Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
1800s by President Thomas Jef erson, himself an accomplished citizen scien-
tist, to learn about the western United States.
If you feel like carrying on the proud tradition pioneered by the likes of
Lewis and Clark, you have many options. The Public Library of Science's
blog CitizenSci includes a searchable database of more than i ve hundred
projects just waiting for your assistance. Your help is needed to monitor ev-
erything from the squirrels, bats, and bees in your backyard to the micro-
scopic life within your house. You could join a long-term project, helping
assess the breeding success of powerful owls in Australia or the distribution
and conservation needs of British birds, or spend as little as i fteen minutes
helping count butterl ies across the United Kingdom for the Big Count. If you
have a day to spare during the holidays, you could join other amateur bird
watchers on an Audubon Society Christmas Bird Count. These holiday
counts, which were started more than a century ago, are held in most North
American cities, and even some Central American ones. Being a citizen scien-
tist is good for your brain and your ecosystem. The knowledge you gain in-
forms science and policy, but more important, you will gain wisdom that can
help guide your actions.
It is not easy to make the sacrii ces that are required of us so that Earth is
more able to support the other species that call the planet home. I fear that
without a strong connection to nature, people will not even consider making
sacrii ces. Connecting with nature in the city may give future generations the
strength to redei ne progress to include measures of ecological and social
quality in addition to the economic ones so relied upon today. A society better
connected with its ecology might demand quarterly accountings of environ-
mental indicators in addition to market indicators. They might push their
