(NaturalNews) You don't have to be an academic to be a scientist. Citizen science is growing globally. Communities with an amateur interest in science have helped classify galaxies, detect signs of disease, and unearth toxic metals in our food. But why is citizen science on the rise? To answer that question, no single answer will suffice.

Although there is no definitive term to describe "citizen science," simply put, citizen science includes a vast range of projects involving volunteer participation. According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, citizen science is "a project in which volunteers partner with scientists to answer real-world questions."
 

How citizen scientists first got their wings

Citizen scientists tend to lack the credentials of a university professor, but that doesn't mean becoming a citizen scientist is easy. "To be a citizen scientist, a person must possess an extraordinary ability to learn analytical techniques while possessing a solid foundation in physics, chemistry and mathematics," said Mike Adams, a pioneering citizen scientist who runs his own forensic food lab. "The search for scientific truth as an independent scientist is by no means an easy path, but it is an infinitely honorable and fulfilling one nonetheless."

Although citizen science has grown in popularity in recent years, it isn't exactly new. One of the first citizen science projects involved bird watchers with the National Audubon Society. Members documented the date, time, location, environmental conditions and nesting behaviors of birds. The data collected by citizen scientists was essential in determining if a species of bird was common in a designated area, as well as if there were changes in home range or a shift in bird population.

Since the early days of bird watching, citizen science has made rapid progress. In 2015, professional citizen science organizations were created in Australia, Europe and the United States. That same year, the first Citizen Science Association Conference was held, with another scheduled for February 2017. Furthermore, in the United States, the Crowdsourcing and Citizen Science Act of 2015 was proposed to encourage federal agencies to use citizen scientists.
 

Holding government agencies accountable with citizen science

Government agencies need to be held accountable by citizen scientists more so than ever before, especially the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). "As science is the search for truth, only citizen scientists who are free from the corruption and financial influence of unethical corporations have the unique qualifications to pursue that search for truth without being compromised," explained Adams.