MEET JACKIE JAMES, ACTIVIST AND CITIZEN SCIENTIST

Jackie James led the fight to shut down the Tonawanda Coke Corporation by enlisting her neighbors to collect the data that stood up in court.

Jackie said part of the citizen science mission is teaching people how to take action.  “If you spend any time with children,” said Jackie, “they are very inquisitive. Our idea is that we have to get society back to that state again. We need people asking questions and asking why and getting out there and testing. That’s what we do. We give folks the tools to go out and test their own environment and use that data for action.”

Now Jackie and I are working together to create a citizen science children's book. I hope my little watercolor portrait captures a little bit of Jackie's determined spirit. The project is slow going on my side since power lines and factories are not that easy to draw!