Hey short waivers, Regina Barber here. We're off today for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day,

but don't panic. In the meantime, we're bringing you a story from NPR's LifeKit podcast

about how you, your neighbor, your niece, your grandma, all of us can help advance science.

We hope this episode inspires you to reach out, join a project, and to see and share the idea

that science is everywhere and for everyone. Science is calling. Are you going to answer?

This is NPR's LifeKit. And if you're anything like me, you've been spending a lot more time just

noticing things, like the songs of Sparrows outside your apartment window. Are the purple

crocuses bursting into bloom in a nearby park? But did you know those kinds of observations could

actually be helpful to scientists? In fact, during the pandemic, as many of us have been forced to

stay close to home, we've seen a growing number of people participating in something called

citizen science. That's when people like you and me voluntarily collect data out in the world,

or in our own backyards to help professional scientists study everything from the migratory

patterns of butterflies to neighborhood air quality. There are literally thousands of citizen

science projects out there waiting to be explored. A few clicks away. I'm Meg Dalton, and in this episode

of LifeKit, we're exploring how and why to try citizen science. If you're like me and are deeply

curious about the world around you, then citizen science might just be the thing you need in your life.

I would describe myself as a consistently inconsistent citizen scientist, and because of that,

we'll be joined by a few very experienced citizen scientists. They're going to help us understand

how to get started. You can study nature in the cracks of the sidewalk. You really can.

There are insects everywhere. There are birds everywhere. Why it matters. It isn't just about

your backyard. It's about yours and 10,000 other people's backyards. Who it's for? Everyone can do it.

You don't need to be a professionally trained scientist. And so much more. Okay, so before we get into

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