BirdSleuth was recently honored as one of this year’s 42 project highlights by the National Science Foundation. Project highlights are used by NSF and the Advisory Committee for the Government Performance and Results Act (GRPA) Performance Assessment to evaluate the overall success of NSF investments the previous year.

BirdSleuth and the other highlights will be used to determine “if NSF demonstrated significant achievement [in Discovery, Learning, and Research] goals,” said David Hanych, program director with NSF’s Division of Research on Learning in Formal and Informal Settings. “We are honored to showcase [BirdSleuth] as evidence of NSF’s investments.”

BirdSleuth was developed with a grant from the NSF to create and disburse inquiry-based, classroom science curricula. From humble beginnings as Classroom BirdWatch, the BirdSleuth program has grown into a public eeducation and citizen science resource used in classrooms across the country.

Now, with 2008 well under way, our sights are set on projects such as our online teacher development course, a special BirdSleuth module for homeschoolers, and developing new and exciting BirdSleuth modules for educators everywhere. The newest edition of BirdSleuth Reports, our regularly published webzine, has just been released, and with a new project assistant on board, we’re getting ready to spend the summer polishing the program from behind the scenes to make sure we can give you the best support and resources possible.

Of course, none of it would be possible without the teachers who use BirdSleuth, the students who conduct and publish their own independent bird research, and the community partners who help us spread the word of BirdSleuth far and wide. So thank you, all of you, for your continued support. And if you’re interested in further ways to get involved with the project, how about signing up to become a BirdSleuth Ambassador? Help us reach teachers and educators in your region. Lead workshops on the effective use of inquiry and BirdSleuth in the classroom, attend and present at organizational conferences, and more!

Congratulations, citizen scientists! Thank you for making BirdSleuth the successful program it is today!