How can citizen and community science inform and support the
National Climate Assessment?
The National Climate Assessment is a significant periodic federal
effort to summarize the state of knowledge regarding climate
change, impacts, and adaptation in the United States. The
Independent Assessment Committee (IAC) on the National Climate
Assessment has been brought together to advise the government,
after the Trump Administration disbanded the Federal Advisory
Committee that normally fulfills this role. As part of its work,
the IAC is exploring the current and potential role of citizen
and community science in a sustained national climate assessment
effort.
In December, 2018, Executive Director Ryan Meyer presented
this work at the fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union.
At CitSci 2019,
Executive Director Ryan Meyer presented “How can citizen and
community science support the goals of a sustained National
Climate Assessment?” View the poster here to learn
more.
Creating a network of Climate Stewards in California
Our partners at the California
Naturalist Program, within the UC Division of Agriculture and
Natural Resources, have embarked on an ambitious new effort to
train climate stewards throughout California. Modeled after the
highly successful California Naturalist Program, the Climate
Stewards will include a citizen science component in its
curriculum, and we are excited to be supporting the development
of this initiative. Read more about the Climate Stewards
Initiative here.
Investigating the intersection of climate change, education, and
citizen and community science
This project, led by undergraduate intern Sara
Ludwick, culminated in an award-winning poster presentation at
the 2018 fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union. Click
here
to enlarge Sara’s poster, and read more about her experience
at the conference here.
Governments and communities around
the world are working to reduce their carbon footprints and
mitigate the effects of climate change, but in some communities,
climate action plans are stalling. A new report, “Evaluating
Knowledge to Support Climate Action,” prepared by the
Independent Advisory Committee for Applied Climate Assessment
(IAC) with contributions from our Executive Director, Ryan Meyer,
examines what it would take to develop a dynamic assessment
process that helps affected jurisdictions, communities, and
organizations establish pathways for climate action. Its
recommendations are an important input to ongoing climate
assessment and research in the federal government and elsewhere.
A role for community and citizen science
Bringing communities to the table and making sure they have the
resources they need to adapt to new climate conditions is
important, and community and citizen science play a critical
role. This report hits upon the urgent need and exciting
potential for diverse communities to participate actively in the
science that supports climate adaptation and resilience.
Participation through community and citizen science can address
longstanding issues of equity and access that have for so long
made science feel distant and irrelevant to many, even as the
impacts of climate change loom larger and larger. Additionally,
citizen and community science has the potential to close gaps in
data-poor areas, shedding light on previously undocumented
socioeconomic, ecological and health-related issues.
I practiced my poster presentation with my family the night
before my flight to Washington, D.C. The poster explored features
of community and citizen science (CCS) projects that had a
climate change focus. We were interested in showing how, within
the context of climate change, CCS has the potential to not only
generate usable data for climate science, but also to provide
meaningful learning experiences for participants, depending on
how these projects are designed and implemented. I thought it
would be a good idea to practice talking about this work with
people who had no idea what citizen science is, but their puzzled
looks made me feel even more nervous about going to AGU. I spent
that night fighting anxious thoughts and battling the infamous
“Imposter Syndrome.”
