About

CitSci Alberta

CitSci Alberta is open to all who share a passion for citizen science. CitSci Alberta is a space to share ideas, information, and resources to advance design, delivery and evaluation of citizen science in Alberta.

Purpose

Promote and
showcase the
development and
application of good
practice in the field
of citizen science

Connect
learning to
action

Elevate the profile
of citizen science
initiatives in
Alberta

Support
coordination and
collaboration within
the citizen science
community

What Is Citizen Science?

Citizen Science is based on natural and social science methodologies. It involves members of the public in monitoring and scientific research. These projects can range from local to regional, and global scales, and participation can vary from data collection to other aspects of the scientific process, like the creation of research questions, data analysis, project evaluation, and reporting.

Involving members of the public in monitoring and scientific research has been expressed in a number of different ways. For simplicity we use the umbrella term Citizen Science, but encourage practitioners who identify with Community-Based Monitoring (CBM), Community Science, Public Participation in Scientific Research (PPSR), and other related endeavors to join. This Community of Practice will explore different aspects of working with the public in environmental monitoring and science that may be of interest to practitioners of a number of related fields.

Governance

CitSci Alberta is guided by a steering committee of practitioners and allies of citizen science. There is a rotating chair and committee members. Current committee members include:

  • Bradley Peter – Alberta Lake Management society (current Chair)
  • Meghan Jacklin – Edmonton and Area Land Trust
  • Nicole Kimmel – Alberta Invasive Species Council
  • Tracy Lee – Miistakis Institute
  • Kristyn Mayner – Government of Alberta
  • Lianne Mingo – Government of Alberta
  • Catherine Peirce – Battle River Watershed Alliance
  • Krista Tremblett – Government of Alberta
  • Zoey Wang – Government of Alberta
  • Stephanie Weizenbach – Nature Alberta

If you are interested in joining the steering committee,
please contact us at info@citscialberta.com.

History

Recognizing the potential for citizen science to advance knowledge of environmental change, Alberta Environment and Protected Areas together with the Miistakis Institute initiated a project in 2015 to understand the state of environmentally-oriented citizen science in Alberta and identify opportunities for advancing the field of citizen science in Alberta.

The resulting report, Using Citizen Science to Advance Environmental Research and Monitoring in Alberta highlights several starting points to advance citizen science, most notably, the development of principles to guide good practice and appropriate application of citizen science as a legitimate means to support applied management and policy decisions.

In 2018, a two-day workshop was held as a gathering place to learn about best practices in the field of citizen science as well as identify priority actions to advance the practice in Alberta.

Alberta Environment and Parks1 and the Miistakis Institute, with guidance and input from citizen science practitioners and researchers at the workshop, co-developed the Citizen Science Principles of Good Practice. The six Principles are intended to serve as a guide for the design, implementation and evaluation of citizen science initiatives in Alberta.

The Citizen Science Principles of Good Practice were released through Alberta’s Office of the Chief Scientist in 2020.

 

1The organization known as Environment and Parks at the time of this work has since been renamed Environment and Protected Areas.