Conservation

"eBird is among the world’s largest biodiversity-related science projects, with more than 100 million bird sightings contributed annually by eBirders around the world and an average participation growth rate of approximately 20% year over year. A collaborative enterprise with hundreds of partner organizations, thousands of regional experts, and hundreds of thousands of users, eBird is managed by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology." (https://ebird.org/about)

"The Michigan Butterfly Network seeks to assess the changing population status of our state’s butterfly species, evaluate the quality of Michigan ecosystems, and engage the Michigan public in significant community science research." (https://naturecenter.org/michiganbutterfly/)

"A National Geographic BioBlitz is an event that focuses on finding and identifying as many species as possible in a specific area over a short period of time. At a BioBlitz, scientists, families, students, teachers, and other community members work together to get a snapshot of an area’s biodiversity. These events can happen in most any geography—urban, rural, or suburban—in areas as small as a backyard or as large as a country." (https://www.nationalgeographic.org/projects/bioblitz/)

"Every observation can contribute to biodiversity science, from the rarest butterfly to the most common backyard weed. We share your findings with scientific data repositories like the Global Biodiversity Information Facility to help scientists find and use your data. All you have to do is observe." (https://www.inaturalist.org/)

Also check out the Biodiversity of Michigan Project! (https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/biodiversity-of-michigan)

"If you enjoy feeding birds and have a bird feeder out, there’s still time to join the Winter Feeder Count! We are asking people living in Michigan to submit their information about the birds visiting their feeders monthly through April. There is a simple protocol to follow and the information gathered is valuable for protecting birds and the habitat they utilize." (https://naturecenter.org/Conservation/WFC/)

"Floras are ever changing, and information about them is never complete. One important way that individuals can help keep the flora as current as possible is to document species that are not mapped from their area. We cannot map reports that are not backed by documentation, so this means collecting and labeling a specimen. A well collected and documented specimen can be of lasting benefit to science, so it can be an important contribution even if it is some effort."

"We still need images for a large number of plants, and so would be grateful to receive images that we can use on the site to illustrate additional species or aspects of species. Particularly helpful are images depicting less frequently illustrated portions of plants – fruits, underground parts, buds, etc. Ideally, we would prefer them in digital form."

(https://michiganflora.net/contribute)