We know that many of you may already be familiar with the concept of citizen science. However, as we move into a new year, here at Sierra Streams we wanted to take a moment to appreciate the benefits of citizen science and reiterate why it is so central to our work.
To begin with, the majority of our programs would not be possible without the participation of citizen scientists. Take our water quality monitoring program–between Deer Creek and the Bear River, we monitor 23 sites every month. Sierra Streams staff and AmeriCorps usually monitor two or three of these sites–which means volunteers cover the rest. We have a dedicated group of volunteers who show up every month to collect data that we use to prioritize restoration objectives. Without these citizen scientists, our water quality monitoring work would be essentially impossible, as it would take more time than we have for our staff to travel to each site for data collection.
Another benefit of citizen science is that it encourages collaboration from many parts of our community. When an outbreak of E.coli threatened Lake Wildwood, members of the community approached us to see if we could help monitor bacteria levels. Collaboration has led to ongoing monitoring and assessment of the lake to keep it safe for recreational use.
While not all scientific work is suitable for citizen science, at Sierra Streams we are able to incorporate citizen science into the majority of our studies, therefore increasing community participation in our work. And that engagement is the heart of why we love citizen science–by participating in our projects, people get many more opportunities to interact with the natural world than they would if science stayed behind closed doors. Citizen science forges stronger connections between people and their environment, which in turn increases environmental stewardship.
We hope you join us as we renew our commitment to citizen science for the new year!