As I walked around campus looking for leaves to take pictures of, I found myself becoming very interested in the phone app, Leafsnap. At first it was very frustrating, any shadow or lack of light could result in the picture not working. As I became more familiar with the app I started to enjoy it more. After having collected a few species I decided to explore the app even more.

I started looking at my collection when I got back to my house. Before I knew it I was exploring every possible option the phone application gave me. I started to feel a little like a citizen scientist. Sharman Russell’s Diary of a Citizen Scientist soon hit me on a different level. I started to understand the joy Russell received doing the work.

Don’t get me wrong, I realize there is a huge difference in the work Russell was doing. I don’t mean to trivialize her work studying the Western red-bellied tiger beetle by comparing to me analyzing a leaf to discover which type of tree it belonged to. My point is to express how I finally understand the desire to be a citizen scientist as opposed to just being a casual observer. Yesterday’s little self-excursion was extremely enjoyable.