Citizen Scientists Rise Up: Contribute Now to Meaningful Projects

Writing sample and photos by Courtney Sandifer

If you have ever taken a photo of a strange-looking critter and searched online to learn more about it, you are ready. If you use an app that identifies birds by their sounds, you are ready. If you have ever seen wildlife on the roadway and wished you could do something to help them, you are ready.

Citizen science allows us "regular" folks, outside of the usual research environment, to contribute to scientific and conservation projects by collecting or analyzing data that would take professional scientists either a million dollars or a million years to do. There are all kinds of apps available to log observations and collaborate with others to document certain weather conditions, flora, fauna and even galaxies and light polution.

Here are a few ways you can get started making a meaningful impact, especially on environmental and climate-focused projects:

Join iNaturalist and start posting.

As a non-scientist nerd myself, I have come to love iNaturalist as a way to document the beautiful world around me. I enjoy snapping photos of all sorts of things. From spider monkeys in the Mayan jungle to the moth on my doorstep. It is fascinating to learn more about the biodiversity of the region, and discover potentially at-risk or invasive species.

To go beyond the basics of making observations, find projects looking for specific requests. For example, there is an important project on iNaturalist that allows users to log wildlife killed on Mexico's highways. These types of projects help the work of organizations like the Wildlands Network, that advocate for better road and railway design and more wildlife connector corridors that give wildlife a fighting chance.

Plan for science projects on your next vacation.

Whether you are trekking through the mountains, strolling the sand, boating through the bays or diving through the deep ocean, there are projects you can join to make your vacation a little more meaningful.

There are entire trips built around citizen science, like ones from Free Range Ocean and The Shipwreck Survey. Of course, there are also ways you can report observations of fish while you snorkel, help keep track of sea turtles or make note of marine life while you dive anywhere on Earth. In Delaware you can help count crabs on the beach. In the Appalachian Mountains you can track flowers and plants as you hike. If snow skiing is your thing, you can measure the powdery precipitation while visiting the slopes.

There's also an entire organization dedicated to connecting scientists to volunteer explorers. Adventure Scientists has several projects that fit the bill, while letting you be in charge of your own itinerary. My favorite of their current projects asks citizen scuba divers to help monitor coral reef health in Mexico, Costa Rica, Honduras and Colombia.

Turn your birdwatching into conservation action.

Take your birdwatching to the next level by contributing to community science projects from some of the biggest nature nonprofits and educational institutions.

I have friends from Gen Z to Boomers that enjoy birdwatching, and the Merlin App is a favorite among them. This easy-to-use app from the Cornell Lab identifies birds by the sounds of their songs. The same organization that maintains Merlin also runs NestWatch and collaborates with scientists around the world on eBird, where you can share your own sightings to help out.

The National Audubon Society conducts the Christmas Bird Count each winter from December 14 to January 5. You can also join the Great BackYard Bird Count (this year from Feb. 13-16). These time-limited studies are able to give season-specific data for researchers to evaluate bird patterns and activity over many years. If you are a fan of fluttering bird feeders, you can also sign up to observe the action at a local hot spot on FeederWatch.

In conclusion, there are so many ways you can spend your time making a difference in the scientific community, even as a layman observer. If one of these projects didn't pique your interest, do some searching online to find one that does. Be sure to look for projects that are current (not closed or ended) and backed by legitimate organizations.

So, the animals are waiting and ready. Are you?

The Magnificent MagnusCards Launch: Photo and Video Package

Links to review:

• Photography featured here - https://cadencebank.com/magnuscards 

• The promo video - Link to Youtube

• BTS vertical reel 1 - Links to Instagram and Facebook

• BTS vertical reel 2 - not released yet

My Role: Producer and director

Backstory: This large regional bank engages our team throughout the year for their video and photography needs. They recently partnered with a company to assist people with disabilities, like autism, understand and perform banking tasks. This project involved multiple media needs in one: a set of photographs to be used for the innovative digital step-by-step "card decks", a promo video for the launch of this new tool, and two behind-the-scenes vertical videos to highlight the product and partnership on social media.

I previously enjoyed spending an exciting weekend in Jackson, Mississippi for this client's Gameday Surprise at Jackson State University. The MagnusCards project was even more personal than usual, since I have a child with autism. I used my knowledge and experience with my daughter and previous work with individuals with disabilities to meticulously plan two days of work with the talent. This helped us be organized and methodical on set, providing a peaceful space for the talent to really shine.

Pre-production meetings and open communication on set allowed us to move quickly through the shot lists as we bounced back and forth between two talent. Wardrobe changes, plenty of breaks and even weather surprises were never a problem.

Challenges: Making a promo video for a product mid-development is always tricky, but we were also involved in making the actual product, so that was nice! I had to create several spreadsheets and collaborate closely with the three crew members overseeing the technical execution of each part of the project. We had three very different shot lists and only two days to capture everything.

A peek at one of three different shot lists.

Successes: We provided more than enough photos to fulfill the client's need for the "decks". They were able to use some photos in the promotion of the product as well, which we are very happy about. Their product launched the first week of October, with a press release and lots of happy comments on social media. I am proud to have been a part of this project, helping others live more independent lives.

Some of the card deck covers.

This shot was composed on set with nothing on screen. The app was added in post.

Promotional image being used on their landing page.

Into the Woods: A "Fire" Video Series for TNC and a Partner Organization

Links to watch and read how three of five videos are being utilized:

Prescribed Fire (on LinkedIn) 

Real World Impact on Forests (on LinkedIn)

Collaboration at Scale (on LinkedIn)

My Role: Producer

Backstory: In the Spring of 2025, our team was contacted by someone from The Nature Conservancy through an online contact form. I volunteered to produce the project immediately, since nature and science are my jam. Turns out, these videos were not only for TNC but a for-profit partner organization. This is pretty common for my non-profit clients, and always adds and interesting aspect to messaging, coordination and branding. Fortunately, these teams both knew what they wanted and were solid in the understanding between them, which made my job much more straightforward.

After both clients accepted our proposal, we mapped out the plan, assigned crew and gear, and kept an eye on the weather. Our time was limited, so we arrived much earlier than the subjects we were filming. Our small-but-mighty crew was ready to roll as soon as (on-camera) boots hit the ground.

Challenges: We only experienced the usual minor challenges: wishing we had more time to cover the interviews, nature and beautiful landscape, filming out in the Texas heat. Oh, I did stain a good sock the color of red clay when my shoe got stuck in the mud. All in good fun!

Successes: Due to tight time constraints, we were a little worried about capturing all of the interviews, especially being outside in somewhat unpredictable weather conditions. But, we kept up with the tour group and filmed exactly what the clients were looking to capture. I helped the team keep calm and focused -- and safe and hydrated. The footage turned out gorgeous and the clients are deploying the content in what looks like a successful series of joint posts.