Learn about being a citizen scientist
This website is designed to help you learn about the Citizen Science program that is underway on the San Gabriel River (located between Long Beach and Seal Beach, California) in order to observe the presence of the Pacific Green Sea Turtle on the River.
There are many ways to explore this website, but we suggest following this outline to learn more about the Pacific Green Sea Turtles, why they are here, and what makes the San Gabriel River and the part of the river which Pacific Green Sea Turtles spend their time so unique. Then you can try your hand at being a Citizen Scientist in our Citizen Scientist Observation Game, add your voice to our VoiceThread, or give us feedback on the program.
What is a Citizen Scientist?
A Citizen Scientist is a volunteer who is contributing to scientific observation or data collection. For field studies which required or are enhanced by observation from multiple locations over a period of time, citizen scientists can be invaluable.
The citizen scientists who volunteer for the San Gabriel River Pacific Green Sea Turtle Monitoring Project contribute observational data which is used by NOAA, the Aquarium of the Pacific, and the Los Cerritos Wetlands Authority to aid in the management of the Pacific Green Sea Turtles and the river and wetlands areas which are the northernmost known year-round habitats for the Pacific Green Sea Turtle in North America.
There are many ways to explore this website, but we suggest following this outline to learn more about the Pacific Green Sea Turtles, why they are here, and what makes the San Gabriel River and the part of the river which Pacific Green Sea Turtles spend their time so unique. Then you can try your hand at being a Citizen Scientist in our Citizen Scientist Observation Game, add your voice to our VoiceThread, or give us feedback on the program.
What is a Citizen Scientist?
A Citizen Scientist is a volunteer who is contributing to scientific observation or data collection. For field studies which required or are enhanced by observation from multiple locations over a period of time, citizen scientists can be invaluable.
The citizen scientists who volunteer for the San Gabriel River Pacific Green Sea Turtle Monitoring Project contribute observational data which is used by NOAA, the Aquarium of the Pacific, and the Los Cerritos Wetlands Authority to aid in the management of the Pacific Green Sea Turtles and the river and wetlands areas which are the northernmost known year-round habitats for the Pacific Green Sea Turtle in North America.
Suggested learning outline for this website
We hope that this website gives you information you can use to help the Pacific Green Sea Turtles and other animals in your environment. You are invited to explore all parts of the website as you choose, but here are the steps that we recommend:
- Learn about turtles! Explore our page on the Pacific Green Sea Turtles.
- The sea turtles we observe are located within an Estuary at the mouth of the San Gabriel River. Learn why estuaries are important for marine animals on our Estuaries Page
- The San Gabriel River is different from many rivers - for one, you'll notice that both sides have high, artificial, rocky banks (called levees) and the south bank has a paved bicycle path. It is a part of the Los Angeles urban ocean environment. Learn more about the San Gabriel River and the Urban Ocean.
- Try your hand at a citizen science observation session (coming soon)
- Add your voice to our VoiceThread
- Send us feedback on the program or participate in our message board
- Apply to become a Citizen Scientist with the San Gabriel River Pacific Green Sea Turtle Monitoring Project.
Continue Exploring
Our next section for suggested reading helps you learn more about Pacific Green Sea Turtles.