Citizen Science
Chester County Parks provide our citizens with much needed outdoor space, acting as a playground for curious minds, both young and old alike. The parks also provide our residents with a space to exercise, which leads to both physical and mental health benefits. In addition to these social and health benefits, Chester County Parks provide valuable ecosystem services. That’s where you, as a citizen of Chester County, come into play. How? You become the scientist! “Citizen Science” is the concept that anyone – amateur scientists—can apply their findings to a larger organization, making that organization as a whole stronger. When everyone acts as a scientist, then scientific research grows by leaps and bounds. You can help us discover even more about Chester County Parks. We need to protect our environmental investment, and we need our citizens to help! Participate as a citizen scientist to grow our understanding of the natural world living in our parks.
Let Us Know What You Find!
Let us know what you find in the Chester County Parks with the iNaturalist app. The iNaturalist app helps identify plants and animals from just a photo, and lets you record the location details. Download the iNaturalist app before your next visit to one of our Chester County Parks to share photos and information that identify plants and animals that you come across.
Other Chester County Citizen Science Efforts
Bluebirds – Volunteers monitor our bluebird boxes and the data is provided to the Bluebird Society of PA. Contact Park Ranger Jay Erb at [email protected] if you have interest in volunteering for this!
Purple Martins – Friends of Springton Manor Farm are doing Purple Martin monitoring – please contact them by clicking here to learn more or get involved! The data is provided to the Purple Martin Conservation association. Purple Martins are heavily dependent on human-provided nesting structures.
Frogs – We have provided frog data in the past to Frogwatch USA, but are not currently doing so. Let us know if you are interested in monitoring frogs or other amphibians in our parks or connect with Frogwatch USA or the Pennsylvania Amphibian and Reptile Survey directly! Click here for the Frogwatch Volunteer site. Click here for the PA Amphibian and Reptile Survey.
Birds – Valley Forge Audubon has been using eBird to document bird species in our Chester County Parks. Contact the Audubon Society to learn more, or download eBird to start documenting!
Looking for More?
You can easily get involved with these additional nearby Citizen Science programs:
Search for other projects in these databases: