Implementing a Volunteer‐led long‐term Citizen‐based Invertebrate monitoring program at the Urban Ecology Center

The Urban Ecology Center is a community-based environmental education Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin with branches in three unique neighborhoods. Center Research and Citizen Science staff, along with the help of 32 dedicated... [ view full abstract ]

The Urban Ecology Center is a community-based environmental education Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin with branches in three unique neighborhoods. Center Research and Citizen Science staff, along with the help of 32 dedicated volunteer invertebrate enthusiasts, developed and implemented a long‐term comprehensive terrestrial invertebrate monitoring program with the generous support of the WDNR Citizen-based monitoring partnership program. The ultimate goal of this project is for the volunteers to drive the Center’s goals of using invertebrates in an adaptive management plan that helps to guide and evaluate our restoration and stewardship activities. The composition and abundance of aquatic and terrestrial invertebrates at the individual, population, and community level are often used to assess ecosystem health, helping provide information on how to better manage the natural areas in which they are found. Volunteers contributed over 250 hours in the creation of the plan. Outcomes from this project include 10 working group meetings for creating a long‐term monitoring plan, workshops for Odonata and Lepidoptera surveys, and a long‐term invertebrate monitoring plan focusing on key taxa that includes data sheets, sampling methods, projected analyses, and means to assess the health of the natural areas the Center manages. Successes included more in-depth participation in the scientific process and the building of an invertebrate enthusiast community for the Urban Ecology Center. A challenge was keeping enthusiasm throughout the winter months while creating the plan. In addition, this was the Research & Citizen Science team’s first effort to provide a collaborative space for volunteer-driven work, requiring a great deal of time and facilitation. In the future, we hope to have volunteers take a stronger leadership role. Ten individuals responded to a post-project evaluation where 60% of respondents indicated they were novices and 100% were satisfied with their participation. Best practices include cloud-based communication plans and goal-oriented meetings.