"Being in touch with the natural world is crucial." David Attenborough

How Citizen Scientists Can Help Whales, Interconnected Species & Organisms

We as humans need activities that benefit whales instead of posing more threats to whales, their populations and other species. While citizens are not marine biologists, citizens can act as citizen scientists to track whale locations, injuries, strandings and deaths reporting to appropriate organizations listed below. While doing citizen science for whales, other species may also be discovered that need assistance or can be tracked for conservation. Spending time in nature, by being sustainable so as to not harm it, will give humans a greater appreciation and desire to protect nature and the many species and organisms on this planet.

While the definition of “citizen science” is not clear in relation to policy, the concept of citizen science has been gaining momentum over the last decade (Kullenberg & Kasperowski, 2016).

Citizens now have technology with satellites to navigate and use cameras, sensors and the ability to share information easily, including:

• identification of whale songs
• reporting litter
• invasion of species (Rise of the citizen scientist, 2015).

Citizen Science is mainly used in research for “biology, conservation and ecology” to collect and classify data and while publications were low in the past, the emergence of digital platforms has been increasing citizen science (Kullenberg & Kasperowski, 2016).

Citizen Science And Biodiversity

It is from our loss of nature appreciation that we have forgotten how much life on our planet is deeply gratifying when spending time in natural environments. When we enter nature and experience the spirituality of nature, we realize nature is not just there to be there, it is enlivened with its substance and grace allowing us to wander through it at our own pace, teaching us as we go how wondrous and beautiful it is. Humans spend so much time being captivated by the blue light of technology that it robs us of the experience of being human in the natural sense where we can use our senses to taste, touch, hear, smell and see the nature environment. We need to step away from the blue light to recharge, rejuvenate and reinvent our original selves to let our thoughts, creativity and health uplift us out of the stressful situations of life. The less time we spend in nature, the less we learn about nature to pass along to future generations. The loss of our natural ways of being have led to a crisis of biodiversity.

Creating proactive conservation policies, including support from the public to empower governments to act, can isolate humans from establishing personal connections with nature leading to the “extinction of experience”, which is one of the greatest causes of the biodiversity crisis (Schuttler et al, 2018).

Schuttler et al (2018) suggests this is further negatively intensified by a fostering of estrangement from nature, including urbanization and its lifestyle resulting in:

• loss of natural spaces
• fewer experiences with nature
• people spending more time indoors
• limited opportunities to interact with nature daily.

To reverse extinction of experience, people need to take the time to recognize the elements of nature to develop an appreciation of it, such as through nature based citizen science (Schuttler et al, 2018).

An increase of knowledge of nature can change behaviour to protect nature, including cleaning beaches while collecting data for citizen science (Schuttler et al, 2018).

According to Schuttler et al (2018), a development of environmental empathy, a deep concern for the ecosystem or species, includes a cognitive awareness and emotional connection with moral strengthening resulting in positive emotional and mental feeling, stemming from a sense of achievement from preserving and improving the environment, including local marine protected areas, and a strong:

• sense of belonging
• sense of place
• community building
• confidence
• positive conservation outcomes
• positive feedback for future conservation behaviors.

Citizen Science Supply Checklist

Check with your local organization for supplies they suggest you take with you. I have listed some organizations below for examples.

Supplies I take with me usually include:

1. Backpack
2. Phone (charged up prior) for pictures and video of finding from all angles and to find your GPS location to report in for your finding
3. Notebook and pencil (pens can dry out) to take notes, ie date, time, weather, finding, any visible signs of injury on finding, any interesting information
4. Measuring tape to provide size of finding
5. Pocketknife to be able to cut rope or string from wildlife
6. Appropriate clothing for season and area visiting
7. Layers of clothing for changing weather, ie windbreaker
8. Extra clothing to have in your vehicle, ie socks, shirt, pants, jacket
9. Hat, cap or head covering to avoid sun stroke
10. Sun glasses and/or goggles for wind
11. Water shoes or tall boots (sand gets in shorter boots)
12. Towel and dog drying cloth
13. Reusable water bottles with water or Vitamin Water (no sugar)
14. Snacks ie lunch, orange, apple, nuts, dog food and treats
15. Gloves to keep warm and pick up any trash found
16. Bag/s to pick up trash found in nature (ie 4Ocean are the ones I use)

Remember what you pack in to take back home with you. No trash of any kind should be left in nature, pick up what you see or can lift when you are there.

Travel with a partner especially in unknown areas and when taking your dog along know which areas are dog friendly and are on and off leash areas.

Stay safe!

Citizen Science For Interconnected Species & Organisms

The more time a citizen scientist spends in nature for one species, they will most often cross into the area of other species and can become a citizen scientist for other organizations too, some of which are listed below. This can increase human awareness, knowledge and gratitude toward natural environments.

Birds

1. Bird Studies Canada. This network helps track the habitats and populations of wild birds in Canada for conservation (Bird Studies Canada, n.d.).

2. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology. It is suggested the planet has lost “nearly 3 billion birds”. Help track birds on the ebird site (bce_admin_user., n.d.).

Coral Reef

1. Eyes of the Reef Hawai’i (EOR). A coral reef network for reporting corals, invasive species, seastars and disease of corals and fish (Eyes of the Reef., n.d.).

Seahorses

1. Project Seahorse (iSeahorse). Both a "website and smartphone app" that citizen scientists can use globally by sharing "wild seahorse sightings, helping to identify seahorse species, and advocating for new protections."

Sea Otters

1. The Marine Mammal Centre. As listed above (The Marine Mammal Centre, n.d.).