Knowledge Liberation Backend - Building MySQL for Community Science

Build the essential database foundation that will power community-driven research at Squirrel Ridge Observatory Centre! This focused project centers on designing and implementing a robust MySQL database infrastructure for SROC's flagship initiative: OMOD (Orthographic Mapping Ondemand Datasystem), with the architecture designed to eventually support additional projects. You'll work with real linguistic data to create optimized database schemas, implement data validation protocols, and establish the technical foundation that enables researchers and communities to preserve endangered language knowledge. This is practical database engineering with social impact - your MySQL implementation will store orthographic mappings that help preserve Indigenous languages, support language learning applications, and enable cross-linguistic research. Working within established hosting infrastructure, you'll focus on database optimization, data integrity, and creating clean interfaces between stored data and web applications. The project emphasizes solid database fundamentals: schema design, indexing strategies, backup protocols, and performance optimization. Your database becomes the reliable backbone that enables linguistic communities to preserve their knowledge digitally while providing researchers with structured, accessible data for language preservation and education initiatives.

From Chaos to Conservation - Data Archaeology for Urban Wildlife

Turn decades of handwritten field notes, observation logs, and citizen science data into a research powerhouse! Working alongside an experienced field naturalist, you'll tackle the fascinating challenge of transforming messy, real-world ecological data into systematically organized, research-ready datasets that reveal patterns in urban-wildland ecosystems. This isn't just data cleanup - you're building the foundation for understanding how wildlife adapts to human-modified landscapes. You'll develop classification schemas for species observations, create standardization protocols for habitat assessments, and design frameworks that turn scattered observations into coherent ecological knowledge. The project involves detective work (deciphering field notebooks), systems thinking (designing data structures), and ecological insight (understanding what the data reveals about urban nature). Your organized datasets will become the backbone for future research on habitat connectivity, biodiversity patterns, and conservation strategies. This is hands-on work with real environmental impact - your data organization directly supports evidence-based conservation and helps communities understand their local ecosystems. To get a sense for this project, check out https://squirrelridge.org/defrag/

OMOD Indigenous - Your Language, Your Code, Your Legacy

Join the mission to digitally preserve Indigenous languages through OMOD (Orthographic Mapping Ondemand Datasystem) - a cutting-edge platform that maps how written characters become spoken sounds. OMOD already supports Vietnamese, Tamil, and Arabic, but we're expanding to include Indigenous languages with priority given to students working on their own mother tongues or community languages. You'll follow OMOD's proven methodology to create comprehensive orthographic-phonetic mappings that capture the unique sounds and writing systems of Indigenous languages while respecting community protocols and Indigenous data sovereignty. This isn't just data entry - you're contributing to language revitalization by creating tools that help communities, educators, and learners understand exactly how traditional writing systems encode pronunciation. Working with syllabics, contemporary orthographies, and everything in between, you'll document context-sensitive pronunciations and create detailed datasets that integrate seamlessly with OMOD's established framework. Your work becomes part of a growing open-source linguistic resource that supports language continuity, education, and research while ensuring community ownership of linguistic heritage.

Phonetic Bridge: Unified Orthography System

The project aims to develop a system that translates diverse orthographies into a unified International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) dataset. This system will enable accurate phonetic interpretation of language variations across different languages and historical periods. The challenge is to create a tool that can handle the complexity of multiple writing systems and their phonetic nuances, providing a consistent phonetic representation. The project will involve researching various orthographies, understanding their phonetic structures, and designing algorithms to convert these into IPA. The goal is to facilitate linguistic studies and applications by offering a reliable phonetic conversion tool that can be used in educational and research settings. This project will allow learners to apply their knowledge of linguistics, computer science, and data analysis in a practical setting.