The fourth installment in a two-year series of working seminars and meetings that will explore the broad space of “smart cities” has been scheduled for March 27 and will examine the use of community-based science programs as effective data collection tools.
Titled “Using Citizen Science for Environmental Monitoring,” the seminar will feature three speakers from local lake and freshwater community associations and government agencies. The presenters include Aimee Clinkhammer, the watershed coordinator for the Finger Lakes Water Hub of the New York Department of Environmental Conservation; Mary Menapace, citizen science coordinator for the Skaneateles Lake Association; and Nancy Mueller, who manages the New York State Federation of Lake Associations Inc.
The trio see citizen science programs as an effective tool for data collection, as the programs provide an opportunity for community and volunteer engagement. These engagement efforts then result in a better understanding of local environmental issues, and the need for protecting and restoring watersheds and habitats.
This seminar will discuss the history of citizen science programs in New York State and the Finger Lakes region; what it takes to develop and sustain a successful citizen science program; the tools and methods necessary to ensure compliance with relevant scientific and data quality standards; and citizens’ view on the process.
Svetoslava Todorova, professor of practice in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at the College of Engineering and Computer Science, will moderate the discussion.
The seminar will be held from 5:30 to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, March 27, in 207 Hall of Languages. For more information, contact Steve Sawyer at ssawyer@syr.edu.
The seminar series is funded by a Syracuse University Collaboration for Unprecedented Success and Excellence grant, awarded in May 2018.
