I'm doing this on my own

1. First, you’ll need to register for a free account. Click here for the registration page, or click on the green “register” button on the top right of this page to get started. Account holders must be 13 years of age or older.
2. Once you have an account set up and are logged in, click on the “projects” icon at the top of the page and select “individual projects”
3. Click on any project you are interested in to read about the project and contribute data!

I'm working with a group

1. To lead a group, you will need to register for a free account. Click here for the registration page, or go click on the green “register” button on the top right of this page to get started. Account holders must be 13 years of age or older.
2. Browse the projects designed for groups by clicking on the “projects” option at the page and selecting “group projects.”
3. Select a project and find the information about the project, guidelines and resources to support data collection, detailed protocols, and to enter your data.
4. If you would like more resources or support in leading your group, email us at EcosystemInvestigation@gmri.org.

I'm a teacher or informal educator

1. To lead a student or youth group, you will need to register for a free account. Click here for the registration page, or click on the green “register” button on the top right of this page to get started. Note: accounts are for educators only, not youth. Account holders must be 13 years of age or older.
2. Browse the projects designed for student groups by clicking on the “projects” option at the top of this page and selecting “group projects.”
3. Select a project to explore background information, guidelines and resources to support data collection, and detailed protocols.
4. Find curriculum resources to support learning through contributing to the project linked on the “Overview” page or browse the Learning Resource Hub.
5. We are ready to help! Reach out to Abigail at along@gmri.org and we will walk you through getting your students started with community science.

First try emptying your cache. If that doesn’t work, contact us at EcosystemInvestigation@gmri.org

If you have been locked out due to too many login attempts, please wait 5-10 minutes before attempting to log in again. You can also contact us at EcosystemInvestigation@gmri.org to receive a temporary password.

If I am leading a group (teachers, educators, and group leaders)

1. Log into your account.
2. Set up a trip for your group:
   1. Navigate to the project that you want to contribute to. Find the “projects” icon at the top of the page and select “group projects”
   2. Once on the project page, find the “Contribute” tab.
   3. Select “Create a trip”
   4. Enter your trip information, including time, date, location, and number of data sheets needed. The number of datasheets needed will depend both on your group size and the particular project. Consult the project page for more information.
   5. Click “Let’s go!” to generate a trip. You can find and edit this trip in your User Profile.
3. Once you have a trip, record the passphrases listed under “Results”. There will be one passphrase for each data sheet. Participants will enter the data by entering the passphrase on the “Contribute” tab on the project page.
4. Once all participants have entered their data, go to the discussion tab and send us a message so we know it is ready for review. If we don't hear from you, expect data to be reviewed at least two weeks after submission

Watch this screencast for help with setting up a trip and editing a trip. Watch this screencast for help with finding passphrases and using them to enter data.

If I am doing this on my own

1. Navigate to the project that you want to contribute to. Find the “projects” icon at the top of the page and select “individual projects”
2. Once on the project page, input your location using the map or the coordinate boxes
   1. Click the map pin (orange dot) to activate it, then click+drag the map pin to your study site.
   2. You can also add the coordinates directly to the fields above the map. Check that the map is centered and the dot is in the location that you've entered.
3. Enter the date when you collected the data (it’s totally ok to enter your data after your trip)
4. Click the blue “let’s add some data!” button
5. Fill out your data sheet so that your data can be reviewed.
6. Don’t forget to check the certification box and hit submit before you leave!

If I am leading a group

1. To edit data contributed by your group participants or students, find the trip you created in your User Profile. Click on the trip, find the datasheet that needs updating, and click “Edit”.
2. Students or group participants can edit their own data by re-entering the same passphrase they used to open the data sheet, editing, and clicking “submit” to save changes.
3. To update trip information, such as date, time, location, or number of datasheets:
   1. Find the trip in your User Profile
   2. On the trip page, select “Edit trip details”.
4. Data can be updated until it has been locked by the project leader. If you need to edit the data sheet or a trip after the datasheet has been locked, please reach out to us at EcosystemInvestigation@gmri.org

If I am contributing to a group project

To update data that you entered via a passphrase, simply re-enter your passphrase, edit, and resubmit. You can edit and submit as many times as you need until the leader of your trip or your teacher locks the datasheets. If you need to edit the data sheet after it has been locked, reach out to us at EcosystemInvestigation@gmri.org

If I am doing this on my own

Find the data that you entered in your User Profile. You can edit and resubmit your data as many times as you need, until the datasheet is locked. If you need to edit the data sheet after it has been locked, reach out to us at EcosystemInvestigation@gmri.org

Each project comes with its unique data quality plan, which details the data quality assurance, control, validation, and planned data analysis. You can find the data quality plan at the bottom of every project page.

When your data has been reviewed, we will send you a message through the project discussion page and tag you so that you receive notification.

Coming Soon!

Find curriculum related to community science, upcoming teacher and educator professional learning opportunities, and additional climate and data related resources on GMRI’s Learning Resource Hub

We are excited to work with you and support you in getting youth involved in community science. Reach out to Abigail at along@gmri.org with questions, needs, ideas, or feedback.

"Individual" projects are designed to be completed by a single individual who completes a single datasheet for each observation made. Individual contributors must be over the age of 13 in order to create an account on the Network and submit data.

"Group" projects are designed to be completed by a group of individuals collecting data at the same time and place with a designated group leader. Many of these projects were originally designed with classrooms in mind, however any group of individuals may contribute to these projects. Data collected by group members is entered anonymously using a unique passcode, which allows children under 13 to independently contribute data to our projects.

We are committed to supporting thoughtful project design and hosting projects that have been designed with stakeholder input and with attention to the multiple outcomes to these projects in addition to science. While projects aren’t required to use our tools, they need to demonstrate (through conversation with us and the provided supports and materials) to us that adequate thought has gone into the work. You can either use our toolkit resources to conduct your own design process, or hire us to facilitate a design process for you. There is a fee for posting new projects. Please contact us for more details.

We define Community Science as scientific research and monitoring done in partnership with a diverse range of communities, furthering the goal of advancing scientific knowledge and addressing community-defined needs and concerns.

By enhancing/growing community science at GMRI, we aim to strengthen our relationships with communities in the Gulf of Maine watershed, advance scientific knowledge and understanding, and engage the public in contributing to and visualizing data that can contribute to decision making.

Participants can engage in projects in a range of ways -- from making and sharing casual observations to taking specific measurements using a scientific protocol and equipment, to data processing or analysis to find out what all the observations mean. Projects can be designed so that anyone can participate, or can be created just for people with unique skills, knowledge, and/ or access to places.

Community Science as we define it shares many features and methods with the term "Citizen Science". Based on feedback from our users and in alignment with organizations such as the Association for the Advancement of Participatory Sciences (formerly the Citizen Science Association), we no longer use the term "Citizen Science" when referring to our work.