5 Reflections

Figure 9 Identifying moths

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A picture of two moths on a cluster of leaves. The larger moth has green colouring of different shades on its wings. The second moth is smaller and dark brown in colour.

Figure 9 Identifying moths

The term citizen science describes an activity that has been going on since the nineteenth century, although the use of that description is a much more recent innovation. Through studying this course you have encountered a number of examples of existing projects and by now you should be able to appreciate the wide range that they cover. Some projects involve simple observation, with little background knowledge required, while others need a certain amount of skill, such as the light-trapping project along the Colorado River (Week 4, Section 3.3). All of the projects offer stimulating ways to get involved with the study of the natural world. And, as there are rapidly increasing numbers of citizen science projects, so there are plenty of opportunities to get involved (Figure 10).

Over the previous eight weeks, you have learned about citizen science under three broad headings:

• the scope of citizen science projects
• the development of skills required for the identification and use of online resources
• the contribution of projects to assessing biodiversity and the state of the planet.

Figure 10 Citizen scientists doing a stream survey

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Two citizen scientists undertaking a stream survey, observing species in a small glass tray.

Figure 10 Citizen scientists doing a stream survey