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Citizen Science

The goal of citizen science at Yale is to train students, faculty and staff to survey and record biodiversity on campus. Participants gain bird and plant identification skills and develop a better understanding of urban ecology in ‘ordinary’ spaces while assisting scientists in gathering large, continuous datasets. Data collected by citizen scientists will be compared with climate and weather data to understand trends pertaining to migratory bird patterns and plant phenology. Such data may be used to inform land-use planning in the future.

The Yale Office of Sustainability has partnered with the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History to create this innovative new program. The pilot phase introduced potential citizen scientists to bird species on the Yale campus; throughout the spring semester of 2012, 43 different bird species were identified on campus over the course of four walks.

Upcoming Activities 2013

January 23, 12-1: Bird Walk on Science Hill (snow date January 25)
January 29 & 30, 12-12:30: YuBio Database Citizen Science Tutorial, Peabody Auditorium
February 12, 12-1: Tree walk, Peabody Museum to Old Campus (rain date February 15)
April 1: Bird walk, location TBA (rain date April 3)
April 23: Bird/Plant Walk, location TBA (rain date April 24)
 

Frequently Asked Questions

Resources

Develop your bird identification skills by reviewing this list of commonly found species at Yale, and then visiting the Birds of Connecticut exhibit at the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History to test your skills.

Use the YUBio data entry portal to record bird and plant sitings from around the Yale campus.
 

2012 Pilot Project

During the first year of the program, there were two primary components: citizen science training and expert –led bird walks.  Future sessions will incorporate more plant identification, phenology, and will challenge participants to consider why certain plants are selected, and how they contribute to habitat and wildlife food sources.
 

Bird Walk Locations

The blue circles on this map show where citizen scientists observed bird species.  View a list of all species observed and  species observed on each expert-led bird walk.