Citizen Science: A Call to Action

Our goal is to inform and motivate you as leaders of your community to foster an activism on the part of your members and their families to protect the environment in a time when such protection is being threatened by the nation’s political leadership.

Citizens do not need be idle and tolerate air, water and land pollution.   The public has a right to an environment that does not make us sick. Citizen Science data is respected by government and industry and supports our cause.

In the last decade, new developments in technology and the ability of citizens to organize has led to the public becoming actively engaged in uncovering human health and environmental problems in their own neighborhoods. This concept is generally called citizen science.  Community citizen science is locally led, collaboratively activities to explore and address community-defined issues. 

Citizen Science Presentation

At this link, you will find a discussion on citizen science as presented by David Friedman of David Friedman Consulting LLC at the 2017 FJMC Convention.  It discusses:

1. What is Citizen Science?
2. How effective is it?
3. How to go about initiating a citizen science project?
4. Areas that you might want to look at?
   • Monitor quality of drinking water
   • Monitor quality of surface waters in your community
   • Monitor changes in local ecosystems
   • Monitor if change is occurring in food safety, recycling and reuse in the local community.
5. How to get started and do the study in a manner such that what you do has credibility and will result in government taking action.

Mechanisms for Action

• Partner with organizations in your community that promote a clean environment and Public health
• Contacting Elected Officials
• Use of Social Media to mobilize members
• Mens Club Projects,  Joint USY Projects
• Find an analytical environmental laboratory and/or engineering firm
• Pressure candidates to commit to taking action and support with votes those that do
• Write articles in local media

​Example – Food Safety & Waste Reduction

1. What is the problem?
2. Why is this important?
3. What can be done to address the problems?

• Push government to increase monitoring of food for contamination
• Keep pressure on food industry to better label foods for use dates
• Encourage collection and use of food from restaurants, groceries, wholesalers
• Encourage recycling and especially reuse of waste