1. www.earthwatch.org/europe Engaging people in scientific field research: Does it work? Why? Samantha N Burgess PhD sburgess@earthwatch.org.uk

2. www.earthwatch.org/europe What is citizen science ? A lay person involved in scientific research. Involved in science projects because they are interested in their environment or the scientific process (many other motivations) Issues with data quality? Not with a well designed project What makes a successful citizen science project?

3. www.earthwatch.org/europe What is citizen science ? Science Online Backyard Science Immersive field research Potential: 1,000,000 Engagement Level?? Potential: 100s of 1000 Potential: 10s of 1000

4. www.earthwatch.org/europe Public Motivation (Galaxy Zoo)

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6. ​ 1,000,000 Galaxies ​ 300,000 Users ​ 120,000,000 classifications

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8. What motivates scientists and volunteers ? ScientistsVolunteers MoneyNice holiday Human resourcesWildlife experience Effective mechanism for engaging the broader community Give back – to the environment - to research Develop leadership skillsUnderstanding environmental problems Recognition for researchLocal community interactions Learning from volunteers (problem solving) Contributing to something meaningful e.g. conservation Health and safetySafe travel Teaching peopleAchieve something - science Funding that won’t come from other sources Sense of community – team dynamics Fun

9. www.earthwatch.org/europe Motivation – different philosophies Hedonic - To have a nice time / to improve peer group status (~ 25%) Eudemonic - To ‘save the planet’ / to serve penance for their carbon footprint (~ 25%) Pedagogic - To learn, or to gain knowledge to pass on to others / teachers, students (~ 25%) Expectancy Disconfirmation Paradigm ~ looking for the “Je ne sais pas” (~ 25%) Primary Personal Objective Flexibility and (perhaps) stoicism required in management strategy Buesching, C.D. & Slade, E. (subm.). Citizen Science in Wytham Woods: Collecting scientific data using amateur volunteers. In: Wildlife conservation on farmland (Ed. By: David W. Macdonald & Ruth E. Feber). Oxford University Press. Silvertown, J., Buesching, C.D., Jacobson, S., Rebello, T. & Birtles, A. (subm.). Citizen Science for nature conservation biology. In: Key Topics in Conservation II (ed. By David M W. Macdonald and Kathy Willis)..

10. www.earthwatch.org/europe Citizen Scientists ≠ Eco-Volunteers The ‘Big Society’ Empowering people and communities Not Eco-tourism (lacks explicit emphasis on active contribution) Not even participation in national wildlife surveys or habitat management activities “PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH - TESTING HYPOTHESES” Context & Training required But all variants make a valuable contribution to public engagement & understanding

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12. Research objectives of the field work

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14. Context setting of the research What can we learn from studying individual reefs in the Seychelles?

15. www.earthwatch.org/europe What did the volunteers achieve ? All completed in 10 days

16. www.earthwatch.org/europe What knowledge was gained ?

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22. Research Education Implementation Informing management strategies Community involvement Citizen science projects Improving livelihoods Successful projects are circular