Moreover, working with citizen scientists gets more people out and into the natural world as well as involved in the scientific process. “We want to inspire the public to appreciate nature through hands-on research projects,” says Marc Albert, an NPS ecologist with the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area in Massachusetts. “We want to give everybody a chance to enjoy the Appalachian Trail and tell us about its health,” adds Brian Mitchell, an NPS ecologist in Woodstock, Vermont. Mitchell is also program coordinator for the Northeast Temperate Network, a part of the MEGATransect project. “We want everybody from grade-schoolers to grandmas,”