Though you may not have heard of it before, “Citizen Science” isn’t new.
In fact, our founding fathers were known to dabble – George, Thomas, and Ben conscientiously recorded weather observations. Today, there are still weather data collectors, and bird counters and lake measurers and butterfly taggers.
The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) may list the benefits of this very egalitarian enterprise as the collection of data that would otherwise be unobtainable, the leveraging of limited resources and the building of relationships. But really, it’s about lifelong learning, that empowering, voluntary and very personal desire to stay connected to the world while broadening our understanding of it.
