Citizen Science on the River

What a great opportunity! I would have loved this experience. 

As for citizen science, I recently heard of a bird sanctuary called "Home of the Humming Birds" located near the Magic Mountain ski resort. There is a gentleman that voluteers to feed and care for the hummingbirds at this location and I think that this would make a great project and learning experience for others. 

Additionally, The college of Southern Idaho has "Star Parties" where you can go and look at stars through their telescopes. I attended one of these a few years ago with a non-science person and they absolutely loved it! My friend later went back to the observatory for another visit. I am sure that there are similar clubs and enthusiasts that do something similar in the Treasure Valley. I know I enjoyed it and I think others would as well. 

It looks like that was a great experience!

As for other citizen science opportunities, I did some research and found a couple that look informative and fun:

Watershed Watch is an annual project that educates residents of the Treasure Valley about the health of the Boise River watershed. Teams of volunteer meet up with leaders at various locations and are trained on how to take a water sample and test it for various contaminants and invasive species. Participants register by the end of September and the "Watch" takes place in early October. I'll link to an article with more information. 

The American Kestrel Partnership is a citizen science opportunity you can participate in without leaving home. The Kestrel is a small falcon that is in decline. According to a Boise State Public Radio article by Samantha Wright, the population has declined about 40% in the last 45 years. Boise citizens, and I suppose people from all over the world, can help by watching a pair of Boise Kestrels on a webcam and reporting the behaviors they observe. Biologists intrepret the citizen-compiled data to try to figure out reasons for the population decline and determine which interventions would be appropriate. 

Sounds like an amazing experience, Steven.  I had the opportunity to visit the Intermountain Bird Observatory (IBO) site above Lucky Peak a few years ago for an evening of owl banding.  The event was open to the public (with an RSVP), late in the evening, on top of very tall mountain.  

We were taught how to lure, catch, and band saw whet owls.  It was an amazing experience and I learned a great deal. Not only that, but my appreciation for the IBO was ignited.  The IBO offers many opportunities to the public to become engaged participants in local science.  Birding, in general, can open a lot of doors for citizen scientists seeking employment.  There are day-long bird counts, the use E-bird tracking, and workshops/bandings being put out there for birders all the time.  

Intermountain Bird Observatory https://ibo.boisestate.edu/

The Eclipse Megamovie is another citizen scientist opportunity I wanted to share with everyone.  On August 21st, a total solar eclipse will cross Idaho.  Berkeley and Google are creating a film that features footage from across the U.S. during the eclipse.  The makers of the Megamovie are also taking footage from people who download their app and film the eclipse.  This is another great way to get involved.  I, however, will be choosing to watch the eclipse through nothing but my safety glasses.  

Bird banding with Heidi is excellent for children.  Both of my boys have observed and helped release birds.  This is a free educational opportunity that I highly recommend to all parents.

Another activity that you can do with your children is bird calling with the Cornell Ornithology site.  You select the type of bird you have observed.  Then you select "song" and play different bird songs.  In Stanley there are many song sparrows and yellow warblers.  We have had males from both species fly closer and even return calls that were played from our phones.  

I love this post and all of the comments so far! It is so exciting to see a growing list of things we can do to become involved as citizen scientists. After reading the post and comments, I did a little searching of my own. The internet can be an addicting trip down the rabbit hole and after lots of reading, I chose a couple activities that I thought might be interesting to middle school aged students. I thought about how immersed in technology students are these days and chose 2 activities they can do on their devices.

iSeeChange is an online platform for citizen scientists to document weather and climate change in their area. Their data is then combined with NASA weather and climate data to see the bigger picture of what is happening over time. There is even an app for iSeeChange.

Condor Watch gives citizen scientists an opportunity to view California Condors via webcam. The goal is to monitor the birds for symptoms of lead poisoning which has caused the population to be classified as critically endangered.

That is a great opportunity to get a very hands on learning activity.  I am putting that on the calendar for next week for me and the kids. An opporutinty that my kids love is along the greenbelt at the Idaho Fish Hatchery. They have the big outdoor ponds with the huge rainbows that my son wants to catch and then also some sturgeon to see swimming around. Then from there you can peek at diffeerent zones of the river and see what is living in them. It has lots of information to read about what you are seeing. It's a great stop as you are riding down the greenbelt. The link I included was something I found that looks fun. It's a free  and it says

"The Jim Hall Foothills Learning Center (FLC) is a place where visitors can explore, learn about, and connect with Boise's diverse natural landscapes. We serve over 10,000 students and community members annually, offering environmental education programs designed to ignite interest in natural resources, science, and Idaho's cultural and ecological heritage."

Good discussion question Steve, it prompted a decent list of good citizen science projects and other fun, science-related activities! After viewing photos from the day's bird banding, I'm totally ready to visit the IBO's Boise River site and band some songbirds! As a middle school teacher in Nampa, bringing some citizen science projects into my classroom is a goal for this upcoming year, and I really appreciate everyone's responses to Steve's post, lots of good ideas to get me started!