Hi everyone. I hope this post is okay here.

As many people may know, Ireland's biodiversity is in a very bad state. One major part of this problem is a lack of data.

To solve this, I have been developing an idea for a gamified citizen science platform. It will leverage machine learning, gamified principles, GIS and collective citizen science to map species observations in Ireland. I am hopeful to connect with people that have expertise in either machine learning for image recognition and/or app development to progress this idea into an open-source platform. If you feel like you have relevant expertise, specifically machine learning or app development (iOS or Android) please get in touch!

I'm reaching out to gather insights on a new affordable plug-and-play spectroscopy module that my startup is developing. Learn more about it here: <agrsensors.com/spectre-mini>

We initially built the device for detecting crop diseases early with support from the U.S. National Science Foundation and National Institute of Standards. Since we started as citizen scientists, and designed this spectrometer as the solution we always wanted, we are eager to hear from anyone else who is interested in solving optical measurement and chemical fingerprinting problems.

What features stand out to you? What improvements would you suggest? And importantly, what value does this hold for you?

Spotted a Small Tortoiseshell Butterfly in the garden today and submitted the sighting to Garden Butterfly Survey https://gardenbutterflysurvey.org/

What are your favourite books relating to citizen science? Also open to podcasts, videos, articles, etc.

I’m generally attracted to the ethos of citizen science and am hoping to get a better sense of its history, infrastructure, and more.

Hello everyone!

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With the Great North American Solar Eclipse of April 8 fast approaching, we thought you might be interested in featuring the NASA SunSketcher project:

https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/skywatching/sketch-the-shape-of-the-sun-for-science-during-the-solar-eclipse/

SunSketcher aims to use the power of citizen science to map the shape of the Sun to unprecedented accuracy. A unique feature of the project is that it will use images taken with ordinary cellphones, using a free app that is available for both Apple and Android phones. Anyone who downloads the app and will be viewing the eclipse from the 100-mile-wide path of totality has the opportunity to contribute valuable data to a NASA science project. And it’s completely autonomous, so you don’t have to take valuable time away from enjoying your overall eclipse experience.

If you have any questions about SunSketcher, we’re here to help. You can also visit https://sunsketcher.org/ .

Know a high school student interested in astronomy and/or space sciences?

The International Association for Astronomical Studies (based out of Star Haven Observatory located in Strasburg, Colorado) has a few slots open for its on-site student research team.

Students not located in the Denver area or Eastern Colorado are also encouraged to submit their interest as the group will be expanding its remote student research team this fall.

Students will have the opportunity to conduct and participate in actual astronomy and space science research using astronomical and space sciences research equipment and processes. After the research projects are completed, they also get credit for their work as part of the research.

The IAAS, a 501(c)3 organization has a 40+ year track record of success in the student astronomy and space sciences research fields.

More information including a link to the student research team interest form is located on the group's Facebook page (facebook.com/IAASorg).

#STEMeducation #astronomy #youthempowerment #scienceeducation #spaceexploration

I am hoping to get a new (refurbished or second hand) phone soon. What are the best phones for citizen science?

Hello from Tasmania!

I often find myself in groves of the Tasmanian Redwoods: Pencil Pines: Athrotaxis cuppressoides that I suspect are clonal. This started a conversation with some friends about how one would be able to test for genetic identicality in a citizen science context for various plants. (With all appropriate permits, of course)

Does anybody have any ideas on how to most easily and inexpensively test that two genetic samples are clones? Have we reached the level of technology where there's a smartphone tool that can do this ?

thanks!

📷 It's a new year! That means new BOINC Census results! 📷

Check out what the community said about BOINC in 2023 📷 https://thesciencecommons.org/BOINC/Census/2023/

Welcome to the New Year everyone, this also means we have new BOINC Census results for the survey conducted in late 2023.

Feel free to comment on the results in this post or share your thoughts in the BOINC discord/telegram or wherever you connect with the network.

This week I found out about 2 citizen science projects relating to mammals.

Walrus from Space https://www.wwf.org.uk/learn/walrus-from-space

Living with Mammals https://livingwithmammals.ptes.org