Community science plays a crucial role in bridging the gap between scientific research and the general public. It empowers individuals, regardless of their background, to actively participate in data collection and contribute to research efforts.
The return of river otters, once a rare sight on the urban, degraded Elizabeth River, has inspired a new collaboration between the Elizabeth River Project, and the River Otter Ecology Project and FieldScope, two national organizations promoting community science to understand and protect river otters.
Otter Spotters report the date, time, and location of their river otter sightings and river otter sign (e.g., scat!). Just report the number of river otters in a FieldScope account and what behavior you observe. Photos and videos of your sighting are highly encouraged! For questions, contact Victoria Dunch, vdunch@elizabethriver.org.
Want to hold your own clean-up event with your school, business, organization or neighborhood group? That’s awesome! Just send your results, photos and some of the most common and uncommon things you find during your cleanup to: Kayla Gradwell at kgradwell@elizabethriver.org. Or, share it on social media and tag us.
Led by local scientists and restoration experts, “Seed Keepers” offers guided sessions on seed harvesting and processing to build the region’s first-ever community seed library. You’ll discover the critical role of local genotype seeds in strengthening the resilience of our shorelines and native plantings. This series not only educates but also empowers community members to play a pivotal role in conserving our coastal ecosystems.
Special thanks to research collaborators Dr. Taylor Sloey and Dr. Erik Yando of ODU’s Wetland Plant and Restoration Lab and research fellow Eric Liu. Seed Keepers of the Elizabeth River is made possible by a generous donation from the JP Doherty Foundation.
List of Seeds Currently Available in Seed Library
For questions and to get involved, contact Luísa Black Ellis, lblack@elizabethriver.org.
OspreyWatch is a global community of observers focused on breeding osprey. Osprey are one of very few truly global sentinels for aquatic health. They feed almost exclusively on live fish throughout their entire life cycle. They are a top consumer within aquatic ecosystems and are very sensitive to both overfishing and environmental contaminants.
The mission of OspreyWatch is to collect information on a large enough spatial scale to be useful in addressing three of the most pressing issues facing aquatic ecosystems including global climate change, depletion of fish stocks, and environmental contaminants.
The Elizabeth River Project is partnering with the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) to enhance water quality monitoring in the Elizabeth River and Bay. Community scientists are helping validate and confirm readings from NASA satellites that monitor the Chesapeake Bay with their water sample submissions. The project results will not only help us monitor the health of the Chesapeake Bay, but will lead to better tools by which to monitor coastal waters around the world! For questions, contact Victoria Dunch, vdunch@elizabethriver.org.
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