In citizen science, members of the public help collect or make sense of real scientific data, for example by counting birds or testing stream water. Community science is similar but led by local people to answer their own questions. Educators increasingly use both, but evidence about what participants learn is spread across many separate projects.
The researchers searched published research up to September 2018 and found 100 studies, from many countries, that measured what people gained from environmental community or citizen science. For each study they recorded who took part, which parts of the research people did, and what outcomes were measured.
What they found:
- Almost every study found benefits. Studies most often found gains in environmental science knowledge (56 studies) and research skills, such as collecting data accurately and using monitoring tools (32). Others found gains in community connection and cooperation (30), action for the environment (29), positive attitudes toward science and nature (16), confidence in doing science or helping the environment (11), and connection to a local place (9). Only two outcomes showed "no change" in any study: understanding how science works, and interest in science, each in two studies.
- Projects led to environmental action in three ways. People shared what they had learned with others, used project data to ask officials for action, and improved local habitat. In one program, high school students found low biodiversity and high pollution in a city creek, then removed trash and invasive plants. This shows that monitoring can lead directly to hands-on care for a place.
- Collecting data on its own brought benefits. Nearly all projects involved data collection, and most involved people in just one part of the research, usually data collection. These projects still produced gains across every outcome the researchers looked at.
- Taking on more of the research brought further gains. Fewer projects also involved people in planning the research (18 studies), analyzing and interpreting data (33) or sharing results (25). These studies reported gains in community connection and cooperation, environmental action, research skills and connection to place. In the ten projects where people took part in every stage, half reported gains in environmental action. These were often changes in both people's own habits and their community's practices.
Many studies relied on people saying what they had learned, even for knowledge that could be tested. For anyone evaluating a project, more direct checks give stronger evidence.
What this means for your practice:
The review shows which outcomes went with each kind of involvement. It does not test which kind of involvement causes which outcome.
- Start with well-supported data collection. Data-collection-only projects produced benefits. Many studies that found knowledge gains came from projects that trained people carefully to collect accurate data, so invest in training people to identify species and follow the collection steps.
- Involve people in planning. Studies where people helped plan the research reported gains in community connection, knowledge and environmental action. The researchers suggest community meetings or asking for feedback on methods.
- Make sense of the data together. The researchers suggest group discussions around charts or maps of the data people collected. They link this to a stronger connection to place.
- Let people share the findings. Studies where people helped report results showed gains in research skills, environmental action and connection to place. The researchers suggest presentations, newsletters, blogs or posters for local audiences.
- Show people their contributions matter. The researchers conclude that the projects in the review had two things in common: topics people cared about, and feedback showing how participants' work made a difference.
- Connect monitoring with action. Several projects with strong environmental action built hands-on work, such as habitat restoration, into the project alongside data collection.
- Check learning directly. Many studies relied on self-reports. The researchers recommend short tasks built into the activity, structured observation, and checks on the quality of people's data to measure knowledge and skills. For outcomes such as confidence and identity, they say people's own accounts in interviews are the right evidence.
RETURN TO EVALUATING ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION EERESEARCH COLLECTION
The Bottom Line
The researchers reviewed 100 studies, published up to 2018, that measured what young people and adults gained from taking part in environmental research projects. Nearly every study found benefits, most often in environmental science knowledge and research skills. Many also found that people felt more connected to their community, cooperated more and took more action for the environment. Collecting data on its own brought benefits. Projects that also involved people in planning, analyzing or sharing results reported further gains, especially in community connection and environmental action. For educators, these projects are a dependable route to environmental learning, and giving people a bigger role in the research can deepen what they gain.