Many environmental communication interventions are built on the assumption that increased knowledge will lead to changes in proenvironment behaviors. Our study probes the link between biodiversity-related knowledge and self-reported proconservation behavior, based on the largest and most international study of zoo visitors ever conducted. In total, 6,357 visitors to 30 zoos from 19 countries around the globe participated in the study. Biodiversity understanding and knowledge of actions to help protect biodiversity were significantly related, but only 0.6% of the variation in knowledge of
Social studies in citizen science typically focus on existing project participants. We present results from an online survey of 1145 marine users to identify broader public interest in marine citizen science. Although we found considerable community interest, the most enthusiastic tended to have a higher education in science, were under 45 years old, primarily enjoyed SCUBA diving, and had contributed to scientific research in the past. The type of research organization involved in a project played a role in people's willingness to share information. The discourse of public participation in
DATE:
TEAM MEMBERS:
Victoria MartinLeslie ChristidisGretta Pecl
Students find meaning and relevance in their learning when they connect lessons to real-world issues and possible career paths. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (FWS) Conservation Connect, a freely available video series, connects learners to wildlife, technology, and careers. Videos and supplementary resources are designed to serve middle school youth, but elementary and high school educators—and even FWS retirees—report that they also use the tools. Each episode features a species, a conservation career, and technology that professionals use to study or protect that species and its
The lack of equitable access to science learning for marginalized groups is now a significant concern in the science education community (Bell et al. 2009). In our commitment to addressing these concerns, we (the HERP Project staff) have spent four years exploring different ways to increase diverse student participation in our informal science programs called herpetology research experiences (HREs). We wanted the demographics of participants to mirror the racial, ethnic, cultural, linguistic, and socioeconomic demographics of the areas where our HREs are held. To achieve this, project staff
Of all the online information tools that the public relies on to collect information and share opinions about scientific and environmental issues, Twitter presents a unique venue to assess the spontaneous and genuine opinions of networked publics, including those about a focusing event like the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident following the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami. Using computational linguistic algorithms, this study analyzes a census of English-language tweets about nuclear power before, during, and after the Fukushima nuclear accident. Results show that although discourse about
DATE:
TEAM MEMBERS:
Nan LiHeather AkinLeona Yi-Fan SuDominique BrossardMichael XenosDietram Scheufele
In this article it is investigated the relationship between advertising and sustainability by evaluating the perceptions of employees of advertising agencies in the Pan-Amazon region using pre-defined indicators. Seeking to identify the level of environmental practices adopted by advertising agencies toward the goal of building a sustainable society, it was interviewed advertising professionals about whether they saw themselves as contributing to changing consumer society towards a new society based on economic efficiency, social equality and ecological equilibrium. To answer these questions
DATE:
TEAM MEMBERS:
Marcio David Macedo da SilvaLigia Terezinha Lopes Simonian
The rapid growth of the natural gas extraction industry in Pennsylvania and neighboring states has stirred concerned citizens to seek ways to collect data on water quality impacts from the extraction activities. As a response to requests from community members, the Alliance for Aquatic Resource Monitoring (ALLARM) developed a volunteer-friendly protocol in 2010 for early detection and reporting of surface water contamination by shale gas extraction activities in small streams. To date, ALLARM has trained more than 2,000 volunteers in Pennsylvania, New York, and West Virginia to monitor water
Citizen science has the potential to provide participants with information about conservation issues and to encourage additional conservation actions. In this case study, we describe the current state of conservation education among butterfly citizen science projects in the United States. To determine the extent to which these citizen science projects are promoting an understanding of, and engagement in, conservation among their participants, we used an online questionnaire to census project leaders and assessed their websites for the presence of educational conservation information. We found
Citizen science has the potential to provide participants with information about conservation issues and to encourage additional conservation actions. In this case study, we describe the current state of conservation education among butterfly citizen science projects in the United States. To determine the extent to which these citizen science projects are promoting an understanding of, and engagement in, conservation among their participants, we used an online questionnaire to census project leaders and assessed their websites for the presence of educational conservation information. We found
The majority of the world’s billions of biodiversity specimens are tucked away in museum cabinets with only minimal, if any, digital records of the information they contain. Global efforts to digitize specimens are underway, yet the scale of the task is daunting. Fortunately, many activities associated with digitization do not require extensive training and could benefit from the involvement of citizen science participants. However, the quality of the data generated in this way is not well understood. With two experiments presented here, we examine the efficacy of citizen science participants
DATE:
TEAM MEMBERS:
Elizabeth EllwoodHenry BartMichael DooseyDean JueJustin MannGil NelsonNelson RiosAustin Mast
The increasing number of citizen science projects around the world brings the need to evaluate the effectiveness of these projects and to show the applicability of the data they collect. This research describes the Wabash River Sampling Blitz, a volunteer water-quality monitoring program in Central Indiana developed by the Wabash River Enhancement Corporation (WREC). Results indicate that field test strips for nitrate+nitrite-N read by volunteers generally agree with lab-determined values. Orthophosphate results are less transferable owing to low observed concentrations, although the field
DATE:
TEAM MEMBERS:
Rebecca MuenichSara PeelLaura BowlingMegan HaasRonald TurcoJane FrankenbergerIndrajeet Chaubey
The success of citizen science in producing important and unique data is attracting interest from scientists and resource managers. Nonetheless, questions remain about the credibility of citizen science data. Citizen science programs desire to meet the same standards of credibility as academic science, but they usually work within a different context, for example, training and managing significant numbers of volunteers with limited resources. We surveyed the credibility-building strategies of 30 citizen science programs that monitor environmental aspects of the California coast. We identified