All Together Now
There may be no better cause for optimism in the face of declining wildlife than the evolution of “citizen science.” While the expression itself is new and a little trendy, the concept is rooted in practices dating back to gigantic historical figures like Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin. As it was in their days, so it is today: passionate and engaged citizens offer their time, energy and hard work gathering data useful to the scientific community.
"Your Connection to Nature" has been a core message of the Canadian Wildlife Federation for many years. Connecting people to nature and wildlife is why we were established. We continue to work according to the principle that the best way to ensure a future for Canada’s wild species and spaces is to inspire and involve people from coast to coast to coast in conservation. Today, we are creating new opportunities for citizen involvement through initiatives such as inaturalist.ca (developed in partnership with the Royal Ontario Museum, Parks Canada and Natureserve Canada).
Never have so many been involved in this important movement: literally millions of people around the world are engaged. There are many reasons for this. There’s the technology — thanks to digital technologies and their ubiquity, virtually anyone can load the inaturalist app on their phone to photograph and gather and share information about wildlife — their locations, numbers, conditions and health. What’s more, thanks to a greater appreciation for the health benefits of time spent in nature, Canadians in record numbers want to be outside in nature.
Motivated by the disturbing news of the decline or loss of different species, people of all backgrounds across Canada are heading into nature with smartphones, binoculars and the desire and the capacity to help
In our feature article “Everybody Counts” on page 26, regular contributor Brian Banks dives deep into the subject, including into the movement’s origins in mass bird counts first organized more than 100 years ago. Just as it was then, one of the great advantages is the capacity to gather knowledge on a grand scale, the kind that scientists need to understand what is happening out in the real world. The difference is we call it “data” now and we have the capacity to capture, accumulate, share and analyze that information in ways impossible to conceive of not long ago. As you will see in our article, the challenges are enormous, but more importantly, the potential for citizen science to guide meaningful change is also enormous.
I encourage you to visit the Canadian Wildlife Federation website. There you will find advice, ideas and resources to help you become a citizen scientist.