Use of Citizen Science Approaches to Understand and Address Environmental Justice and Health Issues 

Citizen Science is the public involvement in inquiry and discovery of new scientific knowledge. It is an approach that helps to educate, engage and empower members of the public to contribute their talents to advancements in science and technology through open collaboration. There are a number of related terms and approaches including civic or community science, community-based monitoring, participatory sensing, crowdmapping, public participation in scientific research (PPSR), street science, do-it-yourself (DIY) science, crowd science, open science, and crowdsourcing. In addition, popular epidemiology, community-owned and managed research, participatory action research (PAR), and community-based participatory research (CBPR) have elements of citizen science. These approaches often are rooted in different disciplines such as geography, ecology, environmental science, or public health or emphasize different objectives such as tracking migration patterns of birds, monitoring of water quality, or achieving environmental justice.  In this presentation, we will discuss the use of citizen science approaches and related mapping tools in understanding and addressing environmental justice issues in overburdened and underserved communities.  We will highlight citizen science projects in the state of Maryland; Washington, DC; and the Carolinas including impacts, challenges, lessons learned, and best practices.  We will describe mapping tools that are being used and/or developed to understand and address environmental justice and health issues in overburdened communities. In addition, we will discuss emerging opportunities to employ citizen science to address environmental justice and health issues at the local, state, and national levels.