Achievement

Members of Cohort 3, Caroline Druschke, Carrie Seltezer, Clifford Shierk, Emi Kuroiwa and Jennifer Howell, are completing their capstone project, the Chicago Area Pollinator Study, in collaboration with the Urban Wildlife Institute at Lincoln Park Zoo and Roosevelt University. They piloted this citizen science monitoring program for bees and involved more than 60 households in collections throughout the summer and fall of 2009. Each household used a standardized protocol to collect bees. The types of bees collected have been identified and now will be used to analyze how the scale and pattern of land use affects bee abundance and diversity the Chicago region. In addition, the students conducted surveys to evaluate the potential for informal learning and changing attitudes and behavior through participation in citizen science projects. They have reported their findings at several conferences and were invited speakers at a special workshop at Chicago's Garfield Park Conservatory.