Citizen science portal
Science is all around us. It plays a part in getting us to work, powering our buildings, and making sure the food and water we consume is safe. Every day, researchers are working to improve our society and discover new things about the world in which we live.
There are science projects and science experiments happening in your community that you can get involved in. Some may only be available at certain times of year or in certain areas, but with a little exploring you can find exciting ways to take part in science.
If you are a scientist and you lead a citizen science project please email us and we’ll add it to the list.
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Want to do more to help protect nature? Great! Now’s the time.
It’s through everyday actions that we can all come together and make a real difference in protecting nature.
Science projects
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BC Parks Foundation, BC Parks, the Starzomski Lab at the University of Victoria, and Dr. John Reynolds at SFU. Sponsored by YVR and Teck. Help document and celebrate the biodiversity of BC Parks! When you visit BC's provincial parks and protected areas, collect photographic observation of plants, animals, other organisms and natural features, and upload them to the iNaturalist website or app. These observations help researchers develop a deeper understanding of what parks are protecting and can inform management decisions to sustain these protected areas for generations to come. |
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BC Parks Foundation, eBird, Birds Canada, and the BC Cetacean Sightings Network. Supported by BC Parks, the Starzomski Lab at the University of Victoria, and Dr. John Reynolds at SFU. Sponsored by YVR and Teck. Join thousands of other proud British Columbians in B.C.’s Big Nature Challenge, presented by the BC Parks Foundation. The Challenge continues, as we work towards 2 million observations while also reaching 15,000 species and advancing our knowledge on the many rare and threatened species we share this province with. Anyone can help crowd-source one million observations of wildlife in our beautiful province, while also getting the health benefits of spending time in nature. |
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Abeilles citoyennes (in French only)
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Abeilles citoyennes is a participatory science project aimed at inventorizing the biodiversity of wild pollinating insects (bees and hoverflies) throughout Québec. Led by a research team from Université Laval, the project is using public assistance to collect data on the distribution and abundance of pollinator species in Quebec's main agricultural regions. |
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Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Through a simple monthly update, agricultural producers can report on the impact of weather and climate conditions and events in their region. The volunteers provide valuable information about the current agricultural situation and emerging risks. |
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Every single day, Citizen Scientists (volunteers) like you share their energy, skill, and bird sightings through Birds Canada’s research and monitoring programs–and this action helps inform conservation action! |
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Natural Resources Canada/Healthy Forest Partnership The spruce budworm is the most destructive insect in eastern Canadian forests. Citizen scientists play a major role in providing insight into why populations rise and spread the way they do. Watch this video to learn more. |
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Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative  |
Contact the CWHC regional centre in your area to report sick or dead wildlife and help track the health of wild populations. |
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Citizen Science: Pain Research  |
BC SUPPORT Unit: British Columbia Academic Health Science Network You can help guide health research and improve the lives of others with similar health problems. By sharing your experiences, we can learn how pain affects different people, and together we can discover new research ideas. |
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Colony B is a fast paced puzzle game specifically designed for phones and tablets. But Colony B is much more than that! Every game played enables you to help researchers working on microbes and human health. Play Colony B and become a citizen scientist! |
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Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network  |
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada/Environment and Climate Change Canada Join this volunteer network of weather observers who measure and map precipitation (rain and snow) in their communities. |
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DRAW - Data Rescue: Archives & Weather  |
Help us uncover the story of Montreal's evolving climate captured in the McGill Observatory's historical weather logs. Your transcriptions will help scientists and historians gain a better understanding of our environment and its impact on our city and its people. |
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Rocky Mountain Eagle Research Foundation The Rocky Mountain Eagle Research Foundation is dedicated to the study of Eagles and other birds of prey, primarily through the documentation of their spring and fall migrations along the mountains of Western Canada. |
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Early Detection and Rapid Response Network Ontario  |
Join the EDRR Network for access to workshops, training materials and resources aimed at helping citizens report and manage invasive species in their communities. |
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This website allows users to track their butterfly sightings and locations; organize, store and share photos; and make a valuable contribution to science and conservation. |
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EcoSpark offers a variety of citizen science projects to engage youth and communities in taking an active role in protecting and sustaining their local environment. To learn more about our citizen science programs, resource guides, monitoring initiatives and how you can inspire positive change in your community, visit our website. |
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Across Canada’s northern territories, hundreds of specially adapted plant species grow low and slow, making the most of brief summers under the midnight sun. The Canadian Museum of Nature leads an international project to document the plant species across our rapidly changing Arctic, drawing much information from present-day field work and from specimens collected over the past 200+ years. |
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Public Health Agency of Canada Become a FluWatcher and help monitor the spread of flu-like illnesses in Canada. |
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NatureWatch Find out how to participate in a program to help increase knowledge of frogs and toads in Canada. |
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Guardians of the Deep is a citizen science program through which SCUBA divers identify and count threatened marine fish species. The fish count data is important for monitoring marine species affected by over-fishing and habitat loss. |
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NatureWatch Contribute to Canadian climate change research by helping to record and analyze when ice forms and thaws on bodies of water. |
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Connect with nature in a whole new way. Explore. Learn. Contribute to conservation with iNaturalist.ca |
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NatureWatch Monarch butterflies need milkweed plants for their reproduction. Help track the health of butterfly populations in Canada by identifying the location of milkweed plants. |
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Share your observations of monarchs and milkweeds to contribute to the conservation of this butterfly, a species at risk. In order to find and protect the monarch's critical breeding habitat, we invite all citizens to share their observations of monarch butterflies, caterpillars, eggs and chrysalises, as well as milkweed, the only plant on which the monarch lays its eggs. |
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Support bat conservation by locating bat colonies and counting the number of bats living in them. |
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Become a digital fisher or coastbuster, and follow live video feeds to help Ocean Networks Canada study the oceans. |
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NatureWatch Participate in Plant Watch to help scientists discover how, and more importantly why, our natural environment is changing. |
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Natural Resources Canada Did you feel it? Help seismologists determine how your area may respond to future earthquakes by contributing intensity information on the earthquakes you experience. |
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Fisheries and Oceans Canada Document and report your encounter with a shark. Most people don't know what to do when and if they see a shark. The answer is: enjoy the view from a safe distance. Sharks are wild animals, and deserve the same level of respect given to any other wild animal. |
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Smart Platform: Social Innovation for Public Health  |
DEPtH Lab, University of Regina Work with digital epidemiologists to solve critical public health crises such as climate change, COVID-19, and non-communicable disease. |
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STREAM (Sequencing The Rivers for Environmental Assessment and Monitoring)  |
University of Guelph, WWF Canada, Living Lakes Canada and Environment and Climate Change Canada STREAM combines citizen science community-based monitoring with environmental DNA identification (DNA metabarcoding) technology to generate data on biodiversity especially for freshwater benthic macroinvertebrates (i.e. river bugs) to better understand freshwater health across Canada. |
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Environment and Climate Change Canada Data from bird surveys provides information on population status and trends that help identify species or populations requiring conservation action. These bird surveys depend on citizen scientists of all ages and skill levels. |
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Water testing for everyone Our free, open-data platform, water testing kits, and online course are tools for anyone to learn about and protect our lakes, rivers, and oceans. |
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Parks Canada Waterton Lakes National Park has several annual citizen science projects that allow everyday people to gain in-depth knowledge of species found in the park and the issues facing Waterton. |
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Wild Whales: Report marine animal sightings  |
Fisheries and Oceans Canada/B.C. Cetacean Sightings Network Support the conservation of marine animals by reporting sightings of whales, dolphins, and porpoises in British Columbia waters. |
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NatureWatch Discover the diversity beneath your feet by participating in Worm Watch. Help scientists research all the earthworm species in Canada. |
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