Cognitive Science 0207 - The Hampshire Woods: Creating a long-term database of animal biodiversity

The goal of this class is to build a long-term database of wildlife diversity on Hampshire property. Our environment, both local and global, is dramatically changing, and it is important to document biodiversity now before we lose species we may not have realized were here. Students in this exploratory class will work together to learn to identify and document our local fauna. We will spend a good deal of time exploring our woods to learn together what is there. We will add our observational data to our own citizen science database project in iNaturalist, and will learn how to summarize, analyze, and make use of the data. We will also examine how long-term databases are used by other research groups, and explore other citizen science research projects. No experience necessary, however students with interest in natural history, animal identification, and computer databases are particularly encouraged to join the class. Keywords: wildlife, animals, birds, Citizen Science, Natural History

Students should generally expect to spend 8 hours a week on work outside of class time. Students will need to purchase: Title: The Natural History of Western Massachusetts (2nd edition, 2015, Hampshire House Publishing) Author: Stan Freeman ISBN: 9780989333306 Cost: $21.95 Title: An animal field guide to a taxonomic group of your choice, must be Eastern US Region Cost: approx. $20.00