Citizen Science and its Effects on Participants’ Ecological Views and Knowledge

Abstract

Environmental activism has been on the decline ever since the environmental movements of the 1970s. With environmental dangers such as climate change currently impacting our ecosystems it is more important than ever for citizens to get involved in creating a healthier environment. This begs the question of how do environmental scientists inspire the public to become more active and also educate them on environmental issues? Citizen science may be able to help. By giving citizens hands on experience with a natural issue and allowing them to collect actual data that will be used by researchers, the participants could become more involved environmentally and have a new outlook on environmental issues. To evaluate the effects of citizen science on the participants, two groups will fill out surveys before and after participating in either a citizen science project or a science outreach activity. The results of the survey will be quantified and comparisons will be drawn from the data.