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Watch this video and help Trees with Citizen Science

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Watch this video and help Trees with Citizen Science

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The Conservation Gateway is for the conservation practitioner, scientist and decision-maker. Here we share the best and most up-to-date information we use to inform our work at The Nature Conservancy.

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It doesn't take much to take small steps toward conservation. And sometimes, the tools we need are in the palm of our hands. We've rounded up some apps to help you go green, and save some green.

An app called iRecycle is a beautiful app that helps you find where to recycle anything under the sun.

Select items you want to get rid of, like antifreeze or car batteries, old cell phones or computers -- even hair dye and cooking oil can be recycled. The app will show a list of the closest recycling centers, with maps, phone numbers and website. The app is free at Apple's App Store and Google Play.

WattBuddy also lets you track your energy usage by connecting to your utility company. You can also take a photo of your meter to get a reading. A cool graph lets you see how your energy usage fluctuates. If you're luck, the app will even show you energy deals in your area. The app is free at Apple's App Store.

Did you know that energy rates change everyday? An app called Toupe pulls data from your utility company and breaks down the price of electricity each day of the week. It's pretty specific, but it could help when scheduling laundry day. The app is free at Apple's App Store.

More from CBS News Eye on Apps:

Hiking apps for tech savvy explorers
Beauty apps to keep you looking sharp Gardening apps for fabulous flowers, herbs and vegetables

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Useful mobile apps for saving energy and money

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It doesn't take much to take small steps toward conservation. And sometimes, the tools we need are in the palm of our hands. We've rounded up some apps to help you go green, and save some green. An app called iRecycle is a beautiful app that helps you find where to recycle anything under the sun.

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Confalonieri, R., Foi, M., Casa, R., Aquaro, S., Tona, E., Peterle, M.,...Francone, C. (2013). Development of an app for estimating leaf area index using a smartphone. Trueness and precision determination and comparison with other indirect methods. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, 96, 67-74.

Delgado, J.A., Lowalski, K. & Tebbe., C. (2013). The first nitrogen index app for mobile devices: Using portable technology for smart agricultural management. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, 91, 121-123.

Fitzherbert, E.B., Struebig, M.J., Morel, A., Danielsen, F., Bruhl, C.A., Donald, P.F. & Phalan, B. (2008). How will oil palm expansion affect biodiversity? Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 23(10), 538-545.

Jepson, P. & Ladle, R.J. (2015). Nature apps: Waiting for the revolution. Ambio, 44(8), 827-832. doi: 10.1007/s13280-015-0712-2.

Nast, D. R., Speer, W.S. & LePrell, C.G. (2014). Sound level measurements using smartphone "apps": Useful or inaccurate". Noise & Health, 16(72), 251-256.

Treacy, M. (2012). 5 ways cell phones are helping environmentalism. Tree Hugger. Retrieved from https://www.treehugger.com/clean-technology/ways-cell-phones-help-environment.html

Vercayie, D. & Herremans, M. (2015). Citizen science and smartphones take roadkill monitoring to the next level. Nature Conservation, 11, 29-40.

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There just may be too many apps for people to figure out which one is the best to use. With over 6,000 nature themed apps available, many have not captivated the attention of the public and have not been successful in their conservation efforts (Jepson & Ladle, 2015).
Lots of conservation efforts can take place in remote areas of the world. If so, the inability to have an internet connection or a wireless signal is a weakness (Delgardo, J. A., Kowalski, K. & Tebbe, C. (2013). Apps may also not be able to have as precise measurements if used to record and measure large areas of canopy cover, for instance (Confaloneri et al., 2013) or sound levels (Nast, Speer & LePrell, 2014).

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World Wildlife Federation's free app showcases endangered animals with videos, stats, and provides ways to get involved to protect these species.

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To help identify and report invasive species in Florida by citizen science. Invasive plants and animals to the area greatly alters the landscape and native wildlife.

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Help scientists study the effects of climate change on phytoplankton by citizen science in this free app. The plankton food web underpins the marine food chain and changes can have dramatic ramifications for sea life.

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Not sure where to recycle automotive items, electronics, or hazardous materials? Use this free app to find out.

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Just type in the fish you want to buy in this free app and learn if it has been caught in a sustainable way to decrease over fishing of our oceans.

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Concerned with air pollution in Utah? Get this free app and it will tell you when you should carpool, consolidate trips, or not burn wood and coal.

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This free app includes 400 species where you can search for an animal, learn more, and take action. It also contains the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. You can share information on social media, play games, and upload photos you take at zoos-all in the name of biodiversity.

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This FREE app called "Kill-Ur-Watts" tracks your energy use and provides suggestions to help reduce your carbon footprint.

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Allows people to track their water usage by connecting their utilities with their mobile device. You will be alerted if there is a suspected water leak to avoid higher water bills and conserve water.

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Be a Citizen Scientist and help report and remove trash anywhere in the world and prevent it from harming marine life.

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The harvesting of palm oil destroys habitats of endangered species (Fitzherbert, E.B., Struebig, M.J., Morel, A., Danielsen, F., Bruhl, C.A., Donald, P.F. & Phalan, B., 2008).This FREE app enables you to scan a bar code or type a product name to find out if it is harvested in a sustainable manner so you can choice to buy it or not. If not, you can click to send the manufacturer an email telling them they need to change their practices to help the environment. You can also send an email praising the companies that do harvest palm oil in responsible ways. Just search "Palm Oil" in the App Store.

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Smartphone apps are used in many conservation efforts. One benefit is that anyone can be a "eco-warrior" since they can communicate with anyone anywhere in the world (Treacy, 2012). And since the apps are used on mobile devices and tablets, they are easily portable, have good camera capabilities, and GPS (Confalonieri, R. et al, 2013).
Another benefit of utilizing apps for conservation research is that citizen science can be incorporated which enables the gathering of more data over a larger geographical space (Vercayie & Herremans, 2015).