Community/Participatory Science

If you do not already do so, we encourage you to check out these community/participatory science programs: 

Caterpillars Count! is a citizen science project for measuring the seasonal variation, also known as phenology, and abundance of arthropods like caterpillars, beetles, and spiders found on the foliage of trees and shrubs.

Feeder Watch is a longstanding initiative of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology which runs from November - April. Participants choose a location to observe birds - your own bird feeder or another natural area - then enter your bird counts online, enabling you to contribute to a continental data set of bird distribution and abundance. 

Forest Park Forever: St. Louis’s beloved Forest Park has a variety of volunteer opportunities for native plant enthusiasts, including seasonal exotic species control to restore ecosystem’s function and structure within natural communities, as well as planting and mulching in the Nature Reserve areas in the Park.

iNaturalist is an app which can be useful in helping you to identify various flora and fauna. A joint initiative of the California Academy of Sciences and the National Geographic Society, this tool allows you to share your observations with trained scientists who can use data collected by community scientists like you. 

Project BudBurst is a community-focused, data-driven approach to plant conservation. 

National Geographic has assembled a good list of easily accessible projects.

Missouri Stream Team: Missouri has 110,000 miles of streams that provide recreation, drinking water and serenity for ourselves and our children, but they need your help. Stream Team has a busy calendar of litter pickups, tree planting, streambank stabilization, volunteer water quality monitoring and other activities. 

Bumblebee Atlas Missouri: run by the Xerces society, it involves netting, photographing and then releasing bumblebees.

Illinois Riverwatch: Monitor water quality and aquatic species around the state.

FrogWatch: This project has multiple ways you can help track frog populations around the region (MO only). 

Great Sunflower Project: plant a native sunflower and count how many insects visit it.

Monarch and Pollinators on Ornamental Plants: Collect data on monarch abundance and what pollinators visit non-native ornamental plants. These two projects are run through University of Illinois (IL only).