Kristiina J. Hurme
Community Science
My students and I are building a growing record of urban biodiversity at UW. In my Community Science seminar (BIOL 497B), students organized the first two campus BioBlitz events: timed, community-wide efforts to document as many species as possible in one day, open to the public and guided by students acting as naturalist-educators.
- 154species in a single-day BioBlitz
- 412BioBlitz observations
- 1,383vertebrate observations by BIOL 452 students
- 125vertebrate species on and around campus
When I asked students whether we should keep the term “citizen science,” given the contested history of the word “citizen,” their reflections overwhelmingly supported “community science” — and the department renamed the course.
I serve as an iNaturalist Ambassador (2025–), supporting educators and naturalists worldwide in using community science tools.
Hummingbirds & Flowers
In collaboration with Alejandro Rico-Guevara, we use iNaturalist to collect photographs of wild hummingbirds feeding on flowers. Studies suggest that the local abundance and diversity of hummingbirds depend on seasonal food-plant abundance.
By gathering data on the preferred plants of different hummingbird species, and the timing of flower production in different areas, we can assess how plant abundance affects hummingbird populations. Community scientists contribute by uploading their observations of hummingbirds drinking from flowers!
Join the Hummingbirds & Flowers project →
Save the Frogs
SAVE THE FROGS! is the world's leading amphibian conservation organization. Every year on Save the Frogs Day, amphibian biologists around the world educate the public about the plight of amphibians and current conservation efforts.
At UConn we took part from 2010, when I lectured to 200 students in my Intro Bio for Nonmajors class. In 2012 we ran an educational booth, talked to at least 100 people — mostly elementary school students and parents — and collected signatures for a petition against the pesticide atrazine.
