Stuck at Home? Your Nature Observations Can Help Scientists (and Maybe Your Mood)

If you’re suddenly noticing the wildlife outside your window while sheltering in place — or if you’re trapped far away from nature and craving it — there’s a way to turn quarantine observations into data that can power scientific research.

Becoming part of a community of citizen scientists might just soothe your sense of isolation, too, says Rob Guralnick, an associate curator at the Florida Museum of Natural History on the University of Florida campus, who helps run the nationwide citizen-science effort Notes from Nature.

“People are at home playing Animal Crossing, but you can get the same sense of shared activities in a way that can be useful to science,” Guralnick said.

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