Citizen Science

Citizen science entails sharing and summarizing observations made by amateur naturalists. Having many “eyes and ears” studying nature helps advance our understanding of species distributions and trends, supporting their conservation. For example, the best information available on long-term changes in bird populations comes from the Breeding Bird Survey, which is entirely based on contributions from amateur birders. Taking part in citizen science programs is also a great way to get out and experience nature.

New smartphone apps make it easy for everyone to participate and, consequently, there has been tremendous growth in the citizen science community over the past few years. On eBird alone, there have been over 80 million checklists submitted to date, recording more than one billion bird observations.

If you are new to citizen science, be sure to look through our Getting Started materials, below. Here you will find a general introduction to citizen science as well as tutorials for eBird and iNaturalist, the two largest projects. Once you’ve become oriented you can look for a project that aligns with your interests and get involved. We’ve organized the available projects into taxonomic groups — there is something here for everyone.

Getting Started

Bird Projects

Mammal Projects

Amphibian & Reptile Projects

Insect Projects

Plant & Fungi Projects

Biodiversity Projects

Aquatic Projects

Citizen Science News

Great Backyard Bird Count – Q & A Webinar

Learn tips for making birdwatching easier for people of all ages
February 15, 1:00-2:00 pm

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Winter Bug Count at the Edmonton Valley Zoo

Volunteer Opportunity
Nature Alberta & Edmonton Valley Zoo
Sat, Feb 11 from 1-3 PM

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Photo credit: Susan Elliott

Citizen Scientists Come to the Aid of the Tenacious Franklin’s Ground Squirrel

BY GILLIAN CHOW-FRASER AND RICHARD SCHNEIDER

In Alberta, the status of Franklin’s ground squirrel has still not been determined. The provincial government maintains that there is not enough information to say whether the population is stable or imperiled. In the spring of 2022, Nature Alberta initiated a citizen science project to help fill some of the data gaps. The results are presented here.

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Counting Winter Bugs with John Acorn

Recorded Presentation
Speaker: JOHN ACORN
Host: Nature Alberta

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Edmonton Christmas Bird Count Results and Changes

Recorded Presentation
Speaker: ANN CARTER & GEOFF HOLROYD
Host: Edmonton Nature Club

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