Getting Involved
To find more Earth Day opportunities, check out the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. You will find data, projects, potential colleagues, and resources. Also this month, check out the ASA’s Student and Early Career Travel Fund. The fund supports travel to ASA meetings and conferences. Applications need to be turned in at least three months before the event, so submissions for JSM need to be sent in by May 2.
Earth Day may be a single date on the calendar but the need for environmental advocacy is 24-7-365. Every year, my April column focuses on projects, teams, and data that allow you to make an impact on the health of the environment we all share. The following are just a few opportunities to get you started on a Data for Good project today.
Marine microplastics represent a major threat to the environment—not only for oceans but for the entire system of life on Earth. They are a large part of why I highlighted science for healthy oceans as a top Data for Good challenge for 2025. A great place to start is the marine microplastics information center from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Centers for Environmental Information. The site compiles crowd-sourced microplastics data from around the world going back to 2010, including location, density, and reference to the team collecting the data. (By the way, everything from NOAA is under threat, especially environmental data. If this database goes dark, I have placed a copy of it, as of March 1, on the Internet Archive.)
Moving to the terrestrial ecosystems, a critical indicator of the health of wetlands is the population and distribution of frogs. Each spring, both national organizations such as the Sierra Club and local advocacy groups train people to recognize frog species by their distinctive calls, count them, and compile the crowd-sourced data for researchers. This provides an opportunity to both gather the data and work with the sponsoring organization to analyze it. Like many D4G projects supporting rivers, streams, and wetlands, graph analysis is a powerful tool for understanding the data and predicting future outcomes.
Statistics and data science for a better environment often find a home in the workplace, as corporate sponsorship for D4G includes many environmental projects. One outstanding example is Ernst & Young’s EY Open Science AI & Data Challenge. Launched in 2021, the program has brought together more than 30,000 corporate staff members and university students from around the world. The 2025 challenge focuses on using AI to address the problems caused by urban heat islands. The EY annual challenge is a model for how D4G in the workplace can play an important role in corporate citizenship.
Another important avenue for science serving the environment can be found right at home. Pollinators are an essential part of many ecosystems but are under attack from pesticides, invasive species, habitat loss, and monoculture. D4G projects begin with identifying and tracking pollinators. Statistical analysis can be done with our own data, collaborating with local environmental groups, or by leveraging crowd-sourced data from organizations such as the Global Biodiversity Information Facility. GBIF maintains a pollinator database with more than a half million records, including order and—in most cases—species, date, location by latitude and longitude, and the scientist and organization contributing the data. If you don’t have green space yourself, you can work with local parks or a community garden to track pollinators, fight damaging invasive species, and build your local network as a scientist for the greater good.
Speaking of community gardens, they offer an important channel for Data for Good in addition to feeding people and building stronger communities. Pollinators are just the start! Statisticians and data scientists are needed to track weather and forecast its impact on the growing plants, test which varieties are best suited to the location, and analyze soil to recommend amendments. Year-over-year studies track local effects of climate change, desertification, and fire risk. Gardens offer opportunities to educate both children and adults about science. The community garden doubles as a community research lab, where people and science come together for the benefit of all. What a wonderful opportunity to promote the benefits of science for everyone!
One of the most important resources for your environmental Data for Good project is your local ASA chapter. Leverage your chapter connections to find people interested in your project, connect with researchers from universities and government agencies, and communicate with media channels to promote your project and the impact it has on the community.
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