2026-03-12 Citizen Science: Everyone Can Be a Researcher
Citizen Science: Everyone Can Be a Researcher
Every winter morning, thousands of volunteers across the continent step outside with binoculars and checklists, counting the birds at their feeders and in nearby parks. Every spring, hikers photograph wildflowers and record when they bloom. Every summer, families test the water in their local streams and lakes. These are not trained scientists working in laboratories. They are neighbors, retirees, students, and families participating in one of the most powerful movements in modern research: citizen science. By contributing observations, measurements, and data from backyards, trails, and neighborhoods, ordinary people are generating datasets of extraordinary scientific value. At the Rissover Foundation, we champion citizen science as a way to democratize research, strengthen conservation outcomes, and build a public that is deeply engaged with the natural world and the health of their communities.
What Citizen Science Is and Why It Matters
Citizen science refers to the practice of engaging members of the public in scientific research, typically through data collection, observation, or analysis tasks that contribute to genuine scientific inquiries. The concept is not new. Amateur naturalists have contributed to scientific knowledge for centuries, from the botanists who cataloged plant species across colonial landscapes to the birdwatchers whose meticulous records first revealed patterns of population decline. What has changed is the scale, sophistication, and accessibility of citizen science in the modern era.
Today, citizen science projects span nearly every scientific discipline, from astronomy and archaeology to ecology, epidemiology, and climate science. The power of citizen science lies in its ability to mobilize vast numbers of observers across wide geographic areas, producing datasets that no single research team could replicate. Professional scientists may be limited to studying a handful of field sites during specific seasons, but a network of thousands of volunteers can monitor entire continents year-round.
Beyond the data, citizen science provides profound educational benefits. Participants develop scientific literacy, observational skills, and a deeper understanding of the ecosystems and communities in which they live. Research consistently shows that people who engage in citizen science become more environmentally aware, more supportive of conservation policies, and more connected to their local landscapes. The act of contributing to research fosters a sense of ownership and responsibility that transforms passive residents into active stewards.
Citizen science also addresses a growing need for inclusive research. Traditional scientific institutions have historically excluded many communities from participating in or benefiting from research. Citizen science projects, particularly those designed with equity in mind, create pathways for people of all backgrounds, ages, and education levels to contribute meaningfully to knowledge that affects their lives and environments.
Bird Counting and Wildlife Monitoring
Perhaps the most iconic form of citizen science is bird counting. Programs like the Christmas Bird Count, which has been running for over a century, and the Great Backyard Bird Count, which draws hundreds of thousands of participants each February, have produced some of the most valuable long-term ecological datasets in existence. These volunteer-generated records have documented shifts in bird ranges, declines in once-common species, and the spread of invasive species across continents.
eBird, a platform managed by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, has revolutionized avian citizen science by allowing birders to submit checklists from any location at any time. The platform has accumulated billions of observations, creating a real-time picture of bird distribution and abundance that informs conservation planning, land management decisions, and scientific publications. Researchers have used eBird data to model the effects of climate change on bird migration timing, identify critical stopover habitats, and track the spread of diseases like avian influenza.
Wildlife monitoring extends well beyond birds. Volunteers across North America participate in amphibian surveys, bat monitoring programs, butterfly counts, and mammal tracking projects. These efforts are especially critical for species that are difficult for professional researchers to study due to their nocturnal habits, cryptic behavior, or dispersed populations. Frog call surveys conducted by trained volunteers, for example, have provided essential data on amphibian population trends at a time when amphibians face unprecedented threats from habitat loss, disease, and climate change.
Marine citizen science engages divers, snorkelers, and beachgoers in monitoring coral reef health, tracking marine debris, recording whale and dolphin sightings, and documenting fish populations. These observations help fill enormous gaps in our understanding of ocean ecosystems, which remain far less studied than terrestrial environments despite covering more than seventy percent of the planet’s surface.
Water Quality Testing
Community-based water quality monitoring represents one of the most impactful applications of citizen science for both environmental conservation and public health. Volunteers equipped with simple testing kits measure parameters such as dissolved oxygen, pH, turbidity, temperature, nutrient levels, and the presence of harmful bacteria in local streams, rivers, lakes, and coastal waters.
These monitoring efforts serve multiple purposes. They provide baseline data against which changes can be measured over time. They detect pollution events that might otherwise go unnoticed until significant damage has occurred. They hold polluters and regulatory agencies accountable by providing independent verification of water quality conditions. And they build a community of informed advocates who understand the health of their local waterways and are motivated to protect them.
In many regions, volunteer water monitoring has led directly to policy action. Communities that documented declining water quality in their streams have successfully advocated for stronger pollution controls, improved stormwater management, and restoration of degraded riparian buffers. The data collected by citizen scientists has been cited in regulatory proceedings, used in environmental impact assessments, and incorporated into state and federal water quality databases.
Water quality monitoring also connects participants to the broader watershed in which they live. Volunteers learn how land use practices upstream affect water quality downstream, how stormwater runoff carries pollutants from roads and lawns into streams, and how healthy riparian vegetation filters sediment and nutrients before they reach waterways. This understanding often inspires participants to change their own behaviors and advocate for watershed-scale solutions to water quality challenges.
Air Quality Monitoring
Air quality is another frontier where citizen science is making significant contributions. Low-cost air quality sensors have become increasingly available and reliable, enabling community members to monitor particulate matter, ozone, nitrogen dioxide, and other pollutants in their neighborhoods. This hyperlocal monitoring reveals pollution patterns that traditional monitoring networks, which typically rely on a limited number of fixed stations, cannot capture.
Community air quality monitoring has been especially valuable in environmental justice communities, where residents have long reported health problems associated with proximity to industrial facilities, highways, and other pollution sources. By deploying networks of sensors, these communities have generated data that documents disproportionate pollution exposure and supports demands for regulatory action. In several cases, citizen-generated air quality data has prompted investigations by environmental agencies and led to enforcement actions against polluters.
Indoor air quality monitoring is another growing area of citizen science. Volunteers measure pollutants such as radon, carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds, and particulate matter in homes, schools, and workplaces. This data contributes to a better understanding of indoor environmental quality while helping participants identify and address potential health hazards in their own environments.
Smoke and wildfire monitoring by citizen scientists has become increasingly important as wildfire seasons grow longer and more intense. Volunteers report smoke conditions, measure particulate matter levels, and document the health effects of smoke exposure, contributing to a more complete picture of wildfire impacts on air quality and public health across affected regions.
Invasive Species Tracking
Invasive species represent one of the greatest threats to biodiversity worldwide, and citizen science plays a critical role in their detection and management. Early detection of invasive species is essential for effective control, yet professional monitoring programs cannot cover the vast landscapes where new invasions may occur. Citizen scientists fill this gap by reporting sightings of invasive plants, insects, and animals in their communities.
Smartphone applications have transformed invasive species reporting by enabling users to photograph suspected invasive organisms and submit georeferenced reports with a few taps. Expert reviewers verify identifications, and confirmed sightings are mapped in databases that inform management priorities. This rapid reporting system has enabled early detection of invasive species that might have spread widely before being noticed by professional land managers.
Community invasive species removal events combine citizen science with hands-on conservation action. Volunteers learn to identify target species, map their distribution, and participate in removal efforts that restore habitat for native plants and animals. These events build community investment in local natural areas while generating data on invasive species distribution and the effectiveness of management interventions.
Aquatic invasive species monitoring engages boaters, anglers, and shoreline residents in watching for organisms that threaten freshwater ecosystems. Volunteers inspect boats and equipment, report sightings of invasive mussels, fish, and aquatic plants, and help prevent the spread of invasive species between water bodies. This vigilance is critical because aquatic invasive species can cause catastrophic ecological and economic damage once established.
Citizen science also contributes to managing invasive species that affect agriculture and food systems. Volunteers monitoring crop pests, tracking the spread of plant diseases, and reporting new occurrences of agricultural invasive species provide early warning data that helps farmers and agricultural agencies respond before outbreaks become widespread. This monitoring is especially valuable in regions where agricultural extension services have limited capacity for field surveillance.
Plant Phenology and Climate Indicators
Phenology, the study of seasonal biological events, is an area where citizen science contributions are uniquely valuable. Volunteers record when plants leaf out, flower, and drop their leaves. They note when migratory birds arrive and depart. They track when butterflies emerge and when frogs begin calling. These observations, aggregated across years and regions, reveal how climate change is altering the timing of natural events.
Long-term phenological records maintained by citizen scientists have documented that spring is arriving earlier in many regions, that some plant species are flowering weeks ahead of their historical schedules, and that mismatches are developing between the timing of food availability and the needs of animals that depend on specific plants or insects. These findings have profound implications for agriculture, conservation, and our understanding of how ecosystems respond to changing climate conditions.
National phenology networks coordinate volunteer observers across entire countries, standardizing protocols and aggregating data into centralized databases that researchers can access for analysis. These networks encourage participants to monitor the same individual plants or populations year after year, building time series that become more valuable with each passing season.
Phenology observation is particularly well-suited to citizen science because it requires no specialized equipment, can be done in backyards and local parks, and connects participants to the rhythms of the natural world in their own communities. For many volunteers, tracking the seasonal progression of a favorite tree or garden plant becomes a deeply personal practice that enriches their relationship with the living world.
Community Health Research
Citizen science is increasingly contributing to public health research. Community-based health monitoring projects engage residents in collecting data on environmental health hazards, disease vectors, and health outcomes in their neighborhoods. These projects are particularly valuable in underserved communities where official health surveillance may be inadequate.
Mosquito monitoring programs train volunteers to identify mosquito breeding sites, collect specimens, and report sightings. This data helps public health agencies target vector control efforts and track the spread of mosquito-borne diseases. In an era of expanding ranges for disease-carrying mosquitoes driven by warming temperatures, community-based surveillance provides early warning capacity that can protect public health.
Tick surveillance projects engage hikers, hunters, and outdoor enthusiasts in collecting and submitting ticks for identification and disease testing. Volunteer-submitted tick data has revealed the geographic expansion of tick-borne diseases and identified previously unrecognized risk areas. This information helps public health agencies issue targeted warnings and allocate prevention resources more effectively.
Community noise monitoring, lead testing, and heat island mapping are additional examples of citizen science projects that address environmental determinants of health. By documenting conditions in their own neighborhoods, participants generate data that supports public health interventions while building community capacity for advocacy and problem-solving around environmental health challenges.
Data Quality and Scientific Rigor
A common concern about citizen science is data quality. Can observations made by untrained volunteers be trusted for scientific analysis? Decades of research and practice have demonstrated that citizen science data can be highly reliable when projects are carefully designed with appropriate training, standardized protocols, and quality assurance procedures.
Effective citizen science projects invest heavily in participant training. Online tutorials, field guides, workshops, and mentoring programs help volunteers develop the identification and observation skills needed for accurate data collection. Many projects include built-in quality checks such as expert review of submitted observations, automated data validation algorithms, and requirements for photographic documentation that allows independent verification.
Statistical methods have been developed specifically for analyzing citizen science data, accounting for variation in observer skill, effort, and spatial coverage. These methods enable researchers to extract reliable scientific conclusions from data that may contain more noise than data collected by professional scientists, while still leveraging the enormous sample sizes that citizen science provides.
Peer-reviewed studies have repeatedly demonstrated that citizen science data meets the standards required for scientific publication and policy application. Hundreds of scientific papers published each year rely on citizen science data, and regulatory agencies increasingly accept citizen-generated data in environmental assessments and enforcement actions.
Project design plays a crucial role in data quality. The most successful citizen science projects assign tasks that are well-matched to participant abilities, provide clear and simple protocols, offer immediate feedback that reinforces correct techniques, and build in redundancy so that multiple observers cover the same areas. These design principles ensure that the data collected is both scientifically valuable and personally rewarding for participants.
Technology Platforms and Tools
Technology has been a major driver of citizen science growth. Smartphone applications have made it possible for anyone with a phone to contribute observations from anywhere in the world. Platforms like iNaturalist combine image recognition technology with expert community verification, enabling users to photograph organisms, receive identification suggestions, and contribute research-grade observations to global biodiversity databases.
Geographic information systems and mapping tools allow citizen science data to be visualized spatially, revealing patterns of species distribution, pollution exposure, and environmental change that might not be apparent from individual observations. Interactive maps engage participants by showing how their contributions fit into the larger picture and motivate continued participation by demonstrating the collective impact of volunteer efforts.
Low-cost sensors and monitoring equipment have expanded the range of measurements citizen scientists can make. Air quality sensors, water testing kits, acoustic monitoring devices, and weather stations can be deployed by volunteers at a fraction of the cost of professional monitoring equipment. While these instruments may not match the precision of research-grade equipment, they provide data at spatial and temporal scales that would be prohibitively expensive to achieve with professional instrumentation alone.
Online platforms for data submission, management, and analysis streamline the workflow from observation to scientific insight. Cloud-based databases enable real-time data sharing, collaborative analysis, and open access to datasets that benefit the broader research community. These platforms also provide social features that connect participants with each other and with the scientists who use their data, building community and sustaining engagement over time.
Artificial intelligence and machine learning are increasingly being applied to citizen science data, automating identification tasks, detecting patterns in large datasets, and flagging observations that may require expert review. These technologies enhance both the efficiency and accuracy of citizen science while enabling new forms of analysis that would be impossible with manual methods alone.
Getting Involved: How Anyone Can Start
One of the most appealing aspects of citizen science is its accessibility. No advanced degree is required. No laboratory is needed. Many projects welcome participants with nothing more than a smartphone, a willingness to observe, and a commitment to following simple protocols.
For beginners, platforms like SciStarter provide searchable databases of active citizen science projects, filterable by topic, location, and time commitment. A person interested in birds can join eBird and start submitting checklists from their own backyard. Someone concerned about local water quality can connect with a regional monitoring program and learn to use basic testing equipment in an afternoon. A family looking for a weekend activity can participate in a bioblitz, a concentrated effort to document every species in a defined area during a set time period.
Schools and youth organizations are natural homes for citizen science activities. Teachers can integrate citizen science into science curricula, providing students with authentic research experiences that are far more engaging than textbook exercises. Youth groups, scout troops, and summer camps can adopt monitoring projects that combine outdoor recreation with meaningful data collection.
Retirees and older adults represent an enormous untapped resource for citizen science. Many retirees have extensive knowledge of local ecosystems gained over decades of observation, along with the time and dedication to maintain consistent monitoring programs. Programs that engage older adults in citizen science provide cognitive stimulation, social connection, and a sense of purpose that supports healthy aging.
Local libraries, nature centers, parks, and botanical gardens often host citizen science events and training sessions. These institutions serve as community hubs where new participants can learn skills, connect with experienced volunteers, and discover projects that match their interests and abilities.
The Path Forward
The future of citizen science is bright, with growing recognition from scientific institutions, funding agencies, and policymakers that public participation in research is not just valuable but essential. Federal agencies have adopted citizen science strategies, scientific journals have established standards for citizen science publications, and universities are creating dedicated citizen science programs and positions.
Expanding the diversity of citizen science participants remains a critical priority. While participation has grown enormously, citizen science communities still tend to skew toward older, more affluent, and less racially diverse populations. Intentional efforts to engage underrepresented communities, youth, and people with disabilities are essential for ensuring that citizen science reflects and serves all members of society.
Integration of citizen science data with professional monitoring networks will strengthen both systems. Citizen science can fill spatial and temporal gaps in official monitoring, while professional networks provide calibration standards and validation data that enhance the reliability of citizen-generated observations. Hybrid approaches that combine professional and volunteer monitoring represent the most efficient and effective path forward for environmental and health surveillance.
Education systems at all levels are beginning to incorporate citizen science into curricula, providing students with authentic research experiences while contributing to ongoing scientific investigations. This integration prepares future scientists, builds scientific literacy among all students, and generates data that advances knowledge while inspiring the next generation of environmental stewards.
Funding models for citizen science must evolve to support the long-term sustainability of programs that depend on consistent monitoring over years and decades. Short-term grant cycles often conflict with the need for continuous data collection, and innovative funding mechanisms that provide stable, long-term support are essential for realizing the full potential of citizen science contributions.
The Rissover Foundation is committed to supporting citizen science initiatives that empower communities to contribute to scientific research while building local knowledge, skills, and connections to the natural world. We believe that when people are given the tools and opportunity to investigate the world around them, they become not just data collectors but informed advocates for the health of their communities and ecosystems.
Citizen science reminds us that science is not the exclusive province of professionals in laboratories. It is a way of seeing, questioning, and understanding the world that belongs to everyone. When a child counts butterflies in a meadow, when a retiree monitors water quality in a beloved stream, when a family tracks the seasonal changes in their backyard, they are participating in the grand tradition of inquiry that drives human understanding forward. Every observation matters. Every participant counts. And together, the contributions of millions of citizen scientists are building a picture of our world that no single researcher could ever assemble alone.
Learn More
To learn more about citizen science and how to get involved, visit: