Real data.
Real partners.
Every cohort generates observations that land in a real organization's database — ADEQ, SRWHMG, iNaturalist, AZ Game & Fish, EPA. Not classroom busywork.
Six organizations receiving cohort data.
Each card is a real org students submit to. Status tells you whether we're actively submitting (live), drafting the protocol agreement (in coordination), or the public submission path is open and the first cohort will use it (open submission path).
Arizona Water Watch
Arizona Department of Environmental Quality's flagship community-science water-monitoring program. Children 10+ welcomed alongside adults. Test kits provided. Submitted data lands in the official ADEQ database used for state water-protection decisions.
Salt River Wild Horse Management Group
The non-profit dedicated to the humane management of the Salt River wild horse herd in Tonto National Forest. Maintains individual records on every horse in the herd. Welcomes observations from anyone.
iNaturalist
The global biodiversity-observation platform run by California Academy of Sciences + National Geographic. Each observation contributes to research-grade species data used by scientists worldwide.
AZ Game & Fish Volunteer Program
Arizona Game & Fish Department's volunteer + citizen-science program. Coordinates statewide wildlife observation, habitat restoration, and species-monitoring efforts. Submitted hours are credited at $35/hr toward federal + state grant valuation.
EPA "How's My Waterway?"
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's public-facing watershed-health tool. Aggregates state water quality data, impairment listings, and citizen observations to make watershed status searchable for any address in the country.
AZ Community Science Alliance
ADEQ's expanded community-science alliance covering water + air + trash + native-species observations. Volunteer impact across the alliance has tracked $5M+ in saved state monitoring cost.
Five steps from observation to database.
The submission flow is part of the pedagogy — students learn how real citizen-science protocols work from the inside.
- 01
Parent consent at enrollment
Opt-in toggle on the enrollment form. No data leaves the cohort without a parent signature.
- 02
Protocols taught in week 1
Students learn the exact form fields, methods, and submission steps before they collect a single observation.
- 03
Paired-observer reliability check
Pairs record independently, then compare. If inter-observer reliability drops below 70%, the protocol gets re-taught.
- 04
Submission under cohort ID
Observations submit under a single AZ SUP Academy cohort identifier — not individual student names. Personal names never enter the public dataset.
- 05
Receipt + recognition
Every cohort certificate cites partners contributed to and the count of observations submitted. ESA reviewers see the same artifact.
Real data. Real partners. Real impact.
Pick a cohort. Your student starts contributing to Arizona's actual water and wildlife databases by week 5.