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What is Citizen Science?
What is Citizen Science?
Citizen science is the collection or analysis of scientific data by members of the general public. It’s all about discovering wildlife, exploring habitats, and finding out more about the data you can collect to protect them.
Opportunities to gather data are available both digitally, from the comfort of your home, or out in the field. There’s something for everyone!
GOOD FOR PEOPLE
Taking part in an environmental survey is a great way to get outdoors, meet new people, develop new skills, and take meaningful action for nature. Time spent outdoors can benefit mental and physical health, allowing people to learn about wildlife and connect with the natural world.
GOOD FOR SCIENCE
More people means more data! Involving the public in research overcomes barriers such as limited funding, geographical range, and the number of scientists available to carry out field work.
GOOD FOR THE ENVIRONMENT
Data collected by citizen scientists allows us to discover more about the environment and what we need to do to protect it.
_Jamie_McDermaid-15.jpg "Three volunteers survey for seagrass in the mud at Tynninghame beach to contribute to the citizen science project \"Restoration Forth\"; it's a sunny day")
Typically, outdoor environmental citizen science projects investigate the change of species distributions over distance and time – useful when looking at population trends and monitoring the impact of threats, such as climate change.
Whatever your interest, there will be a way for you to record it. Most of these projects will only take a few minutes of your time, so why not try them out? You might just discover a hidden passion.
In this way we can all do our bit for nature and hopefully have a bit of fun whilst we’re at it.