Schoolyard Forest Citizen Science

Introduction

A schoolyard forest provides many new opportunities to collect data. Through community and citizen science projects, students can connect with the larger science community and participate in scientific research beyond the classroom. Students also meet key educational standards, learn to frame their work in both local and global contexts, and build their sense of agency in the science and environmental fields.

Citizen science projects vary in the degree of youth participation—from primarily collecting data to more extensive opportunities, such as accessing and analyzing public data sets, developing youth-driven inquiries, and presenting to audiences beyond the school community. Read more about Youth-Focused Community and Citizen Science and key practices to ensure that projects are meaningful.

When choosing a project, teachers will need to consider factors such as the phenomena available, best timing and season for data collection, the duration of data collection, the flexibility of a project’s timeline, group versus individual work possibilities, and resources needed. 

We have provided links to a few national and global community and citizen science projects below. For more regionally focused projects, teachers may wish to connect with local institutions such as universities, colleges, government agencies, museums, and other research institutions.

Resources

Budburst — Chicago Botanic Garden
This project collects data on first leafing, first flowering, and first fruiting to analyze phenology and the impacts of climate change. Data is being collected across the United States. Resources include PK-12 curricula.

eBird  — The Cornell Lab of Ornithology
This global project collects observations of birds year-round and makes its database available to the public. Resources include K-12 lessons.

Global Tree Banding — Smithsonian Environmental Research Center
In this global project, tree growth is measured using silver band dendrometers to better understand how tree growth responds to weather and climate.

Great Backyard Bird Count — The Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Audubon, and Birds Canada
This annual four-day February project focuses on identifying and counting wild birds to help scientists understand global bird populations. 

iNaturalist — California Academy of Sciences and National Geographic
This global project collects observations of all species to provide biodiversity data to scientists in many fields.

Nature’s Notebook — USA National Phenology Network
This national project tracks seasonal changes (phenology) in plants and animals to answer a range of scientific questions including those related to the impact of climate change. Resources include activities and curricula to help students collect and analyze data.

NestWatch — The Cornell Lab of Ornithology
This monitoring project gathers information about nesting birds to understand trends in different bird populations. Data is being collected across the United States.

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Schoolyard Forest System℠

The Schoolyard Forest System℠ Resource Library is a set of practical tools for schools and districts working to increase tree canopy on public school grounds to shade and protect PreK-12 students from extreme heat and rising temperatures due to climate change. Funding for the first phase of this initiative was provided by a grant administered by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) Urban and Community Forestry Program, and private philanthropy.