Colleen Hitchcock, PhD, Assistant Professor of Ecology, Department of Biology and Environmental Studies Program, Brandeis University, will speak on Monday, February 12 at 7 pm at the Arnold Arboretum, Hunnewell Building, 125 Arborway, about the value of taking note of natural phenomena and the contributions such actions can make to science, society, and one’s own scientific and bio-literacy.

She will share how citizen science is used in courses and on campus to educate and engage students. Finally, Colleen will introduce the 2018 City Nature Challenge on iNaturalist, a citizen science project coordinated by Environmental Studies at Brandeis University, UMass Boston, Zoo New England, New England Ocean Science Education Collaborative, Mass Audubon, Encyclopedia of Life at Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology, MIT Senseable lab, and Earthwatch Institute.

Following Colleen”s presentation, Danny Schissler, Research Assistant in the Friedman Lab, will introduce TreeVersity, an online citizen science initiative at the Arnold Arboretum to classify over 25,000 historic and contemporary plant images. Free, but registration requested – email adulted@arnarb.harvard.edu, or call 617-384-5277.