Citizen Scientist: Searching for Heroes and Hope in an Age of Extinction

A consummate reporter, Hannibal digs into the origins of the tech-savvy citizen science movement—tracing it back through centuries of amateur observation by writers and naturalists. In search of vanishing species, she wades into tide pools, follows hawks, and scours mountains. The data she collects will help environmental research—but her most precious discovery might be her fellow citizen scientists: a heroic cast of volunteers devoting long hours to helping scientists measure—and even slow—today’s unprecedented mass extinction. Citizen science might just be our last, best chance to fight extinction. Prompted by her novelist father’s sudden death, she also examines her own pas

"encore!" according to john farnsworth. By way of full disclosure, I am acquainted with the author, being a fellow citizen scientist involved with the Golden Gate Raptor Observatory. While the author and I do not work on the same Hawkwatch team, we have met on a few occasions.I worried through the first fifty or so pages that the book might be a touch too basic, but it turned out that the book got better and better the more deeply into it I read. I suspect that this may have been a strategy to make the book accessible to a general audience less familiar with co. Chris Carlsson said Beautiful writing, great insight, a page turner and very illuminating and meditative at the same time!. Mary Ellen Hannibal’s book Citizen Scientist goes much further than its title would suggest, including an excellent history of the San Francisco-based Academy of Science, and a great deal of rumination on earlier projects that featured non-scientists doing science, notably the Ed Ricketts and John Steinbeck trip to the Sea of Cortez in the 19Beautiful writing, great insight, a page turner and very illuminating and meditative at the same time! Chris Carlsson Mary Ellen Hannibal’s book Citizen Scientist goes much further than its title would suggest, including an excellent history of the San Francisco-based Academy of Science, and a great deal of rumination on earlier projects that featured non-scientists doing science, notably the Ed Ricketts and John Steinbeck trip to the Sea of Cortez in the 1940s. Much of our contemporary view of nature and wild life is rooted in 19th century sensibilities, that are in turn heavily influenced by Charles Darwin and his contemporaries.. 0s. Much of our contemporary view of nature and wild life is rooted in 19th century sensibilities, that are in turn heavily influenced by Charles Darwin and his contemporaries.. Fascinating storytelling, beautiful writing, new insights cms As someone who has been participating in citizen science for the past four years and environmental science for over 20 years, I was eager to read Mary Ellen Hannibal's new book, Citizen Scientist. I know Mary Ellen's writing from Spine of the Continent and Bay Nature Magazine and of her intellect and thought leadership as a speaker and panel moderator for important environmental topics.Reading Citizen Scientist will take you on a journey. The journey does not start right away, but when it does, you will know it. And the e

Ehrlich, Bing Professor of Population Studies and the president of the Center for Conservation Biology at Stanford University. Fortunately for us, Mary Ellen Hannibal locates some luminous souls who, by the light of their knowledge and determination, can lead us out of these dark times for life on Earth.”—Carl Safina, author of Beyond Words; What Animals Think and Feel “What an extraordinary book!  Mary Ellen Hannibal weaves together natural history, cutting-edge technology, and her own adventures into a story that is certain to inspire.”—Amy Stewart, author of The Drunken Botanist “An informative, emotional,