Citizen Science

Citizen science is for the birds. It is, anyway, for the hundreds of people who track dead seabirds as citizen scientists with Coastal Observation and Seabird Survey Team (COASST), Julia Parrish’s research organization. Over the years, Parrish built and trained a coalition of volunteer, everyday scientists — co-collaborators in her work — from California to Alaska who help collect data about their beaches so we can better understand the health of the oceans. This lecture and conversation are packed with personal anecdotes and fascinating insights about science, community, and the stewardship of both that are knit together in a way that only a remarkable teacher like Parrish can do.

Presented to students on November 24, 2020.

Featuring Julia Parrish

Julia Parrish is a professor in the School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences and associate dean of the College of the Environment. Her work is centered on the intersection between marine ecology, conservation and resource management, and how non-experts and non-scientists can be involved in documenting pattern, collecting baseline information and being an essential part of a science team. She runs a large citizen science project, the Coastal Observation and Seabird Survey Team, or COASST.