COASST is a citizen science project of the University of Washington in partnership with state, tribal and federal agencies, environmental organizations, and community groups. COASST believes citizens of coastal communities are essential scientific partners in monitoring marine ecosystem health. By collaborating with citizens, natural resource management agencies and environmental organizations, COASST works to translate long-term monitoring into effective marine conservation solutions.
This is the opening talk of the session titled "Impacts of Citizen Science," delivered on day two of the Citizen Science Toolkit Conference at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in Ithaca, New York on June 20-23, 2007. Stephen Baillie, Director of Populations Research at the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), shares examples of how research and monitoring undertaken by the BTO, based largely on volunteer surveys, has had an impact on conservation and environment policy in the U.K. Specifically, Baillie discusses a project related to the conservation of farmland birds and work on Avian Influenza.
The Conservation Trust of Puerto Rico, Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, the Interdisciplinary Center for Coastal Studies, New York Botanical Garden, Puerto Rico Youth at Risk, Boy Scouts, and others implemented a citizen science program for age 12 and older. This project targeted local residents, visitors to Hacienda La Esperanza Reserve, and members of community environmental projects on topics including archeology and human impacts on local ecosystems; conservation and restoration of wetlands; and shoreline and costal processes.
The CMN helps communities in British Columbia and Canada map sensitive habitats and species distribution. Information is integrated from many sources to assist landuse planning and is freely available in over fifty user friendly atlases. The atlases have links to local and remote databases, WMS sources and geo-referenced video. The CMN supports Sensitive Habitat Inventory and Mapping (SHIM) projects and provides customized data entry, digitizing and other tools. By providing accurate and up to date information, the CMN and its many partners will help plan sustainable communities.
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Rob Knight
resourceresearchProfessional Development, Conferences, and Networks
This set of panel presentations and group discussion were part of the session titled "Impacts of Citizen Science," delivered on day two of the Citizen Science Toolkit Conference at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in Ithaca, New York on June 20-23, 2007. The panel presentations provide a wide spectrum of examples of the impact of citizen science in a range of disciplines, projects, and settings.