The Challenges with Training Outdoor Enthusiasts Online

Online collaboration has the potential to foster collaborative citizen science projects across a wide geographic area. These collaborations have the potential to create rigorous projects with broad implications, while still... [ view full abstract ]

Online collaboration has the potential to foster collaborative citizen science projects across a wide geographic area. These collaborations have the potential to create rigorous projects with broad implications, while still allowing for the kinds of learning gains and other benefits found in smaller in person settings. With this in mind, we integrated a suite of online tools designed to train volunteers in creating citizen science projects. These participants are members of the Virginia Master Naturalists, a group of volunteers trained in general ecology, who work with state natural resource agencies. The online suite contains trainings on ecology, scientific modeling, and adaptive land management, and online virtual spaces to collaboratively create models and adaptive management plans. A pilot class using a hybrid teaching model with 23 volunteers in three different groups resulted in high retention (approximately 75%) and two ongoing citizen science projects related to water quality in agricultural areas and invasive plant remediation in a threatened habitat. Moving to a less facilitated and fully online model of training and project design, necessary to create regional-level projects among volunteers, however, resulted in projects with low retention (less than 10%) and no successful projects. In this story presentation, we discuss possible causes of the low retention, steps being taken to improve the situation, and open a dialogue to share ideas on best practices in training outdoor lovers in an online setting.