Wildlife Undergrads Spread Their Wings in Citizen Science Research Experience

Abstract

Citizen science has become a valuable tool for natural resource professionals; however, many undergraduate students are not aware of its use as a means of collecting data for scientific analysis. To address this, we introduced a bird-focused research experience into an undergraduate Wildlife Management Techniques course. The objective of this course is to provide practical experiences in wildlife science by learning and using tools and techniques applied in the field. Students designed, implemented, and presented the results of a wild bird observation survey that contributed data to an existing e-Bird-based program. Pre-post surveys were collected to assess student learning and behavioral changes. We observed increased student awareness of citizen science. Ninety-two percent of students correctly defined citizen science following the experience. However, only sixteen percent of students stated they would continue participation in STWB, fifty percent were unsure, and thirty-four percent would not continue involvement. Improvements are discussed to promote participation in citizen science, connections with the community, and communication skill development for future employment.

Fomentar connexions amb la natura

“…Van demostrar una major consciència de la interdependència ésser humà-natura i en el cas d' escoles de preescolar que van incorporar la natura en activitats regulars, es va observar, també, una major consciència per als «més que humans» (Giusti et al, 2014). Els seus resultats contrasten amb una intervenció escolar més cognitiva basada en el coneixement sobre les aus silvestres, on hi va haver un impacte mínim posterior a la intervenció en l'afinitat dels nens amb la natura (Ortiz et al, 2018).…”

Environmental education in the classroom: pilot study in Cabo Verde suggests differing impacts on local knowledge and environmental attitudes

“…Environmental education is a powerful tool, with many effective projects having been undertaken (Ruiz-Mallen et al, 2009; Ortiz et al, 2018; White et al, 2018; Spooner et al, 2019; Karris et al, 2020). However, because of its many benefits, environmental education has sometimes been thought of as a general-purpose solution to many different environmental problems, without clearly defining goals or critically assessing the activities undertaken (Edsand & Broich, 2020).…”