Understanding citizen science and environmental monitoring: final report on behalf of UK Environmental Observation Framework

Citizen science can broadly be defined as the involvement of volunteers in science. Over the past decade there has been a rapid increase in the number of citizen science initiatives. The breadth of environmental-based citizen science is immense. Citizen scientists have surveyed for and monitored a broad range of taxa, and also contributed data on weather and habitats reflecting an increase in engagement with a diverse range of observational science. Citizen science has taken many varied approaches from citizen-led (co-created) projects with local community groups to, more commonly, scientist-led mass participation initiatives that are open to all sectors of society. Citizen science provides an indispensable means of combining environmental research with environmental education and wildlife recording. Here we provide a synthesis of extant citizen science projects using a novel cross-cutting approach to objectively assess understanding of citizen science and environmental monitoring including: 1. Brief overview of knowledge on the motivations of volunteers. 2. Semi-systematic review of environmental citizen science projects in order to understand the variety of extant citizen science projects. 3. Collation of detailed case studies on a selection of projects to complement the semi-systematic review. 4. Structured interviews with users of citizen science and environmental monitoring data focussing on policy, in order to more fully understand how citizen science can fit into policy needs. 5. Review of technology in citizen science and an exploration of future opportunities

Citizen Science approaches for beach litter monitoring

Questa tesi dal titolo "Approcci della scienza dei cittadini per il monitoraggio dei rifiuti da spiaggia" si concentra sui rifiuti marini delle spiagge (di seguito MBL). MBL rappresenta un enorme problema che riguarda le aree scientifiche, economiche e sociali. Durante il primo anno di dottorato è stata organizzata e realizzata un'attività pilota di citizen science per il monitoraggio dell'ambiente balneare con studenti delle scuole primarie e secondarie, utilizzando il protocollo MAC-Emerso. Le osservazioni raccolte sono state incluse nel database ufficiale MAC-Emerso. Durante il secondo anno, è stata completata un'analisi bibliometrica sul MBL e i risultati raggiunti sono stati organizzati per la pubblicazione in una rivista peer-reviewed. Inoltre, è stata effettuata un'analisi preliminare del database nazionale MAC-Emerso disponibile. Il terzo anno è stato dedicato alla compilazione di studi e programmi precedenti incentrati sul monitoraggio MBL e sulle campagne di bonifica lungo la costa mediterranea. Tutte le metodologie applicate fino ad oggi sono state analizzate e confrontate nel dettaglio per identificare i punti di forza e di debolezza dei protocolli attuali, il coinvolgimento dei cittadini e le lacune esistenti. La presente tesi è composta da otto capitoli e due articoli e si apre con un'introduzione generale che descrive MBL (Capitolo 1). Il capitolo 2 discute l'obiettivo generale della ricerca di dottorato e riassume gli articoli inclusi nella tesi di dottorato. Il capitolo 3 esamina in dettaglio la strategia marina, mentre il capitolo 4 si concentra sulla scienza dei cittadini e sul protocollo MAC-Emerso. Il capitolo 5 descrive i principali risultati raggiunti, inclusa l'attività pilota di citizen science organizzata e realizzata per il monitoraggio dell'ambiente balneare con gli studenti delle scuole primarie e secondarie che utilizzano il protocollo MAC-Emerso. Il capitolo 6 comprende la raccolta dei due articoli scientifici su MBL realizzati durante le attività di dottorato. Il primo paper (Cesarano et al., 2021) è stato pubblicato su Marine Pollution Bulletin (con ranking Q1), mentre il secondo paper è stato recentemente inviato alla stessa rivista. Il primo esplora la letteratura scientifica globale sull'MBL attraverso un'accurata analisi bibliometrica. Quest'ultimo presenta una revisione sistematica della letteratura corrente sul monitoraggio MBL lungo le coste del Mediterraneo. Insieme, forniscono una revisione completa delle conoscenze scientifiche sull'MBL nella regione mediterranea e offrono spunti interessanti per capire dove si trovano le lacune attuali e cosa sarebbe necessario per sviluppare un monitoraggio più efficiente su scala di bacino a sostegno dei nostri sforzi per affrontare il Sfida MBL. Infine, un'osservazione conclusiva dei risultati complessivi raggiunti nel presente studio è elaborata nel Capitolo 7. Segue una nota sugli altri prodotti non inclusi in questa tesi, ma eseguiti durante il mio periodo di dottorato. Quindi, un elenco di riferimento degli studi menzionati attraverso la tesi conclude questo documento.This thesis entitled “Citizen Science approaches for beach litter monitoring” focuses on Marine Beach Litter (hereafter MBL). MBL represents a huge problem that concerns scientific, economic, and social areas. During the first year of my PhD, a pilot citizen science activity was organized and realized for monitoring beach environment with primary and secondary school students, using the MAC-Emerso protocol. The collected observations were included in the official MAC-Emerso database. During the second year, a bibliometric analysis on the MBL topic has been completed and the achieved results have been organized for publication in a peer-reviewed journal. Furthermore, a preliminary analysis of the available national MAC-Emerso database was carried out. The third year was devoted to compile previous studies and programs focusing on MBL monitoring and cleanup campaigns along the Mediterranean coastline. All the methodologies applied to date have been analysed and compared in detail to identify strengths and weaknesses of current protocols, citizen involvement, and existing gaps. The present thesis consists of eight chapters and two papers and opens with a general introduction describing MBL (Chapter 1). Chapter 2 discusses the overall aim of the PhD research, and summarizes the papers included in the PhD thesis. Chapter 3 examines in detail the Marine Strategy, while Chapter 4 focuses on Citizen Science and the MAC-Emerso protocol. Chapter 5 describes the main results achieved, including the pilot citizen science activity organized and realized for monitoring beach environment with primary and secondary school students using the MAC-Emerso protocol. Chapter 6 includes the collection of the two scientific papers on MBL realized during the PhD activities. The first paper (Cesarano et al., 2021) has been published in Marine Pollution Bulletin (with Q1 ranking), while the second paper has been recently submitted to the same journal. The former explores the global scientific literature on MBL through an accurate bibliometric analysis. The latter presents a systematic review of current literature concerning MBL monitoring along the Mediterranean coasts. Together, they do provide a comprehensive review of the scientific knowledge on MBL in the Mediterranean region and offer interesting insights to understand where current gaps lie, and what would be needed to develop a basin-scale more efficient monitoring in support of our efforts to tackle the MBL challenge. Finally, a concluding remark of the overall results achieved in the present study is elaborated in Chapter 7. A note about the other products not included in this thesis, but performed during my PhD period, follows. Then, a reference list of the studies mentioned through the thesis ends this document

Geographic Citizen Science Design

Little did Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin and other ‘gentlemen scientists’ know, when they were making their scientific discoveries, that some centuries later they would inspire a new field of scientific practice and innovation, called citizen science. The current growth and availability of citizen science projects and relevant applications to support citizen involvement is massive; every citizen has an opportunity to become a scientist and contribute to a scientific discipline, without having any professional qualifications. With geographic interfaces being the common approach to support collection, analysis and dissemination of data contributed by participants, ‘geographic citizen science’ is being approached from different angles. Geographic Citizen Science Design takes an anthropological and Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) stance to provide the theoretical and methodological foundations to support the design, development and evaluation of citizen science projects and their user-friendly applications. Through a careful selection of case studies in the urban and non-urban contexts of the Global North and South, the chapters provide insights into the design and interaction barriers, as well as on the lessons learned from the engagement of a diverse set of participants; for example, literate and non-literate people with a range of technical skills, and with different cultural backgrounds. Looking at the field through the lenses of specific case studies, the book captures the current state of the art in research and development of geographic citizen science and provides critical insight to inform technological innovation and future research in this area

Mapping Participatory Sensing and Community-led Environmental Monitoring Initiatives: Making Sense H2020 CAPS Project

This report presents a summary of the state of the art in urban participatory sensing and community-led environmental monitoring, the types of engagement approaches typically followed, contextual examples of current developments in this field, and current challenges and opportunities for successful interventions. The goal is to better understand the field and possible options for reflection and action around it, in order to better inform future conceptual and practical developments inside and outside the Making Sense project.JRC.I.2-Foresight, Behavioural Insights and Design for Polic

Geographic Citizen Science Design: No one left behind

Little did Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin and other ‘gentlemen scientists’ know, when they were making their scientific discoveries, that some centuries later they would inspire a new field of scientific practice and innovation, called citizen science. The current growth and availability of citizen science projects and relevant applications to support citizen involvement is massive; every citizen has an opportunity to become a scientist and contribute to a scientific discipline, without having any professional qualifications. With geographic interfaces being the common approach to support collection, analysis and dissemination of data contributed by participants, ‘geographic citizen science’ is being approached from different angles. Geographic Citizen Science Design takes an anthropological and Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) stance to provide the theoretical and methodological foundations to support the design, development and evaluation of citizen science projects and their user-friendly applications. Through a careful selection of case studies in the urban and non-urban contexts of the Global North and South, the chapters provide insights into the design and interaction barriers, as well as on the lessons learned from the engagement of a diverse set of participants; for example, literate and non-literate people with a range of technical skills, and with different cultural backgrounds. Looking at the field through the lenses of specific case studies, the book captures the current state of the art in research and development of geographic citizen science and provides critical insight to inform technological innovation and future research in this area

Geographic Citizen Science Design

Little did Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin and other ‘gentlemen scientists’ know, when they were making their scientific discoveries, that some centuries later they would inspire a new field of scientific practice and innovation, called citizen science. The current growth and availability of citizen science projects and relevant applications to support citizen involvement is massive; every citizen has an opportunity to become a scientist and contribute to a scientific discipline, without having any professional qualifications. With geographic interfaces being the common approach to support collection, analysis and dissemination of data contributed by participants, ‘geographic citizen science’ is being approached from different angles. Geographic Citizen Science Design takes an anthropological and Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) stance to provide the theoretical and methodological foundations to support the design, development and evaluation of citizen science projects and their user-friendly applications. Through a careful selection of case studies in the urban and non-urban contexts of the Global North and South, the chapters provide insights into the design and interaction barriers, as well as on the lessons learned from the engagement of a diverse set of participants; for example, literate and non-literate people with a range of technical skills, and with different cultural backgrounds. Looking at the field through the lenses of specific case studies, the book captures the current state of the art in research and development of geographic citizen science and provides critical insight to inform technological innovation and future research in this area