Becoming a Citizen Scientist, according to the Cornell University Laboratory of Ornithology, can be as simple as glancing periodically at your backyard bird feeder, or as complicated as getting out in the field, collecting data about the relationship between an environments characteristics and the success of bird-nesting in that milieu. Put simply, citizen science is the practice of involving individual citizens, through their voluntary efforts, in the work of environmental science. Such voluntary assistance encompasses a wide variety of environmentally-related issues and projects, including the counting of various species of bird, monitoring rainfall amounts, or observing and surveying the habits of threatened species of wildlife. The goal of all environmental science, whether performed by private citizens or environmental scientists, is the same: to provide for the health of the planet, its natural resources, and all living beings.

John Fein, an internationally-renowned science educator, and associate professor...