Re-connecting students and the public to nature: Tools for citizen science fieldwork and analysis

Background/Question/Methods

Since 2009, National Geographic Education has engaged in a program of research and development with the goal of creating a technology platform to support inquiry learning through citizen science.  This initiative recognizes the opportunity that citizen science fieldwork offers to re-connect young people with nature, in particular, with the natural cycles that young people do not have the opportunity to experience in the modern, built environment.  We also seek to provide young people with opportunities to develop and apply data visualization and analysis skills that are central to the practice of modern science in ecology and biogeography.  

The conjecture behind this R&D program is that providing learners with a motivation to attend to patterns in nature and with tools that allow them to analyze and share what they are learning will enable students to develop an understanding of fundamental patterns in nature and cultivate a long-term interest. 

Results/Conclusions

The focus of this R&D program is a web-based citizen science platform called National Geographic FieldScope.  The heart of FieldScope is a web-based geographic information system (GIS) that allows participants in citizen science projects to upload their data through web forms, create maps and other visualizations of the community’s data, and use special-purpose analytical tools. Now in its second version, with a third scheduled for release in Fall 2013, FieldScope has a user-interface designed specifically for users with no previous experience with field science or GIS. 

FieldScope is currently in use by two citizen ecology projects with a nationwide scope: Project BudBurst, a study of plant phenology, and FrogWatch USA, an inventory of frog species distribution and population trends.  It is also being used for watershed-wide water quality studies in the Chesapeake, Yukon, and Elwha River watersheds.  All of these projects have a combination of scientific and educational goals, which have led them to adopt FieldScope as their platform.  Studies are currently underway of participant experiences and outcomes, but the adoption and use of FieldScope indicates that it is positioned to have the desired impact of re-connecting young people with nature.