Introduction to Citizen Science

1. What is Citizen Science

Citizen science is the practice of public participation and collaboration in scientific research. Involvement in citizen science projects allows people to share and contribute data to monitoring and collection programs, which increases our scientific knowledge and benefits society.

Although citizen science is a relatively new term (coined in the 1990s), people have been participating and contributing to scientific research for many years. You’re probably aware of the RSPB Big Garden Bird Watch, a very successful citizen science project that’s been running since 1979.  Even Charles Darwin started out as a ‘citizen scientist’, collecting his own data as an amateur scientist and combining them with observations from over 1000 members of the public to provide evidence to support his theory of evolution by natural selection!

Citizen science isn’t all about bugs, birds and the environment though. The Galaxy Zoo citizen science project asks volunteers to help explore and classify galaxies across the observable universe.  They’ve been doing this for over a decade and the many citizen scientists involved have helped to classify the hundreds of thousands of new galaxies and objects in space that are discovered every day. Classifying galaxies is very addictive!

The reason citizen scientists are needed is because professional scientists simply don’t have the manpower or time to collect all the data needed for big projects on their own. Luckily, the involvement of citizen scientists in projects has become much easier with the rapid advancement of computing technologies – especially smartphones and the Internet.  Now there are a huge range of citizen science projects to suit all levels of interest and ability, from absolute beginners to amateur enthusiasts and professional scientists.

Fortunately, for projects that rely on vast networks of citizen-recorders, like those that monitor biodiversity in the UK, citizen science is still growing in popularity.  With the potential to incorporate new digital technologies, citizen science is set to become an even more important tool in our understanding of the natural world and citizen scientists a vital partner in large projects. 

2. Citizen Science for Pollinator Monitoring

Currently there is much concern about the decline in pollinator populations.  These declines have been linked to several factors, including pesticide use and the drastic loss of wildflower habitats. Although many people are concerned that our bees, butterflies and other pollinator numbers are falling, we often don’t know the extent of these declines and how we can help. This has led to a strong call for collaborative research efforts among scientists, educators, and the public to educate people in how to take action to help pollinators and to monitor their numbers.

Several citizen science projects now engage with the public about pollinators.  To help monitor pollinator numbers, many projects involve gathering data in the form of photographs of pollinating insects taken in gardens and elsewhere and submitting that information to the project. The pollinators in the photographs are identified, either by other users of the citizen science site, or by experts overseeing the site. New developments in computer technology now means that identification can increasingly be done by using image recognition technologies.

Citizen science projects that engage the public in how to take action to help pollinators often encourage the public to plant pollinator-friendly plants in their gardens and shared outdoor spaces.  Since gardens cover over 1 million hectares in the UK they can be thought of as a national nature reserve for our pollinators! By then recording what pollinators visit our gardens or local outdoor spaces this is a great way to contribute to knowledge about the overall status of UK pollinators.

Citizen science is therefore a powerful way to both monitor changes in pollinator numbers across broad geographic areas and timescales, and to educate and encourage people to make practical choices to help pollinating insects.