Tag: observations

Brittany Mason and a student reporting and observing a non-venomous rat snake. Photo by Corey Callaghan

From curiosity to conservation: How citizen science is teaching children and adults to see, experience nature


April 13, 2026

It often starts with something small, such as a new bird in a branch, a vibrant butterfly in a yard, a colorful plant growing through a crack in the sidewalk or as part of a lawn. Suddenly, you are engaged and can’t help but snap a ... READ MORE

Category: Blog Community, , Conservation, Forests, Invasive Species, Natural Resources, Recreation, SFYL Hot Topic, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Research, Water, Wildlife
Tags: Beneficial Wildlife, BioBlitz, Brittany Mason, Changes, Changes In Ecosystems, Changes In Environment, Citizen Science, Citizen Science Month, Coexistence With Wildlife, Community, Corey Callaghan, Crowdsource, Curiousity, Department Of Wildlife Ecology And Conservation, EBird, Environmental Shifts, Fort Lauderdale Research And Education Center, Global Ecology, Habitat, Habitat Removal, Habitat Restoration, Inaturalist, Learning, Observations, Seasonal Changes, Smartphone, Species Distributions, Urbanization, Water Quality, Wildlife, Wildlife Monitoring
iNat_on_phone_with_snake_in_background_credit_blog banner

Science by the millions: How everyday people are revolutionizing global biodiversity research with tech


July 28, 2025

A frog croaks from a walking trail. A hiker snaps a photo and uploads it to iNaturalist. That single act — one person, one amphibian and one click — feeds into a growing global dataset that scientists now use to map shifting species ... READ MORE

Category: Coasts & Marine, Community Volunteers, Conservation, Forests, Invasive Species, Natural Resources, Pests & Disease, SFYL Hot Topic, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Research, Wildlife
Tags: Agencies, Agricultural Technology Firms, Aquatic Invasives, Biodiversity, BioScience, Brittany Mason, Citizen Science, Conservation, Corey Callaghan, Dataset, Fort Lauderdale Research And Education Center, Fungi, Global Ecology, High-resolution Maps, Inaturalist, INaturalist App, Invasive, Lourdes Mederos, Map Shifting, Modeling, News, Observations, Organisms, Photo, Plants, Research Grade, Scientists, Species Ranges, Study, Technology, UF-IFAS, University Of Florida, University Of Florida Institute Of Food And Agricultural Sciences, Wildlife Ecology And Conservation
Acanalonia servillei

Hop into science: UF/IFAS guide empowers communities of all ages to explore tiny but mighty hoppers


January 21, 2025

Spotted a tiny, colorful critter hopping on a leaf and wondered what it was up to? Meet the hoppers — leafhoppers, planthoppers and treehoppers. (more…) READ MORE

Category: Community Volunteers, Conservation, Pests & Disease, SFYL Hot Topic, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Research
Tags: Agriculture, AskIFAS, Beneficial Insects, Brian Bahder, Citizen Science, Conservation Efforts, Corey Callaghan, Data, Department Of Entomology And Nematology, Department Of Wildlife Ecology And Conservation, Ecosystems, Entomology And Nematology, Hoppers, Inaturalist, Insects, Institute Of Food And Agricultural Sciences, Invasives, Leafhoppers, News, Observations, Pests, Planthoppers, Research, Treehoppers, UF-IFAS

Subscribe For More Great Content

IFAS Blogs Categories