This summer, volunteers trained at Moraine State Park to collect samples of potential algae blooms and assess erosion in streams in Allegheny County parks.
Hundreds of residents join research programs annually to tally birds, tiny invertebrates and frogs and note when tree buds leaf out. They are even counting bumblebees.
These volunteers are the boots on the ground for large- and small-scale environmental fieldwork. And their numbers are growing, according to study managers.
For more than 30 summers, Mike Fialkovich, 58, of Churchill, has driven the same 25-mile route among farms and subdivisions in Butler County. He stops every half-mile for three minutes with a birding friend to listen for robins, blackbirds, swallows, crows and more.
The data is submitted to the Breeding Bird Survey to gauge the trends of breeding birds.
Trained in environmental biology, Mr. Fialkovich is vice president of the Three Rivers Birding Club. He participates in a slew of avian surveys year-round.
Why does he do it?
“It helps the birds and it helps people,” he explained.
Christmas bird count
The National Audubon Society’s Christmas Bird Count, scheduled for Dec. 30 in Pittsburgh, is the prize event attracting grizzled and fledgling birders alike.
Audubon’s 124th annual Christmas Bird Count is one of the longest-running wildlife surveys in the world, producing data to measure changes in the environment and bird populations throughout the continent.
“For new people, the hardest thing is learning the songs and calls and, like anything else, it takes experience to learn those,” Mr. Fialkovich said.
“They can learn with the bird count hike leaders and learn how different species look and sound.”
To volunteer, residents can visit www.aswp.org, the website of the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania.
Besides the birds, citizen scientist opportunities continue to increase with surveys such as Budburst, which documents tree and plant budding, Bumble Bee Watch and more.
“I always love to stress you don’t have to be an expert in any of this stuff. We’ll either train you or pair you with someone,” said Chris Kubiak, ASWP’s education director.
More citizen scientists are in our future, with more opportunities and ways for watchers to acquire their bona fides.
“The idea of scientists in the ivory tower having a monopoly on knowledge is no longer the case,” Mr. Kubiak said.
The other important development is technology and smartphones.
“People have these hand-held computers that they can take out into the field,” he said.
Wildlife apps for reporting and identification such as Merlin and iNaturalist allow amateurs to get a better feel for what’s out there, Mr. Kubiak said. And you can instantly export observations into the world wide web that others can analyze.
“Because phones are so ubiquitous, that has allowed us to connect and grow,” he said.
Some of Audubon’s training programs require the eBird app to report sightings. “It is what we want people to do,” he said.
Watching bird feeders
Residents identify birds at their feeders for Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Project FeederWatch, running from Nov. 1 through April 30.
“There was a huge bump during COVID-19 with more people than ever before,” said Emma Greig, manager of FeederWatch.
“It’s very clear folks wanted something meaningful to do at home and something to do with birds was appealing,” she said.
The casual survey allows participants to record birds at their feeder at their convenience. Cornell provides materials to help volunteers identify the birds.
“All you may submit is two cardinals and five blue jays, but a researcher can take bird counts and overlay information about habitat and climate change. You get an amazing picture,” Ms. Greig said.
Project FeedWatch data has been used in more than 40 scientific papers ranging in topics from bird diseases to range expansions.
Another Cornell program, its crowdsourced eBird online database, is available in 27 languages so nature watchers can report their findings and check other sightings.
The number of eBird volunteers submitting data skyrocketed by almost 60% from 539,300 in March 2020 to 861,500 in March 2023, said Pat Leonard, spokeswoman for Cornell’s Lab of Ornithology.
Mind getting wet?
Volunteers are walking every foot of every stream in Allegheny County’s nine parks to assess the chemical, biological and physical health of the waterways.
Part of the Penn State Extension Master Watershed Steward Program, they check out stream bank conditions and look for erosion.
“People say, ‘Oh there’s a little bit of mud in the stream,’ but in the stream bottoms there are critters in there and when sediment fills their gills that is very bad,” said Laurie Maglietta, 60, of West Deer, coordinator of watershed steward program volunteers in Allegheny County.
Ms. Maglietta’s position is a paid, part-time job.
The water quality study can jump-start practices to stop erosion and silt entering a stream by planting vegetation along the banks, which also cools the water for a better habitat, she said.
Ms. Maglietta coordinates a growing cadre of volunteers for the 10-year-old program. Currently, she oversees 64 adult watershed stewards in the county.
Participation in the program has grown more than four-fold, from 194 volunteers in 2018 to 922 in 2023, said Erin Frederick, statewide coordinator for the stewardship program.
Volunteers collect water and other samples and provide environmental observations. They learn about groundwater, stream ecology, wetlands, invasive plants, and stormwater management.
Residents apply through Penn State and put in 40 hours of training, plus continuing education. They need not be professional scientists or academics.
“We’re always looking for volunteers,” Ms. Maglietta said. “There’s just not enough money in this area of interest to fund getting all of the work done.”
This year, volunteers documented bank erosion in Plum and other areas where a grant paid to plant native plants along stream banks.
Young blood
A dozen volunteers learned last summer how to sample potentially harmful algae blooms in Moraine State Park.
“If there is algae, they will go and sample. They do have a true impact,” Ms. Maglietta said.
About half of the volunteers are retired; some have knee issues and can’t easily work on the steep river and stream banks.
Because of the popularity of the program and the need for more citizen scientists, Penn State is working with the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources on a new master watershed steward program for volunteers ages 11-18, she said.
To learn more, go to extension.psu.edu/programs/watershed-stewards.
“We’re happy when we have young new blood apply,” Ms. Maglietta said.
