An increasing number of long-term monitoring projects and studies are utilizing the skills of volunteers, or citizen scientists, to collect data. By capitalizing on the efforts of these volunteers, researchers are able to gather large amounts of data at minimal cost. However, the benefits of incorporating citizen science into ecological research are not limited to the data that can be collected. Citizen science projects can also benefit the volunteers and the broader community. Volunteers not only gain experience in making observations and participating in a scientific study, they may also develop a greater sense of stewardship over the populations or sites they are responsible for surveying or monitoring and may become involved in further conservation efforts. The broader community benefits from this increased sense of stewardship and from the fact that the data collected can serve to inform local planning and land-use decisions. In addition, when the results of citizen science projects are made accessible to the public, they can help to increase residents' knowledge and appreciation of both their local ecological resources and the scientific process.
Results/Conclusions
A variety of citizen science-based programs have successfully incorporated educational outreach components into their projects. A review of these projects indicates that public presentations and websites are crucial to communicating project goals and results, as well as broader ecological information. Some citizen-science programs have also successfully established projects in cooperation with local schools, where volunteers work with students to collect data. As part of its outreach efforts, the Tucson Bird Count (TBC), an ongoing urban bird monitoring program, has employed a variety of strategies, and the outcomes suggest that a combination of approaches designed to target various segments of the public is most effective at increasing public interest and support.
