I compared datasets from iNaturalist, a participatory science service, with official butterfly surveys in national parks. I looked at how different species may be represented more or less, and how the species diversity varies between the datasets.

Data from participatory science projects may have great potential to help supplement surveys by professional researchers.

We asked students of the Summer Residential Governor's School at the University of Lynchburg to respond to a survey, which was created to gain insight about the climate resilience of various spaces. The survey involved going to one of five popular locations, counting the people there, noting the influences that brought one to choose the location, and documenting any heat-related ailments. We plan to contribute this information to a large project called ISeeChange so that we can encourage more people to become participatory scientists. 

My goal was to educate others about aphantasia and hyperphantasia—two extremes of how people experience mental imagery. Through my presentation and survey, I aimed to raise awareness about how differently people visualize, think, and imagine, and to show that there’s no single “normal” way to use your mind. I also wanted to encourage students to participate in citizen science by sharing their own experiences, contributing to research, and helping scientists better understand how the brain works. By recognizing these differences, we can promote empathy, self-awareness, and more inclusive approaches to learning and communication.

Recyclo is a program in which communities can gather under citizen science to collect trash and recycle. People can collect trash for points in the leaderboard to make it more engaging while also gameifying the recycling process. I made a form in which individuals filled out once they collected their trash and I verified their images by seeing what they uploaded. Each student makes an account, but there is a limit on the number of accounts, so I am going to try to attempt to expand Recyclo, not only region wide but user wide as well. Scan the QR code, make an account and check out the ranks page to upload trash you collected as well!!! Join the community. 

I organized a group of ten people to photograph and identify nature using iNaturalist. Together we identified seventy-six different species, and we all went over the data and how it would be used. This project was a great way to get people into nature and thinking about about the power of participatory. I cannot wait until I can bring this back to my hometown.