Here’s an opportunity to be a scientific researcher, even if you have an English degree. New York Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Unit at Cornell University and the Department of Environmental Conservation are launching a project that enlists citizen scientists to collect data about black bears.

Using the iSeeMammals app, which you can download here, participants go on hikes and record signs of bears through photos, by setting up a fixed camera and recording information. You can create an account online or on your Apple or Android phone.

The website helps you know signs to watch for, such as hair, tree markings, prints and scat. It also gives you basic information on black bears, the only wild bear species in the eastern United States – their diet, habitat, behavior, reproductive and life cycle. It will also show photos as they are posted.

Photo of American black bear by Larry Master.