Print PageDuring its Prototype Year, the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON), had a unique opportunity to use an existing Citizen Science project and its protocols to serve as a testbed. The decision to use existing citizen science programs was a cost effective way to learn best practices, network with experts in the field, and prototype potential tools for engaging people in continental-scale ecology. NEON chose to work with Project BudBurst (budburst.org), a relatively new citizen science program that was well aligned with the goals and mission of NEON. Project BudBurst is a continental scale citizen science project focused on plant phenology, open to all, and data is freely available. NEON was interested in these questions: Can citizen science programs such as Project BudBurst provide the opportunity for interested laypersons to actively participate in scientific research in a meaningful way? Is the resultant data of sufficient quality to be useful in scientific study and analysis? Specifically, the Web based project sought to design and assess an education and outreach approach that supported data collection, entry, simple analysis, and community-led interpretation. Participants were asked to observe and record the timing of phenological events of wild and cultivated plant species found across the continent.
Results/Conclusions
During the prototype year (ended June 30, 2011), NEON was able to use the existing data set from previous campaigns to successfully develop enhanced tools for users to better visualize and analyze data. Working with partners at UCLA CENS, we were able to critically review the data collected via a mobile phone application. This application was particularly useful in data quality assurance and control. Our analysis of data and participant comments indicates that efforts like Project BudBurst can enhance learning in the ecological sciences through participation in continental scale research projects by focusing on local places. The data is proving useful to scientists interested in plant phenology and climate change. In conclusion, Project Budburst proved effective not only from an educational perspective, but because it also enables scientists to broaden the geographic and temporal scale of their observations. Review of the data submitted by participants suggests that extensive, Internet based citizen science programs are effective in education and outreach endeavors. These results suggest that a robust Citizen Science component of NEON can be effective at engaging general audiences in some of the science that is part of the NEON project.
