Our Blog
Leatherback Watch Program Engages Californians in Ocean Conservation
**This blog entry orginally appeared on the website oceanspaces.org.**/p> California's first official Pacific Leatherback Conservation Day on October 15 came at the peak of the season for leatherbacks feeding on jellyfish along the state's coastline. As many as 300...
Research Update: Variety of Citizen Science on the Central Coast
**This blog entry orginally appeared on the website oceanspaces.org.**/p> We’ve finished the first stage of the California Citizen Science Initiative, which explores opportunities to engage citizen science in the monitoring of marine protected areas. To get started...
A Dive Like No Other, Thanks to New MPAs
**This blog entry orginally appeared on the website oceanspaces.org.**/p> This post was originally written for the Heal the Bay blog, and is re-posted here as a way to highlight an active citizen science program already engaging with marine protected areas. Please...
Myths of Citizen Science: More data is always useful
**This blog entry orginally appeared on the website oceanspaces.org.**/p> I can’t bear to go running without my smartphone because I’ve become so attached to the data I get from its various tracking features--distance, pace, elevation change, calories burned, etc....
Sorting Things Out: Typologies of Citizen Science
**This blog entry orginally appeared on the website oceanspaces.org.**/p> There are all sorts of citizen science programs, from a small group of intense volunteers in one small community to thousands of people snapping pictures of wildlife all over the world. Since...
Myths of Citizen Science: Volunteers are not experts
**This blog entry orginally appeared on the website oceanspaces.org.**/p> This article is the first in a new series called Myths of Citizen Science that will explore some of the common misperceptions about citizen science. Consider it like the Mythbusters of citizen...
How do you feel about the term ‘citizen science’?
**This blog entry orginally appeared on the website oceanspaces.org.**/p> Almost every article about non-practicing scientists participating in scientific research written recently begins with a review of what such a practice could be called: citizen science, public...
Welcome Amy: Lessons from North Carolina
**This blog entry orginally appeared on the website oceanspaces.org.**/p> We are happy to welcome Amy Freitag to the Ocean Science Trust! As a Science Integration Fellow, Amy will play an invaluable role in advancing our understanding of the potential role that...
New federal fishing regulations for California’s drift gillnet fleet
**This blog entry orginally appeared on the website oceanspaces.org.**/p> We had some good news for California's whales last week: new emergency measures were required in the drift gillnet fleet to prevent entanglement of sperm whales. The new federal emergency...
Why Wisconsin Supports a Network Of Citizen Scientists
**This blog entry orginally appeared on the website oceanspaces.org.**/p> Volunteers sample fish populations for the Milwaukee River Watershed Fish Passage Program. Photo credit: Ozaukee County Fish Passage Program.As we continue on this blog to explore questions...
Search & Deploy! Building trust through collaborative marine research
**This blog entry orginally appeared on the website oceanspaces.org.**/p> As we sail out of Moss Landing Harbor, there are no familiar sounds of sea lions or crashing waves. The early morning fog seems to have muted even the seabirds. The swells are small today,...
Balancing Goals: Why and when should citizen science link with decision makers?
**This blog entry orginally appeared on the website oceanspaces.org.**/p> A few weeks ago I made a mid-afternoon public transport trek from clear sunny Oakland across the Bay to the California Academy of Sciences, shrouded as usual in that busy fog that’s constantly...