Research: Utilizing Citizen Science to Home Bats on the University of Denver Campus

Follow this GIS map link to see the visualization project generated by citizen scientists' suggestions for bat box locations on the University of Denver (DU) campus. This project was initiated on Earth Day 2022 when twenty volunteers came to together at the woodshop to construct and paint bat boxes to promote and facilitate the conservation of important bat species. The Little Brown Bat (Myotis lucifungus) of Colorado provides important ecosystem services like pest control and seed dispersal. So far, this project has been my most-rewarding scientific undertaking and I cannot wait to see the further impacts of student and community engagement with conservation topics on campus.

Sustainable energy initiatives are a core concept explored within my Integrated Sciences major. Japan is a global leader for coastal floating wind turbines and this text details the history and unique qualities that shaped Akita Prefecture, Japan to become a felicitous location for wind turbines. The project is dissimilar to many of my non-major writing projects because it is an objective analysis with little author interjection. However, this project isn’t devoid of emotion or audience outreach. I appreciate the format of this text because it was an exercise in science communication, a primary skill I am developing in my undergraduate education. I wrote this piece with hyper-awareness of a general audience and I model current scientific analyses off of this paper because it provided extended definitions that were accessible to a more generalized audience.

Citizen science is a rising tool to collect mass data and engage local communities in research processes. The definition is in the name, and all amateur scientists or nature enthusiasts are encouraged to join research initiatives supported by data collection or surveying. In the case of the 2022 bat box project, citizens have been asked to identify suitable locations for bat boxes based on requirements posted to the attached infographic. Their data will accelerate the location identification process to mount boxes on the University of Denver campus and highlight local engagement and interest to the facilities team approving the project. The overall objective of this project is to improve student and community relationships with the Little Brown Bat populations of metro Denver and encourage species population re-stabilization. I encourage you to join the cause utilizing the QR code at the bottom of the infographic.