Task Unification: The Essence of Citizen Science

Gretchen LeBuhn, a biology professor concerned with the rapidly declining wild specialist bee population in Napa Valley, devised a way to track bee population on a large scale. She launched the Great Sunflower Project, which recruited gardeners across the US to count bees on sunflowers for 15 minutes each year and report their findings online. Over 100,000 volunteers have signed up, contributing to a wealth of research data used to map pollinators and focus conservation efforts.