Environmental citizen science in schools

Citizen science consists of members of the public engaging in real-world research with experts. It is becoming a popular approach for generating interest in and enthusiasm for various environmental, scientific and social issues. More recently, it is being used in schools as a teaching and learning tool, especially in science and geography classrooms: for example, students may undertake fieldwork about campus biodiversity to co-create local conservation management plans. Whilst doing this work, the students could provide species observations on platforms like iNaturalist or the Global Biodiversity Information Facility to support academic research or policy development.

Although this makes for an enriched learning experience, there is little agreement about these kinds of learning activities for students. This international project investigates how these types of learning opportunities influence students, building from work completed during her doctoral studies.

Using student surveys, field observations, and student and teacher interviews, the project aims to better understand if and how such hands-on experiences impact values, attitudes and behaviour amongst participating students.

The outputs of the findings support the enhancement of how environmental education is experienced by secondary school students, and will be made available to all participating schools in the form of a short, practical report for teachers and school leadership.