Cities can help migrating birds on their way by planting more trees and turning lights off at night
Cities are danger zones for migrating birds, but there are ways to help feathered visitors pass through more safely
Jan. 15, 2021 • ~9 min
birds migration trees citizen-science parks migratory-birds sustainable-cities light-pollution pavement urban-trees ebird
How do archaeologists know where to dig?
Archaeologists used to dig primarily at sites that were easy to find thanks to obvious visual clues. But technology – and listening to local people – plays a much bigger role now.
Dec. 4, 2020 • ~10 min
architecture archaeology citizen-science maya lidar remote-sensing indigenous-knowledge curiosity belize archaeologists excavation archaeological-dig land-surveying traditional-indigenous-knowledge
Want to teach kids about nature? Insects can help
Insects are plentiful and inexpensive. Even when children aren't attending school in person, they can learn from the encounters they have with insects outside.
Oct. 29, 2020 • ~5 min
innovation biodiversity insects bees science-education citizen-science quick-reads k-12-education invertebrates moths butterflies spiders stem-education arthropods outdoor-education environmental-education pandemic-education
Four ways people stuck at home became armchair naturalists during lockdown
Citizen scientists have helped researchers track the changing environment during the pandemic.
June 17, 2020 • ~6 min
covid-19 coronavirus citizen-science air-pollution lockdown urban-wildlife spiders
How Jeremy the lonely snail showed that two lefts make a right
Rare left-coiled shells in garden snails turn out to be a developmental accident not an inherited trait.
June 3, 2020 • ~5 min
citizen-science snails left-handedness
Balloon releases have deadly consequences – we're helping citizen scientists map them
Releasing balloons at weddings and other celebrations is festive, until they break into pieces and become plastic pollution. A citizen science project is spotlighting the problem.
March 18, 2020 • ~8 min
data citizen-science wildlife gps plastic mapping litter microplastics great-lakes plastic-pollution
Spring is arriving earlier across the US, and that's not always good news
Climate change has advanced the arrival of spring by as much as several weeks in some parts of the US. This can mean major crop losses and disconnects between species that need each other to thrive.
March 4, 2020 • ~7 min
climate-change birds agriculture plants citizen-science winter spring pollinators seasonal-change phenology
It's OK to feed wild birds – here are some tips for doing it the right way
Millions of Americans feed wild birds, especially in winter and spring. Studies show that this can influence birds' health and behavior in surprising ways.
March 2, 2020 • ~8 min
biodiversity birds ecology citizen-science wildlife wildlife-conservation ornithology competition bird-feeding wildlife-biology
Online Music Lab studies questions of melody and humanity
Samuel Mehr has long been interested in questions of what music is, how music works, and why music exists. To help find the answers, he’s created the Music Lab, an online, citizen-science project aimed at understanding not just how the human mind interprets music, but why music is a virtually ubiquitous feature of human societies.
Sept. 12, 2019 • ~6 min
science-technology music psychology internet online faculty-of-arts-and-sciences fas harvard peter-reuell reuell citizen-science data-science-initiative mehr music-lab samuel-mehr tone-deaf tone-deafness world-music-quiz
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