Citizen Science

Citizen Science book cover — Citizen SCienCe Kristin Fontichiaro data geek

Citizen Science — page 1 — chaP tEr 1 Why Citizen Science Is Needed The world is always changing So are the plants animals weather water and land of our planet Figuring out why things change is important for lots of people from farmers and sailors to professors and researchers Imagine these three problems in nature Problem 1 A scientist at a local university wants to know on what date crocus flowers bloom all over North America Many people say that when crocuses bloom it’s a sign that spring has really arrived The scientist would like to know if this is true or just a saying She and her small team could drive around every town in the United States looking for crocuses This would take years Because the crocus season is so short she could only collect 4 21st century skills library

Citizen Science — page 2 — While it might be fun to drive across the country looking for crocuses in bloom it would also be extremely expensive and time-consuming a little data or information each year It would also require a lot of money It costs a lot to travel across the country Maybe after a career of looking she would have a better sense of when and where crocuses bloom Isn’t there a way to get data about crocus blooms faster and at lower cost Problem 2 Bees are really important for agriculture They carry pollen from flower to flower This allows the plants to reproduce But the bee population has been way down for the past few years A farmer wants to know if planting more 5 Data Geek

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