The Spirituality of Citizen Science


"Sometimes God is flight as the songbird. And sometimes God seeps in with the steady rain."

 ~ Angela Herrera, UU minister, Reaching for the Sun: Meditations

A spring ephemeral, one of the first flowers of the season. This one is Spring Beauty, Claytonia virginica.


Do you do any citizen science programs? There are some good ones out there. FrogWatch USA, Monarch Larva Monitoring Project, Project Feederwatch. There's a good list here, from the National Wildlife Federation. The goal with these and other citizen science projects is for ordinary citizens (as opposed to the professional science superheroes) to apply scientific methods to observation of a certain phenomenon over time, and then entering their data into a large set with other citizens for the scientists to use.

Citizen science projects are, to me, a perfect marriage of UU theology and culture. We are a people who claim wonder and awe, science and reason, and the circle of life and nature as core sources, and who love and respect the interdependent web of all existence as a foundational principle. We take that "responsible" part of the free and responsible search for truth and meaning very seriously, which means we utilize the pragmatism and rigor of science to inform our ideas of how to be in the world.

And culturally, let's face it, we're do-gooders.

A FrogWatch USA friend of mine once told me that the reason he does the education outreach that he does is because if people know the names of the frogs all around them, they become friends, and we're more likely to care for and protect our friends than we are to those we don't know. There's a little bit of a dark side to that idea, too, isn't there? Like we wouldn't bother to go out of our way to help or protect someone or thing that's not a friend. But I don't know; maybe that's more how people work, and maybe it makes sense to work within that paradigm and do what we can. We could do worse than to make it our mission to make friends among flora, fauna, and people.

So, how can citizen science touch on the spiritual? And how is that spiritual experience particularly UU?

Here are some ideas on weaving the spiritual into citizen science:

Frame it as UU. If you're just starting out on a citizen science adventure, frame is as a way to live out the 7th Principle, or of delving deep into a few of the Sources (1, 5, and 6 come to mind). Or if you've been doing it for a while, share your new thoughts looking at it through a UU "lens."

Linger. Linger at the window watching the bird feeder. Linger at the edge of the pond listening to the frog songs. Linger at the milkweed patch where you found the butterfly eggs. Even if the original intention for the activity has been finished, or has morphed into pretend play or a conversation about something else, linger. The moment you are sharing is holy--you, your child, and another form of life on earth.

Tell about it. Do your kinds know how much you value and appreciate these moments of wonder and awe? maybe even feelings of transcendence and Oneness? Some people say they feel God in these times; is that language that works for you, or is there another way to describe it? In what words would it feel natural to tell them how respect and appreciation for all life is a foundation of your faith? At dinner that night, as you go around talking about the day, tell your child in your words how the time you spent together with nature affected you.

From that one point of connection, go deep and broad. If your kids are really into a particular animal or group of animals, you could make them the subject of your "strewing" for a time,  dappling your child's paths around your home with books, magazines, queued up shows on Netflix, posters, and other materials featuring these animals. In your strewing, make sure to include information on how this animal or group of animals has featured in various spiritual traditions.

One nice thing about citizen science projects is that they are finite in their scope and yet connect to every part of the natural world. You can play with them for as long as your kids are interested. If that's simply a few days and a few data entries, you will have learned and contributed to the health of the earth. And if it's something that you do for seasons or years, you'll have that many more connections made and experiences to draw from.

I'd be interested to know others' experiences with citizen science projects, especially aspects that touched on the spiritual for you and your family.

Carry the flame,

-- T.H.Y.

"God educates children in the morning by harmonious and joyous sounds, sweet odors, and incense from every flower and dewdrop."

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