Designing Citizen Science Program Taking Account of Human and Natural Dimensions for Urban Community Greening Project in Japan

Citizen science can be applied to variety of fields, however, many challenges need to be overcome before this approach could be spread in various areas. We propose a new model of citizen science by applying it to urban... [ view full abstract ]

Citizen science can be applied to variety of fields, however, many challenges need to be overcome before this approach could be spread in various areas. We propose a new model of citizen science by applying it to urban greening community project in Japan. The project started in Ushikubonishi, a small town in Yokohama when it was designated as one of model towns by Yokohama municipal government. Residents and a university located in the town took initiative in designing and operating greening project and 5-year action plan lunched in 2013. Keys to success of the project as a citizen science rely on how to integrate the three important elements; science, education and conservation. This project employed three approaches to integrate these elements. One is scientific evaluation of current status of biodiversity. The result revealed that 24 species of birds and 22 species of butterflies were recorded in the town, and conservation measures were designed by targeting symbolic birds and butterflies. Second approach is evaluation of socio demographic aspect of the residents. The descriptive statistics from survey of all houses in the town (n＝810) revealed residents’ high expectation and sense of responsibility to improve the greenery in the community. Most of them evaluated the greening projects as an effective way to promote communication and solidarity of the town. Third approach evaluated educational aspects of the project by utilizing web-based monitoring and direct observation of biodiversity and environment conducted by residents. The university improved the web-site to maintain the accuracy of data provided by residents and developed manuals which help residents to identify species We believe that this integrated model could improve quality of the project in three aspects; science, education and conservation and serves as a community platform for co-management of natural and human systems.