Presentation by Nadia Dewhurst Richman from a participatory virtual workshop in June 2020. This presentation gives an overview of the benefits of citizen science using examples of existing projects in Scotland, along with an introduction to Scotland’s Environment Web.

1. The value of citizen
science for
environmental
monitoring in
Scotland
Nadia Dewhurst-Richman
Image credit: www.mountainbikeworldwide.com

2. Patrick Mathew - an
early crowdsourcer?

3. Why is citizen science increasingly more
important to research?
The average length of time it would
take a professional to classify the
same amount of data that has been
recorded against a project in our
sample is approximately 37 years,
whereas the average project active
period is 2.4 years (Cox et al. 2015 –
An analysis of Zooniverse projects)
Volunteer citizen scientists
participating in biodiversity
monitoring contribute time in-kind
worth more than £20 million per
annum (UK EOF)

4. Priority: "Engaging more
people, communities
and businesses in the
creation, management
and use of forests and
woodlands"
"Urban and rural communities
better connected to the land,
with more people enjoying the
land and positively influencing
land use"
"As wildlife populations decline there
is increasing concern about people’s
willingness to act to reverse this. While
social, cultural and political factors
influence attitudes and behaviour, and
there is a recognised gap between
people’s values and actions, one
reason for this lack of engagement is
considered to be disconnection from
nature: “Simply put, humans don’t
protect what they don’t know and
value.”"

5. Engagement with the scientific process | learning
opportunities | reciprocal

6. Engagement with the
scientific process |
builds community

7. Engagement with the scientific process | learning
| empowerment

8. Collaborative design of survey procedures and interventions/
management options | greater trust between stakeholders

10. Pocock, M.J.O., Chapman, D., Sheppard, L., Roy, H.E.
(2013) Developing a Strategic Framework to Support
Citizen Science Implementation in SEPA. Final Report on
behalf of SEPA. NERC Centre for Ecology & Hydrology.

11. Scotland Counts:
developing an
individual’s “skills and
confidence to
understand their local
environment through
citizen science”
Image Credit: TCV

12. Better understanding
the opportunities
and challenges for
integrating citizen
science into long-
term monitoring
programmes in the
Cairngorms National
Park
Image Credit: Wilderness Scotland