Undergraduate Intern Erin O’Mara Reflects on Community Science and Her Time With Sea Grant

This spring, I graduated from the University of Vermont with a degree in Environmental Sciences and a minor in Biology. Since then, I have been able to reflect on all of the opportunities I had in college that made my experience so fulfilling! As a student assistant in Dr. Kris Stepenuck’s Watershed, Education, Science, and Policy Lab (WESP) for the past three years, I had so many incredible learning opportunities through Lake Champlain Sea Grant and partners.

This past year, I had the opportunity to work with the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail, & Snow Network’s (CoCoRaHS) Vermont State Coordinator Dr. Jay Shafer, and South-Central Region Coordinator Dr. Seth Kutikoff. CoCoRaHS is one of the largest community science weather observation programs in the United States. It works to document precipitation throughout the country with the help of a community-based network of volunteer weather observers. Precipitation is one of the most complex elements of weather prediction, so volunteer observations help improve our understanding of climate changes and variability.

Through this partnership, I was able to connect with climate observers around the state and discuss their involvement in the program. Vermont CoCoRaHS has about 150 active members and over 250,000 observations. It was incredible to hear about the observers’ involvement over the years and what being a part of this extensive network meant to them. I also registered as an observer and picked up my own rain gauge!

Then, I was able to analyze the 2022 volunteer weather observations to understand our local weather patterns. It was an incredible experience, and I learned a lot about the ways in which climate scientists can use this information to make predictions and broaden our understanding of weather and climate. Lastly, Dr. Shafer walked me through the making of a precipitation map using ArcGIS Pro software. What an intensive process! I had no idea the amount of skill, time, and effort weather maps require.

Working with CoCoRaHS really impacted the way I view science and community collaborations. To see this broad network of volunteers care so much about their communities and to have so many put in time every day for this project was inspiring! As I move forward in my career post-graduation, I hope to continue to engage with my community and environment and connect with others through programs like CoCoRaHS. I highly recommend taking part in this project, as it was an awesome opportunity to engage with my environment and participate in a really cool and important community science project! It is entirely volunteer, so you can work around your own schedule. I am so grateful to have been able to grow as a young scientist and have the opportunity to learn from and about my community, fellow observers, and environment.