Between the Tides: Community Science as Comfort

I am 2,694 miles from home, on an unexpected trip, feeling alone, exhausted, and emotionally overwhelmed. Desperate for comfort after a particularly challenging morning, I decided to go to the ocean. My intention was to sit, watch, and listen, just be.

Partial carapace of a Speckled Swimming Crab (Arenaeus cribrarius) I found nestled amongst the wrack line.

Instead, I took out my phone, opened the iNaturalist app, and started walking the undulant wrack line of debris deposited from the last high tide. A smooth rhythm took hold - bending down, noticing, touching, and zooming in on peculiar objects through my phone screen. I snapped photos, uploaded them to the app, and checked for confirmations of identification.

Settling into this meditative slow-looking, I felt a calm connection inch forward. Grounded in that place and consumed with discovery, I became tethered to the ocean’s more-than-human inhabitants, many of whom were entirely new to me, and to an online community of fellow nature explorers. I wasn't alone.

My jaw unclenched for the first time in days. 

Community science can take many forms. For me, it turns out, community science can even offer that deep hug my body ached for.

Have you ever found yourself lost or emotionally adrift and gleaned solace in nature? If so, you might be interested in my follow-up post "In Between the Tides: Community Science, Nature, and Well Being," where I'll share some of the current research on the link between nature-based community science projects and mental health.