Here's your chance to be a real scientist! Help researchers answer real science questions. The Academy is involved in several citizen science projects that rely on the field work of non-professionals. Collect actual specimens and scientific data to contribute to Academy research.
California Biodiversity
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Citizen Science at that Academy focuses on how California biodiversity has changed based on historic knowledge and the Academy’s specimen collections. We are looking for evidence of changing distribution patterns of terrestrial and marine organisms and the possible correlations to climate change, introduced species and/or habitat loss. For more information or to volunteer for a field day, email . Explore our current projects below to get involved! |
Citizen Science Biodiversity Projects
Biodiversity Survey on the Mt. Tamalpais Watershed
This is an on-going bio-blitz of the Marin Municipal Water Districtlands, in conjunction with the California Academy of Sciences. Add photos of the organisms you observe: plants, birds, insects, reptiles, mammals, anything! Here’s what our volunteers are finding:
Intertidal Biodiversity Survey at Pillar Point
Help the California Academy of Sciences document the biodiversity of Pillar Point Reef through large-scale bioblitzes, citizen science monitoring, and casual observation. Here’s what our volunteers arefinding:
San Francisco Biodiversity
Help us revisit historic collections at the California Academy of Sciences to see which populations persist in San Francisco. Each month we’ll post historic specimens from that month sometime in the past. Help us revisit them, and along the way document other plants and animals you’ve observed in our city! Here’s what our volunteers are finding:
Citizen Science Conference
In May 2012, the California Academy of Sciences held three days of meetings about citizen science and biodiversity research. The goal of these meetings was to discuss best practices of public participation in scientific research with other institutions, citizen science practitioners and participants, data managers, and biodiversity researchers. This was done not only to help inform the Academy’s new citizen science initiative on documenting California biodiversity, but also to help advance the field of citizen science as a whole through engaging discussions and presentations about working with volunteers, aligning research and conservation goals with participant needs, and the use of technology in a variety of ways to benefit projects that involve public participation in research.
The proceedings from the conference are available for download:
California Academy of Sciences citizen science conference proceedings.
Bay Area Ant Survey
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Citizen scientists can help determine the spread of the invasive Argentine ant while documenting the overall diversity of ants in the Bay Area. To participate, see California Bay Area Ants. |
Bay Area’s Most Wanted Spider
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Arachnologists at the Academy documented the distribution and spread of Zoropsis spinimana spiders. Native to the Mediterranean coastal countries and northern Africa, this spider migrated to Northern California. Although harmless to humans, it could be considered invasive if it competed with locals species. This spider was found in 33 cities in 7 different counties. |
Living Roof Project
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Citizen scientist volunteers assisted in monitoring the many plants, birds and arthropods that inhabit and utilize the unique ecosystem on the Academy's Living Roof. Collected data has been shared with researchers here at the Academy as well as at San Francisco State University. Identified were: 20 arthropod orders, 39 arthropod families, 45 bird species and more than 52 plant species. |
Want to find the citizen science project that's right for you? Browse this list to see a wide diversity of programs looking for volunteers. Some projects involve fieldwork, while others are entirely online. From astronomy to marine biology to environmental sciences, there's bound to be a project to interest you!
Animals (non-insect) | Astronomy | Biodiversity | Biotech | Birds | Documenting/Digitizing
Environmental/Weather Monitoring | Geology | Insects | Marine |Microbiology/Health | Plants
Animals (non-insect)
| Project Name | Research | Project Location | Website |
|---|---|---|---|
| Otter Spotters | River otters | San Francisco Bay Area | Otter Spotters |
| California Roadkill Observation Program | Roadkill observations | California | CA Roadkill Observations |
| FrogWatch USA | Frogs | United States | FrogWatch |
| North American Amphibian Monitoring Program | Frog and toad populations | United States | Amphibian Monitoring |
| Program Instant WILD | Identifiying animals in photos from camera traps | Online | Instant WILD |
Astronomy
| Project Name | Research | Project Location | Website |
|---|---|---|---|
| Galaxy Zoo | Classifying galaxies | Online | Galaxy Zoo |
| Milky Way Project | Sort and measure the Milky Way galaxy | Online | Milky Way Project |
| Moon Zoo | Describing the lunar surface | Online | Moon Zoo |
| PlanetHunters | Search for planets around other stars | Online | Planet Hunters |
| Stardust@home | Interstellar dust particles | Online | Stardust@home |
Biodiversity
| Project Name | Research | Project Location | Website |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bay Area Bio-Atlas | Documenting biodiversity in San Francisco Bay Area reserves | San Francisco Bay Area | Bay Area Bio-Atlas |
| What lives on Albany Hill and Cerrito Creek | Documenting the biota of Albany Hill and adjacent Cerrito Creek | San Francisco Bay Area | Five Creeks |
| iNaturalist | Organism observations | International | iNaturalist |
| Project Noah | Organism observations | International | Project Noah |
Biotech
| Project Name | Research | Project Location | Website |
|---|---|---|---|
| BioCurious | Hacker space for biotech | San Francisco Bay Area | BioCurious |
Birds
| Project Name | Research | Project Location | Website |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pacific Flyway Shorebird Survey | Shorebirds | San Francisco Bay Area | PRBO |
| Raptor monitoring | Raptors in the GGNRA | San Francisco Bay Area | GGRO |
| Celebrate Urban Birds | Urban bird ecology | North America | Urban Birds |
| NestWatch | Bird nesting/reproduction | North America | NestWatch |
| Great Backyard Bird Count | Bird distributions across N. America | North America | Backyard Bird Count |
| North American Breeding Bird Survey | Birds | North America | Breeding Bird Survey |
| PigeonWatch | Pigeons | North America | PigeonWatch |
| Project FeederWatch | Winter birds at bird feeders | North America | FeederWatch |
| Christmas Bird Count | Bird distributions across N. America | International | Christmas Bird Count |
| eBird | Birds | International | eBird |
| CamClickr | Sort and tag 8 million archived NestCam images | Online | CamClickr |
Dcoumenting/Digitizing
| Project Name | Research | Project Location | Website |
|---|---|---|---|
| FoundSF | Geotagging historical photos, contributing stories, editing articles | San Francisco Bay Area | FoundSF |
| Citizen Archivist Dashboard | Transcribing, tagging photos, contributing to articles | Online | Citizen Archivist |
| Old Weather | Digitize weather observations made by Royal Navy ships around the time of World War I | Online | Old Weather |
Environmental/Weather Monitoring
| Project Name | Research | Project Location | Website |
|---|---|---|---|
| Common Sense | Air quality monitoring | San Francisco Bay Area | Common Sense |
| Contra Costa Volunteer Creek Monitoring | Creek surveys | San Francisco Bay Area | CC Creek Monitoring |
| Bucket Brigade | Air quality monitoring | United States | Bucket Brigade |
| Community Collaborative Rain, Hail, and Snow Network (CoCoRaHS) | Measure and map precipitation | North America | CoCoRaHS |
| Citizen Weather Observer Program | Weather | International | Weather Observer |
| Gravestone Project | Acid rain | International | Gravestone Project |
| Snowtweets | Snow depths | International | Snowtweets |
| Sound Around You | Building a sound map of the world to investigate how sounds in our everyday environment make us feel | International | Sound Around You |
Geology
| Project Name | Research | Project Location | Website |
|---|---|---|---|
| Morphology Analysis Project for Participatory Exploration and Research (MAPPER) | DeepWorker sub photos of microbialites in Kelly and Pavilion Lake | Online | MAPPER |
| Quake-Catcher Network | Links existing networked laptops and desktops in hopes to form the worlds largest strong-motion seismic network | International | Quake-Catcher |
Insects
| Project Name | Research | Project Location | Website |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lost Ladybug Project | Ladybugs | United States | Lost Ladybug |
| School of Ants | Ants | United States | School of Ants |
| The Great Sunflower Project / The Backyard Bee Count | Pollinators | United States | Great Sunflower |
| Monarch Larva Monitoring Project | Monarchs | North America | Monarch Larva |
| AntWeb | Diversity and identification of ants | International | AntWeb |
Marine
| Project Name | Research | Project Location | Website |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beach Watch | Coastal/marine mammals, birds, beaches | San Francisco Bay Area | Beach Watch |
| California King Tides Initiative | Document the highest seasonal tides to help visualize the impact of rising waters on the California coast. | California | CA King Tides |
| Reef Check California | California rocky reefs | California | Reef Check |
| SERC Marine Invasions Citizen Science/ Plate Watch | Marine invasives: Asian Kelp, Chinese mitten crab, invasive tunicates | California | Marine Invasions |
| JellyWatch | Jellyfish sightings | International | JellyWatch |
| REEF | Fish, invertebrates, algae | International | REEF |
| DigitalFishers | Tagging video data of underwater features and organisms off the coast of Vancouver Island | Online | DigitalFishers |
| Whale.FM | Cataloging the calls made by pilot whales and killer whales | Online | Whale.FM |
Microbiology/Health
| Project Name | Research | Project Location | Website |
|---|---|---|---|
| Your Wildlife | Personal biota: wildlife on your body and in your home | International | Your Wildlife |
| EteRNA | Creating the first large-scale library of synthetic RNA designs | Online | EteRNA |
| EyeWire | Mapping the retinal connectome | Online | EyeWire |
| FoldIt | Protein folding | Online | FoldIt |
| PatientsLikeMe | Treatment and side effect information | Online | PatientsLikeMe |
| Personal Genome Project | Sharing genome sequence and many types of personal information with the research community and the general public | Online | Personal Genomes |
Plants
| Project Name | Research | Project Location | Website |
|---|---|---|---|
| Urban Forest Map | Build an inventory of San Francisco's urban forest | San Francisco Bay Area | Urban Forest Map |
| Bay Area Early Detection Network (BAEDN) | Early Detection and Rapid Response (EDRR) to infestations of invasive plants | San Francisco Bay Area | BAEDN |
| Calflora | California plant observations | California | Calflora |
| OakMapper | Sudden oak death | California | OakMapper |
| Redwood Watch | Redwood observations | California/Oregon | Redwood Watch |
| Project BudBurst | Plant phenophases | United States | BudBurst |
Naturalist Center |
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The Naturalist Center offers a wide range of resources and services to individuals interested in learning more about the natural world.
