Data Collection & Visualization in the Park

Join tcplot for data collection and visualization in the park. We'll meet at The Coffee Shop NE, walk over to Audubon Park to collect data by hand, then come back and turn what we gathered into a visualization.
Data collection is usually invisible — by the time most of us see a dataset, someone else has already decided what counts. This is a chance to make those decisions yourself: what to measure, how to tally it, and what gets left out.

How the morning will flow

• Coffee & plan — meet at The Coffee Shop NE for quick intros and to decide what each of us will count
• Collect — walk to Audubon Park and spend about forty minutes gathering data: tallies, timings, sketches, observations
• Visualize — head back and turn raw tallies into something readable, on paper, in code, or in beads and thread
• Share — compare what we made, and how differently we each saw the same park

Things you could count
Birds, squirrels, and dogs; how people pass through (walking, running, biking, strollers); trees by species or the colors of the leaves; dandelions and where they cluster; sounds and how often they interrupt the quiet; how long anyone lingers on a bench. Pick one and go deep, or track a few at once.

What to bring
Something to record with (a notebook or your phone) and shoes for a short walk. A laptop is welcome for the visualizing part but not required — we'll have paper and making supplies on hand. Dress for the weather.
Rain plan: light rain, we'll go anyway. Heavy rain, we'll collect our data right from the coffee shop.

Who it's for
Anyone curious about where data comes from — practitioners and first-timers alike. No tools or experience required, just a willingness to notice things.