Enjoying Outdoors! - What is Community Science?

Kristie Ehrhardt • November 7, 2024

Do you love to be outside and have a keen eye for making observations? If so, you might be interested in participating in Community Science! Community Science, sometimes also called citizen science, crowd science, participatory science, or civic science is a program where the public contributes their observations, research and data to better the overall public knowledge of a location or region. Definitions and uses of Community Science vary between organizations or communities but generally it is community members volunteering their time to gather information and donate their findings to a general database for public use and contribution.

 

"Citizen Science" was first used in the mid 1990’s in the United States by ornithologist Rick Bonney and in the United Kingdom by British sociologist Alan Irwin. Bonney used the term to describe projects in which amateur scientists such as birdwatchers volunteered their personal data. Irwin used the term as “developing concepts of scientific citizenship which foregrounds the necessity of opening up science and science policy processes to the public.” Interestingly, neither Bonney nor Irwin was aware of the other's work and defined Citizen Science independently. In 2014, the term made it into the Oxford English Dictionary and is defined as “scientific work undertaken by members of the general public, often in collaboration with or under the direction of professional scientists and scientific institutions.” Citizen Science may play a role in a wide range of studies including natural resource conservation, biology, ecology, health studies, astronomy as well as communications, information and media studies.

 

There are many opportunities to participate in Community Science in our region, below are a few of the larger events that you may or may not be familiar with.

 

California Department of Fish and Wildlife Invasive Species Program

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) Invasive Species Program which recruits the assistance of outdoor enthusiasts and concerned community members to assist invasive species monitoring and management. Those involved conduct surveys, collect data and report their findings to CDFW. With the help of many sets of eyes and a new smartphone app, CDFW hopes to get a leg up on identifying and managing invasive species in California. Some of the invasive species at the top of their list range from mammals to invertebrates and include nutria, brown-headed cowbirds, water snakes, red-eared sliders, bullfrogs, carp, piranhas, quagga and zebra muscles, channeled apple snails and New Zealand mud snails among many other species. Click here if you’d like to learn more about the app and to learn more about the project visit here.

 

Bushy Lake

The Bushy Lake restoration project in Sacramento County is another example of Community Science at work. The project is an ecocultural restoration project and is located near Cal Expo on the Lower American River. The goals of the 86-acre project is to protect, enhance and restore sustainable habitats for northwestern pond turtles, California’s only native turtle, and to enhance the educational interpretation of resources in the Lower American River Parkway. And the turtles aren’t the only species benefiting from the project, there are 139 additional species that call Bushy Lake home as well. The project provides an opportunity for community service for students as well as habitat and species monitoring for private citizens. The data is collected under the Sacramento County Department of Regional Parks as part of the obligations and policies under the American River Parkway Plan. To learn more about the Bushy Lake project here.

 

The City Nature Challenge

The City Nature Challenge (CNC) began in 2016 as a competition between the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco and the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County in Los Angeles to see which city could document the most species observed during an eight-day period. The competition began as a fun and creative way to embrace and better understand urban biodiversity. During the first year over 1,000 people participated with over 20,000 observations being made. The result was outstanding with an approximate 1,600 species documented in each city with new occurrences for both locations.


The idea was too big to keep local and the following year the CNC went national and the next year international and species are now being cataloged across the globe! The CNC now an annual “bioblitz” where cities around the globe compete to see who can record the most species with the most people participating while working together toward a common goal of witnessing and sharing nature. The 2024 CNC resulted in just under 2.5 million observations with 65,682 species being observed by 83,528 participants. To see past results click here. Observations are recorded in iNaturalist and if your city isn’t registered to participate, you can still play along and record your sightings as an individual. To sign up for iNaturalist, visit https://www.inaturalist.org/.

 

The 2025 CNC will begin on April 25, 2025 at 12:00 am and run until April 28, 2025 11:59 pm. Any observations posted in iNaturalist in the Yolo, Sacramento, Sutter, Placer, Nevada, San Joaquin, El Dorado, Yuba and Amador Counties during that time will be counted toward the Sacramento Region’s total. 

 

Other well-known Community Science projects include the National Audubon Society’s Christmas Bird Count where community members document bird species and numbers annually around Christmas time and Purple Air, the largest real-time air quality database that collects air quality data using sensors on public and private property and reports the results via their website or app. Community Science creates good will in the overall community by engaging community members to notice and appreciate nature.

 

Keep an eye on our events page, Tuleyome is hosting a Bioblitz at the Woodland Regional Park Preserve on December 14, 2024. Join us so you can participate in Community Science and add your own observations to iNaturalist!


-Kristie Ehrhardt (kehrhardt@tuleyome.org)

Tuleyome Land Conservation Program Manager

RECENT ARTICLES

By Bryan Pride May 9, 2025
Across the country wildfires are increasingly more catastrophic; growing larger, spreading faster and burning longer than before. Nationwide, the total acres burned rose dramatically from 2.7 million in 2023 to nearly 9 million in 2024 . California is averaging more than 7,500 wildfires annually . Not including the recent Los Angeles fires, six of the top ten most destructive fires, three of the five deadliest fires, and all of the state's nine largest fires have occurred since 2017. It is unsustainable for both California and the country to continue burning at this magnitude. This leaves us with the question: "What can be done to solve the wildfire problem?" In response to this growing crisis, lawmakers are taking action. Congress is advancing different versions of the Fix Our Forests Act ( FOFA ) in the Senate and House of Representatives. How these bills progress and the opportunities to amend, change or improve these bills are constrained by the different processes in the House and the Senate. The House of Representatives The House of Representatives version of FOFA, (H.R. 471) , was introduced by Representative Bruce Westerman (R-AR) in January 2025 with 43 bipartisan cosponsors, including several from California. With a stated goal to expedite forest management activities under NEPA. H.R. 471, it significantly reflects Executive Order 14225, "Immediate Expansion of American Timber Production" (March 1, 2025). While the legislation takes some important steps, there are also significant concerns regarding rollbacks of environmental protections and judicial review. FOFA , H.R. 471, establishes an interagency Fireshed Center overseen by the Department of the Interior and U.S. Forest Service comprised of 15 agencies, administrations, departments and bureaus to gather data, provide guidance and work with states and tribes. It sets up a process to designate “fireshed management areas” and expands projects exempt from full reviews from 3,000 – 10,000 acres. The bill heavily favors logging as a form of fire management, but also embraces prescribed burns and prioritizes reforestation and restoration projects. H.R. 471 grants numerous “categorical exclusions”, exempting areas and projects from review under the National Environmental Policy Act, Endangered Species Act and National Historic Preservation Act. H.R. 471 also fast-tracks environmental review and consultation. At the same time, the Administration is significantly gutting personnel and expertise through DOGE and its budget. H.R. 471 alters the judicial process. H.R. 471 limits when a court can grant injunctive relief. What is injunctive relief? That is the ability of the court to say: “Stop doing what you are doing.” Or slow it down, or change it, while we figure this out. It is common. Removing it is unusual. H.R. 471 limits the court’s ability to order corrective actions, limits plaintiff’s ability to sue, limits the court’s ability to require additional data from an agency and allows the challenged activities to go forward while under review. H.R. 471 also decreases the statute of limitations (the time that someone has to sue) from 6 years to 120 days. Much concern was expressed over the expansion of categorical exclusions, the change in judicial review procedures and timelines and fast-tracking of proposals. However, there was no opportunity to address any of these issues. When a bill is introduced in the House of Representatives, much like in the Senate, it is assigned to a committee with subject matter expertise. Committees study bills, hold hearings and gather testimony from experts. Committees hold mark-up sessions to debate and make changes to the bill through amendments. When a House of Representatives Committee passes a bill, it sends the bill to the House Rules Committee. The House Rules committee determines the form of the bill, which amendments will be allowed, how long folks will have to speak, or not, and when the bill moves. The House Rules Committee is run by the party in power, by the majority party. The Rules Committee is heavily tilted to favor the majority party, giving it full control over the floor of the House or Representatives. The Rules Committee has nine members of the majority party, Republicans, and 4 members of the minority party, Democrats. There is no comparable Committee in the Senate. No committee hearings or mark-ups were held on H.R. 471. Only three amendments and only one hour of debate were allowed. In the House of Representatives, a simple majority vote is necessary for bill passage. In January 2025, the H.R. 471 passed the House of Representatives on a vote of 279-141 without a hearing or mark-up and with scant debate. In the Senate Now, attention has turned to the Senate, where Senators Curtis (R-UT), Hickenlooper (D-CO), Sheehy (R-MT) and Padilla’s (D-CA) version of FOFA , S. 1462 , introduced in April, is making its way through the Senate process. The bill’s stated goal is to improve forest management on BLM and USFS lands. Similar to the House of Representatives, when a bill is introduced in the Senate, it is assigned to a committee for study, hearings, expert testimony, a mark-up session and amendments. In fact, the Senate Agriculture Committee has already begun reviewing the legislation, holding a legislative hearing on S. March 6 . The next step will be a mark-up in committee, where we can expect to see robust debate. If the Committee decides to move forward with the bill, it sends it to the full Senate. If a committee does not send the bill to the Senate, the bill dies in committee. Once a bill is released from committee, the Majority Leader of the Senate is responsible for deciding when to send the legislation for a vote. There is no Rules Committee. At this stage of floor consideration and debate is when there is the most significant difference in the legislative process between the House and the Senate. During floor consideration, a senator or group of senators can exercise their right to unlimited debate through a filibuster, which can keep legislation off the floor indefinitely. Once a debate is closed through cloture, the Senate can move to a final vote on the bill, which requires a simple majority of 51 votes. A bill on the Senate floor requires only 51 votes to pass after a debate has ended, but it takes 60 votes to cut off debate through a process called "cloture." 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May 9, 2025
I first heard about Tuleyome when I saw an ad for its California Certified Naturalist Class. I was recently retired and looking for a way to meet others and learn more about our natural environment. I met so many motivated advocates and eager learners in the class, and some have become good friends. Tuleyome focuses on a part of California I didn't know well. After completing the course I began participating in Naturalist class field trips, K-12 school outings, events, and Silver Spur Ranch camera maintenance trips. I love to help with the Naturalist class because I know the difference it made in my life. I also like turning kids and adults on to our special corner of California and the work Tuleyome is doing to preserve it. I make small regular donations now as an extension of my support for the mission. Tuleyome’s focus on a part of Northern California that is often overlooked resonates with me. It has been championing the inland coastal range and watersheds for protection, education, and wise use for 20+ years. I also appreciate how Tuleyome works with divergent spheres of interest, inspiring collaboration instead of conflict. Those partnerships have paid off locally, with Yolo County park development and Putah and Cache Creek watershed education and volunteer events. That’s an amazing legacy!  I want Tuleyome to succeed in their mission and that means supporting stability in staff and organizational resources. I figure every little bit helps.
By Kristie Ehrhardt May 9, 2025
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