Outdoor Adventure Citizen Science Project Links

As I promised, after my recent conversation with Briana, U of O. Outdoor program, here are a few links to interesting Outdoor Adventure type of Citizen Science web sites that contain lots of example projects. As time permits I will add more specific projects. Readers are welcome to suggest interesting projects too. 

 

YouTube video / Water quality monitoring on the Boise River

I believe that many common adventure projects initiated at outdoor programs in the past contained elements of citizen science and it is probable that many former participants continue to engage in some form of   community involvement &/or citizen science in their normal lives.  It would be interesting to start a collaborative map and invite people to contribute to it via the U. of O. Outdoor Program outreach efforts.  I can imagine that some of the other Outdoor Programs, especially in the West would be interested in this idea as well.

One Citizen Science project I mentioned that I have been in communication with is the "Adventurers and Scientists for Conservation" (ASC)  project.  I have talked to them about the Common Adventure philosophy and how college Outdoor Programs could participate.

http://www.adventureandscience.org/about-us.html

Here is a link to the ASCSport Topics, including biking and map to view expeditions and a link to "Build Your Own Project"

http://www.adventureandscience.org/data-requests.html

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Scistarter - Science we can do together

Includes a list of more than a dozen activities and more than 20 topics and many specific projects under each.

Scistarter.com

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A couple of projects I mentioned in our meeting yesterday are:

USA National Phenology Network

http://www.usanpn.org

Project Budburst

http://neoninc.org/budburst/

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The Cornell Lab of Ornithology Citizen Science

Anyone who watches birds, from backyards to city streets to remote forests, can help researchers better understand birds and their habits

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/citsci/

To my Outdoor Recreation & Environmental Friends: Common Adventure, Citizen Science & Collaborative Maps

Today, in Boise, I had an interesting conversation with Briana Orr about the history and future of the U.of Oregon Outdoor Program and the Common Adventure Philosophy many of us are familiar with.  

In this post, & a few more later, I want to share a couple of project ideas we discussed that some of us might try to work on together. 

 One idea was how to learn about, use and promote more "Citizen Science" projects in our communities.  

Another was to start the development of "Collaborative Maps" where past outings, environmental/conservation projects, &/or resource people could be located on a map including a description, possibly with photos and/ or links to web site pages.

As time permits, I will provide more thoughts on these topics and links to existing examples for anyone interested. And I would like to be involved with any of you who are interested in helping these ideas develop in the future. 

Thanks,

Gary 

Read Lawrence Lessig's blog post "Focus at a time of tragedy" that highlights the "illegitimate concentration of money" by "1/20th of the 1%" that determines, not only gun control, but many of the "insane" policy decisions members of congress make.  Through Rootstrikers, he asks us to become more involved in issues.  "We can't afford insane policy anymore. We can't afford it with taxes, with climate change, with health care, with the debt, or with Wall Street. And we can't afford it with guns. 

http://www.rootstrikers.org/focus_at_a_time_of_tragedy

1977 Film "Powers of Ten" Zoom out to Universe and back in to human body

How many remember this amazing 1877 film "Powers of Ten" zooming from a picnic blanket out into the universe & back into the molecular structure of a human hand? 

(Via Gearthblog)

http://bit.ly/VM0Pgm 

The American Ant-Corruption Act

 I would think most people would agree with this Act!

http://bit.ly/SPOjJs

Interesting overview of modern day use of the "Commons"

This article reflects a way of thinking that is demonstrated in parks all over: people tend to take care of those amenities that they value and feel a part of. (Via Howard Rheingold G+) on Sharable:Cities

http://www.shareable.net/blog/dog-parks-humans-and-the-commons

Read interesting Interview about "lessons for Building a Co-operative Movement" with John Curl, author of "For All the People":Uncovering the Hidden History of Cooperation, Cooperative Movements, and Communalism in America (via sharable.net)

http://bit.ly/UkC6e9 

Attended Timothy Egan lecture at BSU tonight.

 Insightful comments about American politics after 2012 Election and his book about Edward Curtis, immortal photographs of Native Americans. Sponsored by the Andrus Center for Public Policy.

"Exquisite slow-motion video" showing Cheetahs running

Cincinnati Zoo & National Geographic also shows complex slo-mo video equipment used. (via: Huff Post Green)
http://huff.to/116eZIp

This is Geography Awareness Week - November 11-17, 2012

Celebrating Geography Worldwide. Check out the National Geographic web site. (via gearthblog.com)

http://bit.ly/Q8CejH

Read Frank Rich "Fantasyland" about presidential election

Frank Rich's article "Fantasyland" about the recent presidential election and the future was informative and made me laugh out loud.

http://nymag.com/news/frank-rich/gop-denial-2012-11/

What really matters - The fate of local and global ecosystems that support humanity?

Is this issue being discussed by our politicians? Is this another example of "historical silencing?" Read Noam Chomsky article in Alternet.org.

http://www.alternet.org/election-2012/noam-chomsky-fate-humanity-stake-why-are-romney-and-obama-too-cowardly-talk-about-what?akid=9498.279631.4wfbl8&rd=1&src=newsletter722541&t=3

What do you think about the overt policy of "Historical Silencing?"

Here is an example:
Rethinking Columbus: Towards a True People's History - an article by Bill Bigelow on CommonDreams.org
https://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/10/06

"the Clothesline Paradox" | Conversation | Edge

"The Closeline Paradox"-- Alternative energy, science, economics, open source, copyright, & business -  Conversation with Tim O'Reilly conversation on Edge.com

"the Clothesline Paradox" | Conversation | Edge

Green Flash photos at Ruby Beach Seastack

This is a picasaweb album of  photos I took that include the Green Flash as the sun was going down at Ruby Beach on the coast of the State of Washington. US. Several photos were captured as the sun went down with a 400 mm lens through an eroded hole in a Seastack rock. Some are cropped to highlight the green flash. I uploaded a few other uncropped and cropped images of the Seastack and the sun with various green flash elements as well.

Green Flash at Sunset through hole in Seastack at Ruby Beach. WA

https://picasaweb.google.com/108466423567536607112/RubyBeachSeastackGreenFlash

Uploaded 2 Gigapan Antique Shop Games

I uploaded as "a game" two Gigapans of different views of the interesting old Antique Store in Idaho City.  You can zoom in and create snapshot views of many different items.

http://bit.ly/UILqt2 

Lies, Damned Lies, Statistics & Open Data.

David Eaves examines issues with governments releasing more information than ever and now how we have to face new kinds of political debates.

http://slate.me/Q8aoSe 

Our CuMo Mine YouTube video about lack of preliminary environmental studies

See our Idaho Families for Clean Water YouTube video explaining that preliminary environmental studies were not done before the CuMo mine exploration in the Boise River watershed was permitted by the U.S. Forest Service.  See also Advocates for the West article that a U.S. District Judge has ruled that there are significant environmental concerns.  

http://www.advocateswest.org/bulletin/cumo-mine-win

http://youtu.be/TM9bWTAXB48?hd=1

CuMo Drilling Project Put on Hold Because of Water Contamination Concerns

Idaho CuMo mine exploration in Boise River watershed setback by U.S. District Judge.
http://bit.ly/SYUMRJ

See our Idaho Families for Clean Water Google Earth tour about this project.
http://bit.ly/SYVApw

Photographed Sawtooth Salmon Festival in Stanley, Idaho

The Sawtooth Salmon Festival was held August 25, 2012 in Stanley, Idaho.  There were several tours to the Salmon River to see wild and hatchery Sockeye and Chinook salmon that had traveled over 900 miles from the Pacific Ocean to spawn at elevation levels above 6000 feet.

Below are some links to images and video I have uploaded during the weekend in the Stanley area.

Billowing Smoke Cloud Time Lapse  HD Sequence uploaded to Vimeo.

https://vimeo.com/48392411

Endangered Sockeye Salmon trapped at the Sawtooth Salmon Hatchery.  Uploaded HD video to Vimeo and YouTube.

https://vimeo.com/48341101

http://youtu.be/lLhrrqA092o?hd=1

Still photos uploaded to Picasa Web Albums

https://picasaweb.google.com/108466423567536607112/SawtoothSalmonFestival

Idaho Department of Fish and Game - Wildlife Summit

Idaho Wildlife Summit invites public participation online if you can't attend  Aug. 24-26 weekend meetings throughout the state. Details at:

http://1.usa.gov/NOB6w0

Citizens use smartphones to aid local & federal agencies

Local and federal agencies are connecting citizens to portable devices & Apple's IOS.

http://www.macworld.com/article/1168134/how_government_is_putting_the_iphone_to_work.html

The City of Boise provides an "Air Quality" Webcam page.

The City of Boise provides an "Air Quality" Webcam page.

http://bit.ly/RQWSnx 

David Korten compares Social, Biosystem and Financial deficits

Do you agree with David Korten?  "America’s Deficit Attention Disorder--Money is the least of our problems. It’s time to pay attention to the real deficits that are killing us. (Social and Biosystem Capital deficits)     http://bit.ly/PlzFW9

"Human Caused" Climate Change & Global Warming

"Human Caused" -  Why are these words not always appended to the "brand names" Climate Change & Global Warming?   Without these words many casual readers can assume much broader and unexplainable causes.  (See recent article by NASA's James Hanson - "Climate Change is Here - and Worse than We Thought"

http://bit.ly/PblhTL

Google Earth Fly Over Video Upper Boise River

Mountain Visions produced an Upper Boise River Google Earth Fly-over and image video for Idaho Rivers United. "Idaho Rivers United is fighting to keep the Middle Fork Boise River and North Fork Boise River flowing wild and free, free of a new dam. This Google Earth tour over the wild river canyons includes scenic photos and a graphic overlay of the dam sites being considered.

Vimeo Link:            https://vimeo.com/46948624

YouTube Link:        http://youtu.be/rpfOjjHw-Vk?hd=1

Experimenting with Bottlenose.com

Experimenting with use of Bottlenose.com to consolidate web info and post messages to social networking sites.
http://bottlenose.com

Lonesome Larry - Most interesting Fish in the World

"Lonesome Larry" is "The Most Interesting Fish in the World." Idaho Rivers United website, Blog Facebook, Twitter, Celebration August 25, 2012.
http://www.lonesomelarry.org/

Ever wonder about the history and current state of our fundamental rights and the public commons? Read Noam Chomsky. "Destroying the Commons: On Shredding the Magna Carta." Over more than seven centuries he examines the Magna Carta Charter of Liberties and Charter of the Forest and how these documents have been ignored to the detriment of the common person and a sustainable environment. http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/07/23

Shot & produced 180 image Gigapan - North view Current Cr. the new North Fork Owyhee Wilderness in Southwest Idaho. http://ping.fm/LRpJP

Shot & produced 180 image Gigapan - South view Current Cr. the new North Fork Owyhee Wilderness in Southwest Idaho.
http://ping.fm/hDNIC

Watched Google's recent "Mother of all Demos" live sky diving streaming using new "Glass" technology.
http://ping.fm/6wGwy

Shot & produced a 200 image Gigapan overlooking Corral Creek in the new North Fork Owyhee Wilderness in Southwest Idaho. http://ping.fm/XBneJ

Mountain Visions in Boise & Idaho BLM produced this HD video titled "Your Treasured Public Lands." http://ping.fm/RP4pn

Interesting maps showing Global Roadless Areas (1) kilometer & (10) km from nearest road or rail. Very few 10 km in U.S. http://ping.fm/x6UKH

Several amazing views of Venus passing in front of changing views and colors of the sun. (via NASA) http://ping.fm/1YjXM

June 5, 4:05 PM MDT 1st Contact Transit of Venus, last contact after Sunset. Use solar glasses & filters for cameras. http://ping.fm/FnhI1

We completed a unique Idaho Families for Clean Water 3D Google Earth Virtual Tour with music, narration & videos. http://ping.fm/5dpFc

Google Map showing Total Solar Eclipse path on August 21, 2017. Special places in No. Oregon, Central Idaho & Wyoming. http://ping.fm/XlAeG

Read Curtis White's article "The Philanthropic Complex." Concludes risk management not revolution is common outcome! http://ping.fm/1si5P

Amazing video of pelicans feeding on large & dead Lahontan Cutthroat trout on spawning channel at Pyramid Lake, Nevada. http://ping.fm/u9yH2

Uploaded HD Annular Eclipse video Katy & I produced from our trip to Pyramid Lake, NV on May 20, 2012 to Vimeo. http://ping.fm/DVpKF

Last words of Ernest Callenbach, 'Ecotopia-1975 included- the system should have been called Subsidism, not Capitalism. http://ping.fm/m4qNe

Last words to Americans by Ernest Callenbach, ecological utopian author "Ecotopia" 1975 & "Ecotopia Emerging" 1981. http://ping.fm/vA6pX

Friends, you will enjoy a "STORYTELLER'S CAMPFIRE BLOG" by Bob Kanegis.
http://ping.fm/zcShw

Looking for a rainbow I captured HD video of rain, thunder and sunshine yesterday with GoPro camera.
http://ping.fm/tkARD

National Endowment for the Arts awards large grants to array of PBS gaming and Web-based projects. (Via @timoreilly) http://ping.fm/IA7vM

I uploaded the Blacks Creek HD Video to YouTube first and later to Vimeo. Here is the link to the Vimeo page.
http://ping.fm/nNAB3

I put together a few HD video sequences shot with a Nikon DSLR at Blacks Creek Clean Up Day, near Boise on 4/21 2012.
http://ping.fm/9R5Ye

Do you agree that a transformative ecological/economic change is needed now?
Gar Alperovitz compares Earth Day 1970-2012
http://ping.fm/fCSwE

Katy Flanagan & I were given one of the 2011 "Volunteers of the Year" awards by Idaho Rivers United. http://ping.fm/RJnDL

Paul Krugman gives Pink Slime a better rating than Republican Paul Ryan's budget plan. http://ping.fm/0Q9Bp

In 2010 I photo documented a pair of Swainson's Hawks raising chicks in a nest in our Boise, Idaho neighborhood. http://ping.fm/j8NVK

Has anyone seen Swainson's Hawks in their area this year? See animation showing their migration into North America. http://ping.fm/TFEjD

Recent estimate of billions of earth like planets in our galaxy - Now this - Earth's Organic compounds also common. http://ping.fm/3P4ir

Another huge drilling rig calamity in the North Sea. Workers evacuated. No solutions yet. http://ping.fm/iKbVE

Did you read the Chip Ward letter to his "Granddaughter, sorry we ruined Earth for you." ?
http://ping.fm/pzecr

We added a music background to the Google Earth Tour of Prince of Wales Island, Watershed Restoration Projects 2006-11. http://ping.fm/MTh36

We added a music background to the Google Earth Tour of the Boise River at High Water on June 3, 2011.
http://ping.fm/a7Jpf

Do you know of other examples where citizens use smart phones to report problems in their communities? http://ping.fm/yF3xJ

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology is providing 2 live webcams of a Great Blue Heron Nest.
http://ping.fm/EFU47

Special Report on Managing Risks by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPPC) http://www.ipcc.ch/

Would you participate in Adventurers and Scientists for Conservation? See NYTimes Video on their home page. http://ping.fm/3UUym

Logical near future sustainable scenario, but given today's politics, it is hard to believe this would be possible. http://ping.fm/tnOBD

Inspirational interview & beautiful video as told by Neil DeGrasse Tyson noting "The Universe is in us." (via Huff Post) http://ping.fm/bIRhJ

Does your neighborhood covenant prohibit property closelines, gardens in your front yard, or other silly rules? (P. 5) http://ping.fm/Usfdm

Uploaded the same HD Kayakers at Boise River Recreation Park video to Vimeo. Do viewers prefer Vimeo over YouTube? http://ping.fm/rkIO8

Uploaded HD YouTube video showing kayakers taking turns on new wave at Boise River Recreation Park. http://ping.fm/rAOgZ

Read interesting interview with Alan Durning, Sightline Institute, titled "Can We Build a Sustainable Society Ourselves? http://ping.fm/y1gkU

Another Yellowstone Nat. Park Gigapan Gallery, by Ron Schott, features a dozen of my Gigapans. http://ping.fm/amXV4

Two of my Gigapan photos are featured on the Grand Teton National Park Geology Gallery. http://ping.fm/5Dsfj

Here is a link to some photos of the waxing crescent moon, some with earthshine, shot last night and tonight.

http://ping.fm/GWZSh

A "Basic Income Earth Network" (BIEN) to discuss recent international financial, debt & ecological crises. (Via BINews) http://ping.fm/AHqs0

"Kids, Google + And The Increasing Speed Of Innovation" "Facebook? That's for adults. We use Google +" (Via Mark Solon) http://ping.fm/G7WQs

How to start a movement- one leader giving followers follower equal status one at a time- (Via Jeff Sayre on Google+) http://ping.fm/DVSCK

How can people believe in this self centered anthropocentric view given obvious historical human environmental effects? http://ping.fm/IwpQK

Found amazing interactive app showing relative scale of very small to very large items in the universe. (Via Google+) http://ping.fm/0aaZP

Watched amazing January, 2012 Aurora Time Lapse video via Christian Mulhauser. http://ping.fm/cmZP9

An "Annular" (ring of fire) Solar eclipse will occur in the Western U.S. on May 20, 2012. See map via NASA Science News http://ping.fm/rfBcE

Consider the "Plenitude Economy" / Interesting animation of a post-consumer society. (Via Jeff Jayre Google+) http://ping.fm/Ah9Qj

U.S. Social Welfare subsidies for the rich, poor and middle class compared to other countries. (Via Dan Froomkin) http://ping.fm/62pNj

Uploaded a new YouTube time lapse video showing the full moon rising over the Boise Foothills in a clear sky. http://ping.fm/7QuV8

I shot a time-lapse of the moon rising over the Boise Foothills in a cloudy sky. http://ping.fm/Cy4Xt

Read blog post suggesting that the social networking phase of "connection" is moving toward "collaboration" & "trust." http://ping.fm/PhBZB

Read good article by Bill McKibben about corporate money in politics.
http://ping.fm/YgqqP

I have been adding some historical "Life Events" to my Facebook Timeline, & will add more as time permits.
http://ping.fm/54e38

What are toxic chemical disposals & toxic air emissions in your neighborhood? (Via ENN with link to 2010 EPA report) http://ping.fm/MyZM6

Citizen Science & Project Budburst is mentioned in this article. (shared via Paul Alaback on Facebook) http://ping.fm/CBMd2

Al Gore speaks up for Internet Freedom (via Jeff Sayre on Google+) http://ping.fm/IVD1F

Read good overview article about the "OCCUPY" movement. (e-book available via Huffington Post) http://ping.fm/dCPos