Caregivers & Loved Ones Can Hop Aboard Research Team

Beyond the Armchair

If you aren’t content being an armchair scientist, then think about taking a hands-on approach. Volunteer for a real research project. Here are three organizations that will allow you the opportunity to do just that:

Darwin’s Dogs- University of Massachusetts Medical School researchers are studying how the dog genome has changed as dogs evolved from wolves to beloved companions and work partners. This project combines new DNA sequencing technology with new analysis methods that can control for diverse ancestry. Researchers ask each dog owner 100 questions about their dog’s behavior and personality using short questionnaires on the Darwin’s Dogs site. Owners will also mail a saliva sample from their dog using a kit that the researchers provide. Saliva samples may help to determine differences in DNA connected to certain personality traits or behaviors.

Wisconsin Wildlife Watch- The idea behind this is to let citizen scientists explore never-before-seen camera trap photos of wild animals. Working alongside a University of Wisconsin-Madison science team, citizen scientists take part in valuable ecological research and help ecologists better understand the trends, distribution and ecosystems of deer, elk, bears and hares. Wisconsin Wildlife Watch is an effort to monitor forest wildlife year-round across a network of trail cameras. Help identify the animals captured on camera and to better understand the distribution and trends of wildlife populations. The ultimate goal of Wisconsin Wildlife Watch is to map where animals are most likely to be in relation to different habitats or seasons, and predict future changes in animal distribution.

Track a Tree- This project extends the seasonal observations of nature's calendar, and participants will collect important new information on the phrenology of woodland trees and flowering plants. These records will become part of a national network monitoring our woodlands over this and future springs. Track a Tree is an ongoing event, so it is never too late to lend a helpful hand.

To check out these and more volunteer opportunities, click here.

J. Dietrich Stroeh is author of Three Months: A Caregiver’s Journey from Heartbreak to Healing (FolkHeart Press) and three free ebooks. For more information, click here.