Citizen Science Symposium May 12-13 at UMaine
ORONO – Scientists, educators and other interested professionals are invited to the 2011 Citizen Science Symposium at the University of Maine, May 12-13, a symposium designed to share information about environmental citizen science, where volunteers assist scientists with monitoring and data collection.
Paper, poster, panel presentations and field trips will provide members of environmental organizations, volunteer managers, science teachers and others an opportunity to share their citizen science or environmental volunteer experiences and highlight the types of volunteer research being conducted with an environment-monitoring focus.
The Citizen Science Symposium is a project of the Center for Research on Sustainable Forests and the School of Forest Resources at UMaine. The goals of the symposium are to advance the understanding of environmental citizen science in the United States and to encourage an atmosphere of improved communication and collaboration among citizen science practitioners.
Invited research presentations will focus on both the scientific research and human dimensions of citizen science research and projects, citizen science implementation, citizen science evaluation, and scientific analysis of scientific data. The two-day event will conclude with three field trips. Field trips include a vernal pool community-monitoring demonstration at the University Forests with Aram Calhoun, a wetland ecologist on the UMaine faculty; a “GET WET!” (Groundwater Education Through Water Evaluation and Testing) presentation to explain local environmental changes and public health promotion through safe drinking water, with John Peckenham, assistant director of the Sen. George J. Mitchell Center for Environmental and Watershed Research at UMaine, and doctoral student Teresa Thornton.
The symposium will be at the Wells Conference Center on the University of Maine campus. Continuing education credits will be available for educators. To pre-register and learn more about the 2011 Citizen Science Symposium, please visit https://sites.google.com/site/umainecitizensciencesymposium/ or contact Christine Paluga at christine.paluga@umit.maine.edu or 207-266-5451.
Contact: Christine Paluga, Symposium Coordinator, (207) 266-5451