In February 2023, the Middlesex Fells Reservation north of Boston reached an important milestone: the first recorded marbled salamander (Ambystoma opacum) larva since the species became locally extinct in the 20th century. Zoo New England has led a reintroduction program in the Middlesex Fells over the past several years– and this record, the first evidence since 1932 of a successfully reproductive adult– was submitted to MassWildlife’s Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program (NHESP).

This observation occurred during an Earthwise Aware (EwA) participatory science event and involved community members of every stripe, from a first-time attendee to onsite field leaders, to experts in EwA’s network. The discovery is symbolic of the potential of participatory science in the Middlesex Fells and beyond. Only with the collaboration of naturalists, scientists, and trained volunteers can we create a body of data and knowledge up to the task of reckoning with the global biodiversity crisis.

In habitats of the Greater Boston Area, EwA’s data-driven participatory science programs have begun to tell a rich story of this area’s natural history and the effects of land use and climate change on these ecosystems. EwA’s democratic approach has created a connected community around collecting essential data and closing the ecological knowledge gap that typifies most modern societies.