Author calls on wildlife lovers to be citizen scientists (WU-315)

In this 15-minute podcast, BCB's Channie Peters and Victoria Irwin of Eagle Harbor Books welcome award-winning environmentalist and writer, Mary Ellen Hannibal, whose new book is "Citizen Scientist: Searching for Heroes and Hope in an Age of Extinction."

Mary Ellen will speak with Eagle Harbor bookstore visitors on Saturday December 10th at noon. There, she'll invite conversation and describe the new citizen science opportunities for wildlife lovers. She has ideas for those of us who want to resist the ongoing extinction of species by participating as volunteers in wildlife observation and monitoring programs, some of which are now substantially assisted by mobile smartphone technology.

Mary Ellen's research had been already revealing the accelerated extinction and loss of animal and plan species even before the 2014 publication of Elizabeth Kolbert's influential best-seller: "The Sixth Extinction". Now, her new book about Citizen Scientists is receiving acclaim by many, such as climate activist Bill McKibben.

Mary Ellen gives examples of ways that birders and others who enjoy the great outdoors can help conserve species by identifying them and their locale.

She describes, for example, a new social media platform on iPhone called iNaturalist that collaboratively, through a network of enthusiasts and experts, identifies species and then systematically informs scientific teams and wildlife conservation managers about the presence of various plants and animals.

Both for adults and whole families, Mary Ellen is pointing to ways that we can both enjoy the beautiful outdoors and take a stand against the accelerated loss of species.

And, in a community where the City of Bainbridge Island has recently taken the lead on a program to restore and attract pollinators to our island -- like bees, butterflies and certain birds -- Mary Ellen mentions how significant the decline in pollinator species is proving to be to our food-production capacity. See BCB's previous podcast on the City's Pollinator Improvement Project.

Credits: BCB host: Channie Peters; BCB audio editor and social media publisher: Barry Peters.