Every September, thousands of people step out onto the UK's beaches to participate in the Great British Beach Clean. Run by the Marine Conservation Society, the event has a single mission — to document and remove as much litter as possible.  

These ‘citizen scientists’, also known as ‘community scientists’ or ‘public scientists’, come from all backgrounds and ages. The information they collect — the type of litter, the amount, and the location — has helped introduce effective policies that reduce the amount of waste reaching beaches and the ocean in the first place. Citizen science is changing policy, and it's also changing science.

Scientific discoveries from the sofa

At the University of Canterbury in New Zealand, Dr Michelle LaRue studies how populations of polar animals, such as Weddell seals, change over time. Several of LaRue's projects use imagery collected from satellites or remote cameras. Embracing such tools means animals in remote locations can be studied for long periods without being disturbed. However, the number of images collected is enormous, much more than a scientist can handle alone. 

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Read the full story at On the Radar.

Looking for a citizen science project to get involved in? Check out this list.

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