Citizen Science
Monarch Larva Monitoring Project
Every year, the zoo participates in the Monarch Larva Monitoring Project (MLMP), a citizen science initiative led by the Monarch Joint Venture and the University of Wisconsin-Madison Arboretum.
Conservation Science and Learning staff observe milkweed plants within the zoo’s gardens weekly, on the lookout for various stages of monarch butterfly larva.
Data collected through this project contributes to better understanding the distribution and abundance of breeding monarchs to inform monarch conservation across the nation.
Project FeederWatch
November through April, we participate in Project FeederWatch, led by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. This citizen science initiative takes place across North America and encourages participants to survey birds that visit backyards, nature centers, and community centers.
You can join us in participating, even without a feeder!
Habitat Hero with John Ball Zoo
We’re working with our partners at John Ball Zoo in Michigan to help our guests become Habitat Heroes by engaging in restoring and protecting native habitat through education, awareness, and direct action. Through this initiative, we are working to provide native plants at no cost to community members to create healthy habitat corridors not just here in Delaware, but across the nation.
In 2025, with the help of Delaware State Parks, we were able to give away 250 milkweed plants across the state of Delaware!
Contribute to Science with the Snap of a Picture
Each year, The Brandywine Zoo hosts multiple BioBlitz style citizen science projects on the iNaturalist platform. iNaturalist allows individuals across the globe to share and contribute data such as images and sound files to contribute to research initiatives. Check out our upcoming or ongoing studies below!
Delaware Invasive Plant Watch
Ongoing year-round
Help us track emerging invasive plants in the state of Delaware. This is a collaboration between the Brandywine Zoo, the Delaware Invasive Species Council, and you! We are looking for reports of several “up and coming” invasive plant species in Delaware. Tracking these emerging threats will help prevent these non-native species from being big infestations in the future.
Programs & Workshops
If you want to help us make a difference, check out our Citizen Science focused programs or workshops!