Science That Matters: Nurturing Science and Technology Innovation

The MDI Biological Laboratory has “incubated” a number of science and technology start-ups, one of which is an outgrowth of “Anecdata.org,” created by the MDI Biological Laboratory’s Community Environmental Health Laboratory.

Anecdata.org is an online portal to help citizen scientists collect, share and understand data about the natural world. The platform can be used by students, teachers, researchers, regulatory agencies and community organizers. In particular, the platform is geared to those who want to “crowdsource” data about the changing environment.

The platform was originally developed to help Maine citizen scientists track the disappearance of Maine’s eelgrass, which is vital to its commercial fishery. The platform’s clients now include projects around the world.

The MDI Biological Laboratory is exploring making Anecdata.org available to an even wider audience through a new enterprise: a branded mobile application.