Combining People, Place and Science: Lessons Learned from Developing a Citizen Science Program at Pepperwood

Building a successful citizen science program brings as many thrills as it does challenges in order to maintain a balance between organizational and research needs and the needs of volunteers. In just four years Pepperwood’s... [ view full abstract ]

Building a successful citizen science program brings as many thrills as it does challenges in order to maintain a balance between organizational and research needs and the needs of volunteers. In just four years Pepperwood’s citizen science program has grown over 600%—from a few hundred hours to over 3700 volunteer hours in 2013-14. Pepperwood’s citizen science projects are part of our “watershed sentinel site,” which serves as a cohesive conservation model integrating climatic, abiotic, and biological monitoring projects that directly inform our land management practices and objectives. Under this umbrella, research and management staff define a range of projects suitable for volunteers: phenological surveys, maintaining wildlife cameras, managing the Stephen J. Barnhart Herbarium, breeding bird surveys, monitoring stream flow and pond water levels, documenting species through iNaturalist and our summer teen program (TeenNat), and more.

Through our two-year Steward Program, which was foundational to the development of the California Naturalist Program, and detailed volunteer orientations, trainings, and project meetings, we have retained a strong citizen scientist volunteer base. Clearly stating our objectives, expectations, and defining volunteer roles based on volunteer skills and motivations are key to managing research volunteers. Furthermore, we have established multiple data check points in each project where staff conduct quality control and assess volunteer performance. Project results are shared with our volunteer community, keeping them engaged and informed on the progress and importance of each project. We have developed a culture of gratitude at Pepperwood; all volunteers recognize they are part of a larger team contributing to the advancement of conservation science. To assess the learning objectives of our citizen science program, we are currently developing protocols with our education team.

By bringing people and science together Pepperwood is compiling research quality data to support interdisciplinary climate change studies and further conservation science.