Citizen Science
This
Summer --Volunteer for Wilderness! >>
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Photo by Ronni Flannery |
The Wilderness Institute’s Citizen Science
Program builds on a growing movement that engages citizen
volunteers in monitoring the ecological and social aspects
of our wildlands. Effective wilderness conservation requires
better information about the spread of noxious weeds, air
quality, recreational impacts, and changing wilderness character.
Citizen volunteers can help monitor conditions and trends,
detect early indicators of change, and provide information
to managers.
We envision citizen volunteers as active
in gathering data and participating in the process of using
and interpreting that data. Citizens often have local knowledge
of particular ecosystems and can help managers and scientists
understand the broader social, economic, and political context
of changes occurring in wilderness. Through citizen science,
citizens can also build community capacity to use science
to understand ecological change, and to engage public land
managers on issues of wilderness management. Citizen science
in wilderness provides an opportunity to broaden civic engagement
in wilderness stewardship.
Resources
Resources
for Citizen Monitoring
Citizen
Monitoring Programs
The Citizen Science Program includes:
Wilderness Monitoring with Volunteers
and Students
Through the Wilderness Institute, citizen volunteers monitor
weed invasion and recreational impacts in wilderness areas
in Montana. In the summer of 2005, community volunteers
helped map 350 weed infestations in wilderness areas and
inventory the condition of over 100 wilderness campsites.
Our students participate in several long term monitoring
projects focused on understanding plant species abundance
and diversity.
Research on Volunteers and Volunteer
Experiences
The Wilderness Institute has partnered with four NGOs in
Western Montana to study volunteers and their experiences
on volunteer trips. Through this project, we hope to better
understand the motivations for and outcomes of volunteering
for wilderness. This information will enable NGOs and public
land management agencies to facilitate improved experiences
for volunteers.
Outreach and Exchange on Citizen
Science
The Wilderness Institute also organizes forums and presentations
on citizen science for a variety of groups. In 2005, the
Institute organized a Citizen Science Summit that included
representatives from government, academic institutions,
industry, NGOs, volunteer community groups, and school groups
involved in citizen monitoring and restoration efforts.
The Institute also offers public presentations to advance
discussions about citizen science and broaden the way people
think about both science and civic engagement.
