Citizen Science

How can I get involved?

Jump in and get your hands dirty with science!

Scotland’s Environment Web will develop this site to be the shared space to find out, take part in and contribute to environmental participation in Scotland. We would like to involve you in providing data and observations on your local environment. This will help to improve the understanding of Scotland’s environment as a whole and take action to improve it. As a start, we have provided links to a number of excellent existing data recording initiatives you may wish to become involved with in your local area.

	National Biodiversity Network The NBN is a collaborative project which involves many of the UK’s wildlife conservation organisations, the government and country agencies, environmental agencies, local records centres and also many voluntary groups. All of these organisations collect and use biodiversity data and they are all committed to making this information widely available.
	OPAL (Open Air Laboratories Network) OPAL is developing a wide range of local and national programmes to encourage people from all backgrounds to get back in touch with nature. The project will also generate valuable scientific data concerning the state of our environment.
	iSpot iSpot is provided by The Open University as part of the OPAL project, which is funded by the National Lottery through the Big Lottery Fund
	Open Street Map OpenStreetMap is a free editable map of the whole world. It is made by people like you.
	Project Noah Project Noah is a tool to explore and document wildlife and a platform to harness the power of citizen scientists everywhere.
	Evolution MegaLab Did you know that, thanks to a common little snail, you can find in your garden, in the park or under a hedge, you can see evolution in your own back yard?
	UKMoths Welcome to UKMoths, your online guide to the moths of Great Britain and Ireland.
	BTCV Scotland BTCV works with 628,000 volunteers a year. Find out what is available in your local area.
	iBats iBats is a partnership between The Zoological Society of London and the Bat Conservation Trust, working in partnership with a number of national NGO's. Together, we run a number of national and international bat biodiversity monitoring projects to track changes in global biodiversity.
	BirdTrack Keeping a record of the birds we see is one of the most useful aspects of our birdwatching. Although you may not think your own personal records are very significant, when you combine them with records from other birdwatchers in the same area, they provide a valuable historical record.
	BBS The BTO/JNCC/RSPB Breeding Bird Survey. The Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) is the main scheme for monitoring the population changes of the UK’s common breeding birds.
	RSPB Volunteering We have over 16,000 fantastic volunteers and they come from all walks of life. Our volunteering roles can be tailored to your skills, interests and circumstances.
	Plantlife The state of our countryside is ever changing. Taking part in one of our surveys gives us vital information as to the wellbeing of our wild plants and fungi, which can influence not only our conservation work but our campaigns. If you would like to take part, visit our Surveys page.
	Bumblebee Conservation Trust Surveys In order to conserve our bumblebees, it's crucial that we understand them. You can help us by taking part in one of our surveys.
	Amphibian and Reptile Conservation NARRS is a national wildlife-monitoring project to measure trends in the conservation status of all UK species of frog, toad, newt, lizard, snake, turtle and terrapin. It will rely upon the efforts of many trained volunteers, but also the help of the general public taking part in recording campaigns.
	Buglife One of the most valuable ways for you to help conserve our wildife is to take part in a Buglife survey. With the help of volunteers up and down the country, these surveys help us discover how some of our rarest and most spectacular bugs are doing.
	Butterfly Conservation Thousands of volunteers help us keep track of butterfly and moth populations in the UK. You can help with our survey work. Training is available to help you uncover and report on the amazing creatures living near your home.
	Woodland Trust Every single one of your spring and autumn sightings helps our scientists investigate how climate change is affecting nature
	WOW The 'Weather Observations Website' - WOW reflects recent advances in technology and how weather observations can be made. The Met Office is helping to co-ordinate the growth of the weather observing community in the UK, by asking anyone to submit the observations they are taking.