Oregon Doesn’t Stop at the Beach

Be a Community Scientist

Citizen Scientists are an important part of the Cape Perpetua Collaborative. They are volunteers who help gather data monitoring wildlife and the ecosystem. This a great way to meet other people, explore nature, gain experience, and/or get community service hours for school. Some citizen science programs include:

• Beach Cleanups / Marine Debris Monitoring
  Join an event to pick up litter and marine debris to gather baseline data on humans’ impact on the environment (see our events schedule).

• Blue Water Task Force
  A 100% volunteer-run project that collects and tests water quality at local recreational beaches (year-round).

• King Tides Photo Initiative
  Contribute to an education initiative to demonstrate the impact of rising water levels by taking photos during different tides (year-round).

• Brown Pelican Monitoring (May + Sept)
  Track Brown Pelican populations and their numbers to add data to bird and fish conservation efforts (May and September).

• Seabird Colony Monitoring (June-August)
  Observe seabird nests and track the growth of chicks in marine reserves and marine protected areas (June to August).

• Marbled Murrelet Training (July)
  Track endangered marbled murrelets in their old-growth forest nesting grounds and coastal water habitats (July).

• BioBlitz / iNaturalist Monitoring
  Help build a species presence database through volunteer events (Summer to Fall).

• Black Oystercatcher Monitoring
  Monitor these birds with character on Oregon’s north, central, and south coast to provide baseline data about their biology (May to August).

• Beached Birds Survey
  Walk the coastline finding beached birds and recording their species, cause of death, and other factors to add important data to a 20-year-old citizen scientist project (year-round).