posted 4 years ago
First Post!
I wanted to plug something I think could be a valuable resource if used enough.
You may have heard of some of these 'mobile aps' before that are used for citizen science (read: data creation but unlike Farsebook you make the data intentionally) such as Inaturalist, which helps you identify all manner of species you encounter using some fancy machine learning and the location data collected inside a smartphone photo, while also giving anyone who knows how to work with data the ability to monitor species location (which can tell us about climate, invasive species spread, or where to go if you want to see a bird you've never been able to check off your list). Well, there is a new one on the block!
It's called Litterati, and it allows you to document the location and type of litter you encounter while also encouraging you to pick it up!
For those of us that pick up litter: This is a way of showing community planners and land managers whether they should fund education/messaging, increase the number of trash receptacles, or even take efforts to reduce the amount of plastic a community uses!
For those of us who don't: This lets you keep track of how much good you're doing in your community, preventing pollution, harm to wildlife, and improving the experience of others! Not to mention, you can get competitive with others, if you so choose.
I would love to hear your thoughts on this, and if you try it whether it does any good!
(I am not affiliated with this organization, just saw their National Science Foundation Grant and became interested)
