Description
Citizen science projects provide the opportunity for community member volunteers to monitor Earth. These projects have dramatically increased in the last decade and can provide great benefits to projects that combine Earth observations with ground-based information in the fields of climate change, sustainable development, ecosystem monitoring and characterization, drought, and land cover or land-use change.
This training, led by NASA's Applied Remote Sensing Training (ARSET) program, provides attendees an overview of citizen science efforts that use Earth observations, and how to engage with community members in a supportive and meaningful manner to achieve project goals. Attendees are also provided with case-study examples of successful citizen science projects, with some examples from NASA supported projects and activities.
We highlight projects such as NeMO-Net, a global coral reef classification with 2D and 3D images application combined with machine learning; Floating Forests, a Giant Kelp monitoring platform where participants can classify kelp in Landsat images; Snapshot Wisconsin, a project that uses images of wildlife from trail cameras to assist with habitat mapping; and Soundscapes to Landscapes, where bird diversity in California is monitored by identifying specific species through sound recordings.
We also highlight the Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Program, an international science and education program, and GLOBE Observer, a citizen science app that allows volunteers in GLOBE countries to take observations and contribute to the community.