Semester Project #2 Blog #1

For my 2nd Semester project I have chosen to participate in Project Squirrel. As I read through the list, this one caught my eye right away, and I'm excited to start (soon) collecting data for the scientists! I have two dogs, Howie and Rudy, and they always chase the squirrels in my backyard. One time Howie caught a rabbit and put it in my bedroom closet right before school. Rudy has almost caught a couple squirrels, but sometimes it looks like the squirrels enjoy the chase.

Here are my answers to the first six questions, since I haven't started collecting any data yet.

1. Which citizen science project have you chosen? Why?
I have chosen the Project Squirrel citizen science project (http://projectsquirrel.org/participate.shtml). I chose this project because my neighborhood has a lot of squirrels, and the project is very flexible. The name of the project pulled me in right away because I thought it was funny.

2. What are your responsibilities as a volunteer? 
As a volunteer my responsibilities are to, at least four times over the semester, record different data on the squirrels in my neighborhood, and submit my findings to Project Squirrel.

3. What data will you collect? How is data submitted?
I will collect data on the number of individual Gray and Fox squirrels I see. I also have to record the different kinds of trees that are in the observation area (there are a number of possible observation sites and data can be collected from almost anywhere). Other necessary data includes the type of food the squirrels gather (if any), the number of squirrels compared to last year, and the absence or presence of dogs. Data is submitted by completing an online form and then turning in to Project Squirrel.

4. What research question is the project attempting to answer?
Squirrels can us about our local environments, so Project Squirrel is gather research data to gain a better and well-rounded idea of neighborhood ecology.

5. How does the project apply the scientific method?
Project Squirrel is largely an observational citizen science volunteering program, so with the scientific method the program is heavily based on Observations and Recording/Reporting Data. The admins or heads of Project Squirrel are the ones in charge of the hypothesis, and as a citizen science volunteer I am helping them collect data to either prove or disprove that hypothesis.

6. Which part of the scientific method does your participation address?
Answered mostly in #5. My participation addresses the observational side of the scientific method and recording/reporting those observations in the form of data in an online survey.

Yeah squirrels! 

Rudy

Howie & Rudy