will take place on the GW Memorial Parkway along the Potomac River.  The measurement locations will be downstream of Windy Run along the Potomac Heritage Trail. 

ARMN contact: Glen Tobin glenptobin@gmail.com  

The NASA Ozone Bioindicator Garden project addresses ozone as the key air pollutant in the Arlington area. It has detrimental impacts on people’s health but is also toxic to plants (and wildlife). The Ozone Monitoring Garden at Walter Reed Community Center will provide tangible evidence of how ozone affects plants, particularly native plants, and will educate citizens on ozone and its impacts. This garden will also be part of a NASA network of ozone bio-indicator gardens across the U.S., in conjunction with NASA’s TEMPO (Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring Pollution) mission. In addition to monitoring the physical effects of ozone pollution on selected plants, volunteer work may include planting, garden maintenance, weeding and watering, reporting, and public outreach. 

ARMN contacts: Barbara Hoffheins, bh.mito@gmail.com,  Jon Bell, jonbellmusic@gmail.com

Phenology monitoring enables the study of the timing of life-cycle phases in plants and animals. Changes in plant and animal phenology offer some of the most sensitive evidence of the effects of climate change. Trained participants will measure the timing and intensity of phenophases in selected plants and submit observational data to the USA National Phenology Network using their data collection tool, Nature’s Notebook. Sites include Central Library native plant garden, Marcey Park, and Potomac Overlook RP.

ARMN contact: Rosemary Jann armn.continuing.ed@gmail.com 

For Research and Data Compilation, ARMN members may volunteer to work with collected flora and fauna survey data to assist researchers by sorting and refining data, updating collections, and similar work. Programs below are currently active.

Notes from Nature: Digitizing Virginia’s Herbaria. A project for Virginia’s Master Naturalists to contribute to an online database of Virginia Flora.  Volunteers will examine high-resolution images of specimens from Virginia herbaria, read their labels, and transcribe the information onto a user-friendly online site. For more information see https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/md68135/notes-from-nature-southeastern-us-biodiversity  

Project contact: Professor Andrea Weeks aweeks3@gmu.edu  p: +1 703-993-3488  

Arlington Biotic Inventories Update. 1) Update the scientific names and place the all the collected data into the standard evolutionary style of recording organisms, both with scientific names and common. 2) Update our records by going through record-keeping apps like iNaturalist, filtered to just Arlington, and making sure we have records in the correct order for all the current species in Arlington. If you have questions about the project, contact Rosemary Jann, rosemary.jann@gmail.com 

Stream water monitoring can be conducted by volunteers after being trained, including biological monitoring and basic chemical measurements, in various locations throughout Arlington County, Fairfax County, and possibly the City of Alexandria.

ARMN Contact:  Stephanie Martin, Stephmartin60@aol.com, 703-841-3572

Arlington County Contact: Lily Whitesell: lwhitesell@arlingtonva.us, 703-228-3042

Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District contact: Dan Schwartz: dan.schwartz@fairfaxcounty.gov, 703-324-1422

Other Flora and Fauna Surveys and Studies include opportunities for volunteers to earn service hours for leading or providing assistance on ecological surveys and inventories in Virginia, including bird walks, butterfly surveys and similar activities, if the observations adhere to established protocols and are submitted for research purposes to a recognized research organization (for example, iNaturalist, eBird, or Frog Watch). May include early detection/rapid response (ED/RR) activities, frog and salamander watches/inventories, etc.

Include title of the survey or study in the description feedback field.

Current ongoing activities include the following:

Birding.  You can report time spent on birding activities as hours for ARMN citizen science service hours if the observations are made reliably and consistently and the results are submitted for research purposes to a recognized organization (for example eBird or Cornell Labs).  This would also include time spent on 1) national or regional events like Project Feeder Watch https://feederwatch.org/ , Backyard Bird Count https://www.birdcount.org/ , or the Christmas Bird Count), 2) organized bird walks, for example, on Northern Virginia Bird Club bird walks or Audubon Society of Northern Virginia bird walks. Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy https://loudounwildlife.org/ , Clifton Institute https://cliftoninstitute.org/, and Nature Forward https://natureforward.org/ also offer regular bird walks.  3) Personal birding may count, as long as the observation and reporting requirements are met.

Virginia Breeding Bird Atlas 2.  Volunteers collect and analyze data on bird species currently breeding in Virginia. For more information, see https://dwr.virginia.gov/wildlife/birds/virginia-breeding-bird-atlas/

Wildlife inventory surveys:

  1. General wildlife survey in Meadowood Special Recreation Management Area
  2. General wildlife survey in Occoquan Bay NWR

For more information, see https://www.audubonva.org/natural-resource-surveys 

Bug Lab. The National Park Service – George Wash Memorial Parkway (GWMP) runs the “Bug Lab” program in which volunteers help identify insect specimens.  Identify, sort, separate, and label different genus or species of insects as part of an on-going scientific taxonomic research project. Training & intro should be arranged with park biologist Brent Steury.

NPS contact Brent Steury Brent_Steury@nps.gov

ARMN contact: Eileen Miller, ehmiller5@gmail.com,

Frogwatch: help conserve amphibians by reporting data on the calls of local frogs and toads. 
https://frogwatch.fieldscope.org/

ARMN contact: Jan Siddle jansiddle@aol.com 

Other approved surveys and studies:

ARMN contact for other approved surveys and studies: Rosemary Jann rosemary.jann@gmail.com