Engaging gardeners in helping scientists address research question could be an effective strategy for promoting environmental stewardship and advancing research in successful sustainable landscape management practices. Cornell’s Lab of Ornithology has demonstrated that it is possible to mobilize birdwatchers to partner with scientists and educators to gather information that can be used to better understand and protect birds and their habitats. These citizen science birdwatchers also serve as advocates and ambassadors for educating others about conservation and implement habitat restoration projects in their backyards and communities.  With an estimate of 91 million American households participated in some kind of do-it-yourself lawn and garden activities (2006 National Gardening Association (NGA) Survey) and the potential to partner with Cooperative Extension Associations it is reasonable that the success seen with birdwatchers can be replicated with gardeners, especially by engaging some of the 90,000 Master Gardener Volunteers from across North America. Further, the NGA’s 2008 Environmental Lawn and Garden Survey reports that 9 out of 10 households believe it’s important to maintain their landscapes in a way that benefits the environment so public interest is already in place.  

Results/Conclusions

Through Cornell’s Citizen Science in Horticulture Viburnum Leaf Beetle project, researchers tapped the talents and enthusiasm of backyard and community gardeners across America to learn about viburnum leaf beetle’s ecology. Citizens offered insight into its expanding range, how weather and other factors affect its lifecycle and which viburnum plant species are most appealing to this voracious pest. Engaged gardeners were the first to note the occurrence of beetles in some new landscapes and allowed Cornell researchers to gather field observation on several hundred additional viburnum plants including three species from which they had no previous data.

Cornell’s Vegetable Varieties for Gardeners, a second citizen science project, is gathering gardeners’ observations on vegetable varieties. With a continual growth in gardener engagement from across North America researchers aim to gain new insight into the performance of varieties in a wide range of landscapes including urban areas. Identifying the right plant for the right location is a critical step in implementing sustainable landscape management practices with success.

Public engagement through Citizen Science in gardens may go a long way toward increasing public interest in understanding—and concern for—how the gardening practices they engage in affect the ecosystems in which they reside.