What if every coastal community along the entire Pacific Rim were involved in monitoring their local marine environment, and all of that data were brought together in one place? Imagine, for example, if residents in Long Beach, Washington, could submit information about seabirds they observe, then look up bird data from another coastal community in southeast Alaska to compare notes.
Think about the possibilities if new data were combined with traditional knowledge to bound climate impacts, or if local knowledge contributed to oceanography.
These are lofty goals, but a team of researchers led by the University of Washington — including Julia Parrish, lead investigator and associate dean for academic affairs in the UW’s College of the Environment — believes creating a network of community-based science is possible with new support from the National Science Foundation.
The grant comes from the agency’s new INCLUDES program, which seeks to improve access to STEM education and careers by reaching more underserved populations, including the dozens of small, remote communities dotting the Oregon, Washington and Alaskan coastlines. The UW-led project is one of 37, totaling $14 million from the National Science Foundation.
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