###How to start a local environmental monitoring project If you are facing an environmental health concern and want to undertake a research project that will address it, please read this page on designing an appropriate research project: https://publiclab.org/wiki/start-enviro-monitor-study ###How to start a community-based technology development project: Lots of people have expressed interest in using the Public Lab network as a platform to develop and/or refine a DIY environmental science method. That's great -- it's one reason we started Public Lab in the first place -- and we've found this checklist to be a good starting point for such collaborations. * Start by writing to the [main Public Lab mailing list](/lists) to introduce your problem or idea. Engage in discussion with people who respond. Perhaps there's a topical list that relates as well -- check that mailing lists page for "plots-waterquality" or "plots-airquality" * [Create a wiki page](/wiki/new) to introduce your project and explain the environmental or health concern you're investigating. New template being drafted up here: https://publiclab.org/wiki/method-template * Following that template will prompt you to define a unique tag for your project, also choose other topic-related tags to add to your wiki * [Share your ongoing work in Research Notes](/post) with a consistent tag so people can [follow](/subscriptions) your work as it develops * Nominate yourself to the [organizers group](/organizers) to get connected with Public Lab leaders from around the world ####Staff support Once you've completed the above, we're happy to help, but given our limited staff resources, we ask that you post a minimum of three research notes before engaging with staff on: * Mentorship sit-down sessions * Helping you grow your community through matchmaking * Assistance on joint fundraising for tutorials, tool assembly diagrams, videos, research supplies, community workshops and software for processing data from the hardware -- see https://publiclab.org/wiki/funding-partnerships-with-public-lab * coordination of bulk buys * Assistance with tool distribution and bulk mailing