Nature is giving hints of warmer days ahead, and the first signs of spring are emerging all around us. On Saturday, April 5, from 1 to 3:30 p.m., Arboretum visitors can enjoy learning about insects, birds, mammals, amphibians, and reptiles, along with local citizen science opportunities, at our Citizen Science Exploration Stations. The Arboretum is hosting this free indoor event in conjunction with other UW–Madison Science Expeditions happening campus-wide April 4–6.

Joining us for Citizen Science Exploration Stations is a great way to kick off April’s Citizen Science Month, a global celebration of the people and projects that power public engagement in scientific research. Citizen science is an important part of the Arboretum’s environmental stewardship programming. It also embodies the Arboretum’s commitment to the Wisconsin Idea, connecting the university and the general public through our collaborations on citizen science projects and ecological research. As Aldo Leopold noted in A Sand County Almanac, humans are not separate from nature; rather, we are part of a larger ecological community with a responsibility to care for and protect the environment and all that is within it. One excellent way to do this is to participate in a citizen science project, where you can engage with nature, contribute to ecological research, and join a community collectively participating in conservation and restoration endeavors.

At the Arboretum, citizen science volunteer trainings, field work, and coordination efforts are in full motion year-round. In late fall 2024, Arboretum staff members Anne Pearce and Annie Isenbarger partnered with Wade Moder from UW–Madison Extension Dane County to plan and lead a summit of citizen/community science coordinators from south central Wisconsin. Several of these coordinators and organizations will share displays and activities at the Citizen Science Exploration Stations on April 5, and the collaboration and partnering will continue into the future.

In early 2025, the Arboretum and the Monarch Joint Venture are co-hosting live virtual training sessions for the Monarch Larva Monitoring Project (MLMP), and registration is still open for the Northern Region training on May 7. MLMP trainees across North America will be ready to monitor milkweed plants in their area for eggs and larvae when monarchs begin arriving, usually by early to mid-May in most of Wisconsin. And the Arboretum MLMP team is again preparing to monitor sites around the Visitor Center and in the Grady Tract.

In mid-March 2025, Annie Isenbarger, along with Edgar Spalding and Jessie Seiders from the Wisconsin Dragonfly Society, co-hosted an in-person training for volunteers to monitor dragonfly and damselfly species in the Arboretum. Anyone interested in learning about dragonflies or dragonfly monitoring can attend monthly guided walks, also organized in partnership with the Wisconsin Dragonfly Society, from June through September.

The Arboretum offers a variety of other citizen science opportunities as well. For instance, local volunteers and partners from Edgewood College and UW–Madison collect measurements to assess chloride levels in the Lake Wingra springs year-round. And participating in the UW-Madison Arboretum Fungal Diversity Project is as simple as noting fungi while out on the trails and documenting your observations in iNaturalist.

The Bluebird Restoration Trail, a collection of wooden nesting boxes in Longenecker Horticultural Gardens, is a shining example of Arboretum citizen science in action. Each week from April to August, trained volunteers Sylvia Marek and Nansi Colley record the number of nests, eggs, and fledglings of bluebirds and other birds using the boxes. Sylvia has monitored bluebirds at the Arboretum for over 35 years, providing valuable data that informs statewide restoration efforts. This project demonstrates how individual citizen scientists can make a huge impact toward long-term restoration and conservation.

These are just a sampling of the citizen science programs available at the Arboretum and only a few of the volunteers and staff who work together to collect data and contribute to conservation biology and ecological research. We hope you will join us to learn more at our Citizen Science Exploration Stations on April 5 in the Visitor Center. You can also email Annie Isenbarger or visit our citizen science webpages to find out how you can start participating!

—Annie Isenbarger, citizen science coordinator