Get outside, learn about nature and add to our knowledge of the world as a citizen scientist.
We all learn more about the world through careful observations. And your observations can help scientists learn more about natural history in your region and how climate change is affecting plants, animals and ecological processes. Take part in a citizen science program to help us all understand the world around us.
Explore some of the citizen science programs listed below. There’s something for everyone– whatever your interest, ability or time frame.
A few things to keep in mind when doing citizen science:
- data accuracy—measure carefully and follow the protocols of the monitoring program. There are lots of opportunities to be creative with your observations of nature, but this isn’t one of them.
- longevity of your commitment– some programs, like PING, are perfect for one-time or occasional commitments; other programs are best if you can commit for weeks, months or even years. Many programs require a moderate commitment of time.
- safety, of course– practice good wilderness skills, even in urban wilderness. Check with your monitoring program for any specific safety measures.
Ideally, monitoring programs can use comparable methods to make data comparable across the country build a bigger, more robust, dataset that can answer more questions about larger trends.
National and Chicago Wilderness region citizen science projects
Many citizen science monitoring programs are national or international; programs in green are specific to the Chicago Wilderness or midwest region.
weather / climate / meteorological monitoring
PING / Precipitation Identification Near the Ground
CoCoRaHS / Community Collaborative Rain Hail and Snow Network
Weather Underground PWS Network / Personal Weather System
more resources, from NASA, for citizen scientists interested in the night sky
plant monitoring
wildlife monitoring
frogs & toads
Calling Frog Survey (toads, too!)
North American Amphibian Monitoring Program
mammals
butterflies & moths
Butterflies and Moths of North America
Illinois Butterfly Monitoring Program
Monarch Larva Monitoring Project
more monarch monitoring programs, listed by the Monarch Joint Venture
North American Butterfly Association Butterfly Counts
dragonflies
bees
birds
Some of the best known citizen science programs focus on birds. Additional programs take place periodically; get in touch with a local bird group to find out more.
Bird Conservation Network Survey
Illinois Beach State Park Hawk Watch
MOON / Monitoring of Owls and Nightjars in Illinois
for naturalists interested in collecting a variety of data
The Great Sunflower Project — for monitoring pollinators
Zooniverse — a clearinghouse of many different citizen science projects
monitoring ecological conditions
Chicago River Wildlife Monitors
Illinois Volunteer Lake Monitoring Program
and more
Did You Feel It? — where earthquakes are felt around the world
This list is not exhaustive. Some conservation areas or organizations run place-based monitoring programs with volunteers. Check with local groups to find more opportunities.
last updated 4/1/18