Center for Community & Citizen Science Blog
Reflections on Project Phoebe: Collaborating with community scientists to understand impacts of urbanization on a songbird species
Community Scientists Play an Essential Role in the Study of Urban Wildlife
Our world is becoming increasingly
urbanized—over half the world’s human population currently lives
in cities, and the percentage is expected to grow to 68% by 2050.
Cities are often home to fewer animal species than natural areas,
and the species that do live in cities face a variety of
challenges that may limit their survival and reproduction,
including exposure to chemical pollutants, new predators, and
high temperatures. Scientific study of how animals cope with city
life is critical to conserving species. By virtue of living
side-by-side with urban wildlife, community scientists have
uniquely valuable insights into how animals cope with city life,
and they are well-positioned to collect data on this topic.
Project Update: Caring for Clear Lake project closing reflections
Looking back at the last two years
With the Caring for Clear Lake
project coming to an end this July, the UC Davis team reflects on
collaborating with Tribes and the community in
co-developing environmental education materials that integrate
local participatory science projects. We share how the
community engagement process evolved
and guided the frameworks used for structuring the
materials.
Dispatch from Heidi Ballard
Where in the world is Heidi Ballard,
you might wonder? I’ve been extra privileged to be spending my
several months of sabbatical this spring learning and sharing
about how community and citizen science is institutionalized,
designed, implemented, and evaluated all over Europe…especially
in the United Kingdom, Austria, and Denmark where I’ve been based
for a few weeks or months each.
Meeting with Our Partners: Human Activities Monitoring in Natural Spaces
In March of this year, Ryan and Jadda traveled to Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties to meet with community partners whose work focuses on monitoring human activities in natural spaces but in different geographical contexts.
M.V. Eitzel appointed Associate Professional Researcher at UC Davis Feminist Research Institute
We are pleased and proud to announce that Dr. Melissa (M.V.) Eitzel has been appointed as an Associate Professional Researcher at the UC Davis Feminist Research Institute. This career step is a fitting reflection of Eitzel’s high quality academic scholarship, as well as her deep commitment to collaboration. Eitzel first joined the Center for Community and Citizen Science as a postdoctoral researcher, and has since worked with us on a variety of projects, including MPA Watch data analysis, and dam removal and watershed restoration.
Feature: Essential Tips for Collaborative Grant-Writing with Community Partners
Ryan Meyer, UC Davis Center for Community and Citizen Science, shares on Public Scholarship and Engagement to convey his advice and guidance on the particular challenges and struggles when writing grant proposals with partners outside of the university.
Learning about coyotes in San Francisco from their scat
Read about research from Citizen Science in Conservation Fellow, Tali Caspi.
In recent decades, humans and
animals have increasingly co-occurred in high densities in urban
areas. Although declines in biodiversity are associated with
urbanization, numerous species have adjusted to and thrive in
cities. The success of urban animals is largely attributed to the
expansion of their diet to include human-provided food, resulting
in frequent conflicts with people.
New Report: CCS in Oregon Marine Reserves
Community and citizen science (CCS) has played a role in marine reserve monitoring throughout the State of Oregon for more than a decade.
City Nature Challenge 2024 Recap
Another
City Nature Challenge is in the books! We love to see the
iNaturalist participation across the Sacramento Region and share
in the excitement of discovery. This year’s official results are:
7,218 observations
1,602 species
686 observers
Cultivating Youth and Community Resiliency: A Community Science Approach to Land Stewardship for Wildfire Mitigation in Maui, Hawaiʻi
Highlighting our Community and Citizen Science in Conservation Fellows
Project Overview
In August of last year, I submitted
a proposal to the Citizen Science in Conservation Fellowship
program. This collaborative project is titled “Cultivating Youth
and Community Resiliency: A Community Science Approach to Land
Stewardship for Wildfire Mitigation in Maui, Hawaiʻi”. Through
this project, we seek to address a global environmental and
social issue -wildfire- through a place-based, culturally
responsive, and culturally sustaining, curriculum.
Partners and Supporters
#iluvbugs City Nature Challenge BioBlitz
Saturday, April 27, 2024
8:00 PM – 10:00 PM
UCD Arboretum Wyatt Deck
Register here
Feature: Spinning Salmon in California WaterBlog
Peggy Harte, UC Davis Center for Community and Citizen Science, and Abigail Ward, UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences, team up in California WaterBlog to share about the collaboration between scientists and schools in the Spinning Salmon in the Classroom project.
Project Update: Training Presents Drafted Environmental Education to Support Clear Lake Stewardship
Inspiration and next steps
In March, the UC Davis Center for
Community and Citizen Science and Center for Regional
Change facilitated a two-day training in Lakeport
with educators and partners from across the region as
part of the Caring for
Clear Lake project. The training is a milestone for the
two-year project, approved by Blue Ribbon Committee for the
Rehabilitation of Clear Lake and funded by the California Natural
Resources Agency.
Grant from CALFIRE for participatory modeling and mapping to plan for fire resilience in Tuolumne County
April 2024 will mark the start of a four-year CALFIRE grant to the Center, on science synthesis and decision support for community fire resilience. MV Eitzel (Center Researcher) will lead the effort, with Ryan Meyer (Center Executive Director), Emily Schlickman (UC Davis Professor of Landscape Architecture & Environmental Design), and Craig Konklin (Tuolumne County Fire Safe Council).
Welcome Postdoctoral Scholar, Caroline Spurgin!
We’re excited to welcome Caroline Spurgin to the Center. Caroline is helping with data analysis for the Our Forests project. Read more from Caroline.
Fresh Faces
Welcoming Our New Interns
As we enter winter quarter, we are delighted to welcome both familiar faces and newcomers alike to the Center for Community and Citizen Science. This season always brings a buzz of excitement and anticipation and with the arrival of our new undergraduate interns, Elly Dai and Kelsey Farhit, we’re diving headfirst into another exciting chapter of collaboration and growth!
Spring Staff Sightings
Follow the Center's trainings, webinars, and presentations
Catch us if you can! Find our faculty, staff, and students at these events this spring.
Project Update: Connecting Classroom Content in Spinning Salmon Field Trips
“Bye, Spaghetti!” waved one high
schooler as a tiny Chinkook salmon, so named Spaghetti, swam out
of a plastic cup and into the murky Sacramento River.
Across the boat ramp at Riverbend Park in Oroville, students
said their farewells to the alevin in their own cups. This
was the last chance for students to get an up close of the fish
they spent raising in their classroom over the last 6 weeks.
FREE Training: Environmental Education for Clear Lake educators
Saturday, March 30, 2024
Saturday, March 30, 2024
8:30 AM – 4:00 PM
Lake County Office of Education (Kesey Room), 1152 S Main St,
Lakeport
Register here
OPTIONAL March 29, 2024 (field day)
10:00 AM – 2:00 PM
Rodman Preserve
FREE Workshop: Using Community Science Apps to Study and Support Nature Near You
February 24, 2024
Conservation in Your Pocket: Using
Community Science Apps to Study and Support Nature Near You
Saturday, February 24, 2024
10:00 AM – 11:45 AM
Effie Yeaw Nature Center
Register here
