KBCF presents the “Citizen Scientist Project”

Citizen Scientist Project Mission & Vision

Using Citizen and Professional Scientists, the Citizen Scientist Project will develop and continuously update this web site to provide the information needed to maintain the most critical natural resources of Key Biscayne. Like the environment around us, this site will adapt and evolve to meet the needs and interests of the Key. Our goal is to secure a future Key Biscayne characterized by the same bounty of natural resources that exist today, thus maintaining the title of “Island Paradise,” while the Key Biscayne Citizen Scientist Lab provides a place to record and organize your findings in and around our island and to learn more about our island.

The Citizen Scientist Project provides a program to help preserve this Paradise in the face of risks both natural (e.g., hurricanes, tornados, floods) and man-made (e.g. breaks in sewer pipes, dredging, pollution). The program is founded on an educated user base, who will contribute to this preservation.

These users are “Citizen Scientists” who will not only have access to the information on the Key’s resources needed to preserve these riches, but will also contribute to the collection, interpretation, and use of the data. To ensure a broad consensus on the most valuable of the Key’s natural resources, a survey of residents and visitors will be conducted.

The Results Are In!

The Key Biscayne Citizen Scientist Project has distributed a survey completed by Key Biscayne residents to determine their uses of and attitudes, perceptions and beliefs concerning the areas natural resources. The success of the survey was dependent upon a large response from recipients. The survey methodology consisted of a pilot survey session, conducted in advance of the full survey effort; the pilot survey results were analyzed to determine whether (a) respondents understand the questions, (b) respondents complete the entire survey, and (c) the respondents provide other feedback to to improve the survey. The results from the pilot survey helped to better tailor the final survey, as needed.

The full survey effort lasted six weeks, and as part of the Internet survey, respondents were directed to this version of an environmental portal, which will serve to educate the respondents on some of the regions natural resources. The results from the survey have been placed in a database and analyzed as noted above to determine resident ideas on the uses of and attitudes, perceptions and beliefs concerning the natural resources of Key Biscayne.

Get involved with the Citizen Scientist Project.