Citizen Science: How Ordinary People are Changing the Face of Discovery by Caren Cooper

Summary ( from Amazon): 
"Think you need a degree in science to contribute to important scientific discoveries? Think again. All around the world, in fields ranging from astronomy to zoology, millions of everyday people are choosing to participate in the scientific process. Working in cooperation with scientists in pursuit of information, innovation, and discovery, these volunteers are following protocols, collecting and reviewing data, and sharing their observations. They are our neighbors, our in-laws, and people in the office down the hall. Their story, along with the story of the social good that can result from citizen science, has largely been untold, until now.

Citizen scientists are challenging old notions about who can conduct research, where knowledge can be acquired, and even how solutions to some of our biggest societal problems might emerge. In telling their story, Cooper will inspire readers to rethink their own assumptions about the role that individuals can play in gaining scientific understanding and putting that understanding to use as stewards of our world. Citizen Science will be a rallying call-to-arms, and will also function as an authoritative resource for those inspired by the featured stories and message. "

Scientific articles by Caren Cooper: 
"Citizen Science: A Developing Tool for Expanding Science Knowledge and Scientific Literacy"
https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/article/59/11/977/251421

Articles in Scientific American by Caren Cooper:
https://www.scientificamerican.com/author/caren-cooper/

Author's Website: https://www.carencooper.com/

Reviews:
Wilson Center:
https://www.wilsoncenter.org/blog-post/book-review-citizen-science-how-ordinary-people-are-changing-the-face-discovery
Discover Magazine:
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/citizen-science-salon/2017/05/23/book-review-citizen-science-how-ordinary-people-are-changing-the-face-of-discovery/#.W10uCthKiRs

Interviews:
Informal Science (2015): http://www.informalscience.org/news-views/advancing-citizen-science-qa-caren-cooper

TED talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7cQHSqfSzI

Yale Envirnomenal 360:
https://e360.yale.edu/features/interview_caren_cooper_how_rise_of_citizen_science_is_democratizing_research

ASTC (2016): http://www.astc.org/events/astc-on-air-with-caren-cooper/

Citizen Science Event at Bucks County Audubon Society: August 18th at 2 p.m. Cold Blooded Critters: PA Amphibians and Reptile Survey: Click here to learn more:
http://www.bcas.org/event/cold-blooded-critters-pa-amphibian-reptile-survey-pars/

Sites to find and participate in Citizen Science projects:
**This is the one is guided by the author: https://scistarter.com/cooper
https://www.zooniverse.org/

Discussion Questions: (Heidi will be leading the discussion and these are her questions.)

1. How would you describe citizen science and is it real science?

2. There are many citizen science programs that have yielded fascinating findings and important contributions, such as: CoCoRaHS  and weather monitoring (p. 22-), Nest Record Scheme (p. 34), Christmas Bird Count (CBC) and ebird (p. 42 - ), Monarch Programs (p. 81 - ), Galaxy Zoo or Stardust@home (pp. 83-),  Biochemistry and Folding@home and Rosetta@home (p. 111 - ),  MERCCURI (p. 133  -), Keep it Clean (p. 192- ), etc.

3. Discuss what impacts these programs have had and which ones you found especially surprising and interesting.

4. What do you think of BOINC (p. 110 - ) and what it accomplishes?

5. Discuss the cases that led to open access policies, including Michael Servetus, Aaron Swartz and We the People. (148 - )

6. What impact does citizen science and open access science have on traditional science and the research process? (p. 151 -)

7. “ Crowds may be typical in citizen science, but they are not essential.  James-Creedon quotes Margaret Mead: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only that that ever has.” “ (p. 210) How can an engaged public through these projects yield life saving information and change, good and perhaps, not wanted, i.e. with fracking, tracking pollution, Sustainability Leadership Program, Global Community Monitor, LABB, iWitness Pollution Map, etc, ? (p. 172-, 209- )

8. Discuss the concept of  “community insurance” as used to protect the snow leopard in Asia. (p. 165-)

9. Have you or are you currently involved in a Citizen Science program and if so, which one(s)? Describe how you got started and your experiences.

10. Have you visited the Scistarter website and if yes, which projects look interesting to you?

Riverwalking: Reflections on Moving Water by Kathleen Dean Moore

Summary:
"In these twenty elegant essays, a philosopher and amateur naturalist meanders along the rivers and streams of the american West-and muses on love, loss, aging, motherhood, happiness, the art of poking around, and other important matters. “A smart, compassionate, and wise meditation on living in place” (Terry Tempest Williams)."

Author's Website: https://www.riverwalking.com/

Reviews:
Kirkus: https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/kathleen-dean-moore/riverwalking/

Interview with Author: https://www.terrain.org/2018/interviews/kathleen-dean-moore/
"If Your House is on Fire": https://www.thesunmagazine.org/issues/444/if-your-house-is-on-fire

(Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregon_Dunes_National_Recreation_Area)

Discussion Questions: (Written by Donna, who will be leading our discussion)

1.     Ms. Moore interweaves many family stories into her reflections on natural history and her adventures along the waterways.  Too much so?  Could you share a story about your family enjoying the great outdoors?

2.     Winter Creek – “Poking around is a guaranteed way to learn”  (p. 36) re-creation, impressions, connections, recollections.  If someone asks, “Who are you?”  How would you answer?   I am a person, who……..

a.     McKenzie R. – taxonomy – Why do we love to learn the names of the flora and fauna we encounter on our forays?  Might this detract from, or enhance the experience? 

b.     Aquajita Wash – desert arroyo – Why do we make lists of the birds and trees, rocks and trails from our various trips and outings?

3.     Alamo Canyon Creek – rattlesnakes – What is it about snakes?  Do you have a favorite snake story?  Have you been to the desert?

4.     Bear Creek – shifting sand dunes – The author’s secret camping spot was transformed into a visitor’s site, complete with parking, restrooms, and interpretive signs.  Can you recall a special place like this from your past that has changed?

5.     Smoholla R. – nesting instinct – Have you been camping lately?  Tell us about                          your home base arrangements. 

6.     The John Day – happiness depends on tranquility and excitement – Do you agree?  Have you ever turned to nature in times of trouble, sorrow, or grief?

7.     Moore includes interesting facts about the flora and fauna and people in her essays; newts, ticks, John Day, salmon, etc.  What was your favorite piece or new thing you learned?

The Wilderness World by John Muir, Edited by Edwin W. Teale

Summary (Amazon):
As a conservationist, John Muir traveled through most of the American wilderness alone and on foot, without a gun or a sleeping bag. In 1903, while on a three-day camping trip with President Theodore Roosevelt, he convinced the president of the importance of a national conservation program, and he is widely recognized for saving the Grand Canyon and Arizona's Petrified Forest. Muir's writing, based on journals he kept throughout his life, gives our generation a picture of an America still wild and unsettled only one hundred years ago. In The Wildernesss World of John Muir edited by Edwin Way Teale has selected the best of Muir's writing from all of his major works; including My First Summer in the Sierra and Travels in Alaska to provide a singular collection that provides to be "magnificent, thrilling, exciting, breathtaking, and awe-inspiring" (Kirkus Reviews).

Reviews:
Sierra Club: 
https://vault.sierraclub.org/john_muir_exhibit/bibliographic_resources/book_reviews/wilderness_world_rv_wood.aspx

Articles:
Smithsonian: Yosemite: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/john-muirs-yosemite-10737/

The Atlantic: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1897/08/the-american-forests/305017/

Dunbar, Scotland (his birthplace): https://www.jmbt.org.uk/

Biography and Exhibit by Sierra Club:
https://vault.sierraclub.org/john_muir_exhibit/life/muir_biography.aspx

Videos: 
PBS: National Parks: John Muir:
http://www.pbs.org/nationalparks/people/historical/muir/
PBS: John Muir in the New World:
https://www.pbs.org/video/american-masters-john-muir-in-the-new-world-1/

Quotes: 
"The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness."

"When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world. "

"In every walk with Nature one receives far more than he seeks."

Discussion Questions (Written by John Shiver, who will also lead the discussion)

1. How did John’s childhood and upbringing help prepare him for his life and career as a naturalist and explorer?
2. Muir encountered many people in his travels. how did they contribute to the success of his wanderings and how were they different from what his father had taught him to expect from strangers?
3. Of all his adventures, which would you choose to have experienced or shared with him and why?
4. How did Thoreau’s and Emerson’s writings influence Muir? How were these men and their experiences similar and different?
5. How would you explain Muir’s accurate premonition that his friend, Professor Butler, had arrived in CA from WI? Was this a coincidence or representative of some greater insight that he was capable of?
6. How did Muir’s writings establish and popularize the conservation movement in the US? Discuss his style and why it still holds so much appeal today? What were some of your favorite passages?
7. What were some of his scientific contributions that related to the formation and geology of California Sierras and Yosemite?

Walden by Henry David Thoreau

Summary: (Amazon): The work is part personal declaration of independence, social experiment, voyage of spiritual discovery, satire, and manual for self-reliance. It details Thoreau's experiences over the course of two years in a cabin he built near Walden Pond, amid woodland owned by his friend and mentor Ralph Waldo Emerson, near Concord, Massachusetts.

Current Reviews and Articles for the Bicentennial and more:

Washington Post: "Why I Still Love Henry David Thoreau, 'Walden'": https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/why-i-still-love-henry-david-thoreaus-walden/2017/07/12/7b52c35e-66fc-11e7-9928-22d00a47778f_story.html?utm_term=.614cd5c9f42a

The New Yorker: "Pond Scum": 

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/10/19/pond-scum

The New York Times: "The True American": 

http://www.nybooks.com/articles/2017/08/17/henry-david-thoreau-true-american/

The New York Times: "What's the Muck of Walden Pond tells us about our Planet" :

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/07/opinion/sunday/what-the-muck-of-walden-pond-tells-us-about-our-planet.html

The Guardian, "Pee and pesticides: Thoreau's Walden Pond in Trouble" :https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/apr/06/pee-and-pesticides-henry-david-thoreau-walden-pond-in-trouble-warn-scientists

The Walden Woods Project: https://www.walden.org/thoreau/

The Thoreau Society: https://www.thoreausociety.org/

Walden Quotes:

"Live in each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influence of the earth."

"Things do not change; we change."

"Books are the treasured wealth of the world and the fit inheritance of generations and nations."

Discussion Questions: (Questions written by and discussion to be led by Richard Myers)

1.      Why did Thoreau go to Walden?   Was he, as some people have claimed, a recluse or hermit?

2.     Would you consider doing something similar today?

3.     What do you think of his claim in the section on “Economy” that “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation”?   Does this equally apply to today?

4.     Have “men become the tools of their tools” as Thoreau claims?

5.     How might we follow Thoreau’s admonition to “simplify, simplify” today?

6.     How does Thoreau’s observation that “there are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root” apply to his time?  To our time?

7.     How might you, or most Americans today, respond to Thoreau’s thought that “I never found the companion that was so companionable as solitude”?  How do you think Thoreau would respond to our constantly noisy world today?

8.     What technology does Thoreau focus on as an intrusion into the peace of Walden Pond?  How does this fit into the idea of the Anthropocene (not a term Thoreau would have been familiar with)?  Is there a similar technology you would point to today as being particularly disruptive of society?

9.     In the section, “The Ponds,” Thoreau claims that “a lake is the landscape’s most beautiful and expressive feature.”  What aspect of the landscape particularly attracts you?

10.  Would you agree with Thoreau when he states, “I have no doubt that is part of the destiny of the human race. . . to leave off eating animals.”?

11.  What is your favorite section or idea in Walden?