Citizen Science Projects Supported by EPA

Explore projects supported by EPA using CitizenScience.gov, a searchable catalog of federally-supported citizen science and crowdsourcing projects. 

The following links exit the site Exit

Air Pollution Monitoring for Communities - Six research organizations awarded grants to work with local communities to explore data quality, durability and uses of low-cost air pollution sensor technology. These research projects will explore how scientific data can be effectively gathered and used by communities to learn about local air quality.

Amigos Bravos - EPA Urban Waters Program - Baseline water quality testing and analysis with support from community volunteers and local students.

Chesapeake Monitoring Cooperative (CMC) -  CMC works with diverse partners to collect and share water quality data. The goal is to develop a comprehensive understanding of Chesapeake Bay Watershed health.

Citizen Scientists: Making a World of Difference - A workshop to engage citizens in participatory research in the Brattleboro, Vermont area.

Cyanomonitoring - Documenting the occurrence and timing of harmful algal blooms.

Discover-AQ - A NASA-led campaign which aimed to improve the use of satellites to monitor air quality. The program recruited citizen scientists to help collect ground-based air quality measurements using sensors.

Earth Force's Keep It Clean's Neighborhood Environmental Trios (KIC-NET) - KIC-NET engages youth in improving urban waterways.

Florida Keys Water Watch (PDF) - A community-based volunteer water quality monitoring program to involve students and citizens in monitoring coastal habitats.

A General Aviation Citizen Science Study of Harmful Algal Blooms - Developing an early warning system to alert communities to algal blooms along U.S. coastlines.

Georgia Adopt-A-Stream - This program organizes and provides resources to volunteer citizen scientists performing water quality monitoring in Georgia.

IDAH2O Master Water Stewards - A volunteer citizen scientist effort to collect basic water quality data for Idaho streams. The program also trains citizen volunteers about regional water quality issues.

Indigenous Observation Network (ION) - A collaborative research and monitoring project to collect water-quality samples from the Yukon River and tributaries. Trained Indigenous citizens living in the Yukon River Basin provide assistance to the project.

Ironbound Community Corporation (ICC) Environmental Monitoring - Studying the effectiveness of equipment lending for citizen science in the Ironbound community of Newark, New Jersey. 

Lakes of Missouri Volunteer Program - Generating research-quality data by enlisting citizens to monitor water quality on Missouri lakes.

Local Environmental Observer Network - Applying traditional knowledge alongside western science and technology to document change due to climate change, and development.

Making a Visible Difference (MVD) in N/NE Portland: Engaging Communities, Using Citizen Science to Assess and Address Children's Environmental Health from Transit and Air Pollution - An EPA Region 10 project leveraging existing partnerships with communities in N/NE Portland, Oregon. The project focuses on pollution sources, reduction and potential mitigation measures.

Mattapoisett/EPA Preparing for Extreme Weather - A collaboration to help prepare for extreme weather, primarily flooding and storm surge combined with sea level rise.

MapGive - A community of online volunteer mappers created as an initiative of the U.S. Department of State's Humanitarian Information Unit.

The Secchi Dip-In - An international effort to track changes in water quality in the United States and Canada. Volunteers take Secchi disk readings and submit information annually during the month of July.

Smart City Air Challenge  - Baltimore, MD and Lafayette, LA will install 300 air quality sensors each. They'll make the data public and figure out how to manage large volumes of data.

Summer on the Marsh - The New England Ocean Science Education Collaborative (NEOSEC) involves citizen science monitoring by campers at a network of summer camps. This is a robust model for educator-scientist partnerships and education-based citizen science programs.

Supporting Communities Using EPA Science Tools - Introducing EPA's Community-Focused Exposure and Risk Screening Tool (C-FERST) to community-based organizations and  local governments.