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Melissa has worked for the CCRLC since 2008, assisting in coordinating the Citizen Science Program in 2009.

Guest Contributor: Melissa Sladek
Confessions of a Citizen Scientist
August 24, 2009

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These days “Citizen Scientist” is a title heard almost as frequently as Biologist. Even before I came to work at the Crown of the Continent Research Learning Center (CCRLC), I had heard the term Citizen Science. And although I could guess that it might be defined as “science performed by untrained scientists”, I didn’t know exactly what it meant to be a Citizen Scientist or why organizations from around the world incorporate it into their programs.

When I started working at the CCRLC I learned that Citizen Science has become a part of research programs for many agencies, organizations, and educational institutes for two main reasons: 1) to collect additional data on a particular species or resource issue and 2) to engage citizens in scientific inquiry, understanding, and appreciation. In our program, we believe both facets are crucial to the success of our Citizen Science program. Studying species such as loons, mountain goats, and invasive plants not only adds to our datasets, but also familiarizes our participants with scientific protocol and data collection while allowing them to gain a new appreciation of Glacier.

Citizen Science became a component of the CCRLC in 2005 when a program to monitor Common Loons was conceived. While information on loons in the park have been gathered since 1988, data was collected only once each year during a state-wide monitoring program called “Loon Day.” This information, although valuable, provides just a brief glimpse at the actual population health of loons. A more robust and reliable database, monitoring 45 loon lakes throughout the summer, for instance, requires season-long surveys and a large work force. Hence, the idea of using Citizen Scientists was born.

The success of the loon program prompted CCRLC to begin two additional Citizen Science programs in 2008, Citizen Science in Glacier’s High Country and Mapping Non-native Invasive Plants, which I have helped to coordinate this summer.

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The experience of being a Citizen Scientist goes well beyond the data being collected.

It’s one thing to understand the goal of the Citizen Science program and to help with its coordination, but it’s all together different when one actually becomes a Citizen Scientist.

This became abundantly apparent when I set out to collect data myself. For becoming a Citizen Scientist truly allowed me to understand the value of Citizen Science. Some Citizen Scientists have told me they participate in the program in order to further the understanding of a species or issue. They are proud of contributing to scientific research. And, although I also feel this sense of pride, participating in Citizen Science provides me with something more.

It awakens me to an entirely different experience, flipping some sort of mental switch in my brain. The connections I make to the land become more intense, more noticeable. Watching a baby mountain goat take its first leap, listening to the lonely wail of a loon, or examining the delicate petals of one of Glacier’s many plants…these are the moments that the scientist within me notices and my spirit cherishes.

Citizen Science has become a valuable tool to researchers around the globe. The Crown of the Continent Research Learning Center’s Citizen Science program provides park researchers with essential information on loons, high country species, and invasive plants. Yet, I would argue that the true value of Citizen Science is even greater.

The experiences and connections Citizen Scientists make when hiking throughout the park are just as important as the data they collect…small details are noticed, other life forms are examined, and a deeper meaning of the beauty of Glacier is revealed. For me, these are the memories that last and spur me to lace up my boots, head for the door, and hit the trail for the next survey.